Oxford is my world Your – Guide to saving the planet!

LIFESTYLE: Family

We often worry about the safety of our children, but a key way to safeguard their future is by thinking about the environmental costs of the things we buy for them. For example it takes an unbelievable 7000 litres of water to grow the cotton for one cotton t-shirt and a plastic toy can take hundreds of years to decompose.

In fact in Oxfordshire 11% of our landfill waste is made up of clothes, shoes, electrical goods and toys. So the choices you make for your children could affect all of us for years to come.

By recycling our old items and getting kids equipment from friends and family who no longer need it, we can reduce both the amount of waste we produce and the natural resources that we use.

Very Easy

- Join Oxford Freecycle, a local network that advertises and gives away unwanted items for free, such as children's beds, toys and clothes.
- Car boot sales are a good source of quality second hand equipment and toys: in Oxford there is one every Sunday at the Kassam Stadium, 10.30am–3pm, free for buyers, £9 for sellers.
- Charity shops such as ‘No Tat’ in the Covered Market sell good-as-new items for babies and children.
- Look out for “Nearly New” sales at local churches and town halls.
- Use Oxford based free magazine, Daily Information, to buy and sell second-hand equipment.
- Visit auction sites for bargains on used pushchairs, cots and car seats. eBay have a whole section dedicated to baby items.

Fairly Easy

- Information about the re-useable/disposable nappy debate is available from the Environment Agency. Their conclusion is that neither type of nappy is necessarily better or worse for the environment.
- If you use re-useable nappies use low temperature detergents, buy more nappies initially and wash full loads and air-dry rather than tumble dry where possible.
- If you use disposable nappies try to buy nappies that are made from sustainable sources or recycled paper and use lighter nappies where possible.
- Get your family involved in their immediate environment, and improve their health at the same time, by growing your own vegetables and doing more cooking at home using local ingredients.
- Ever wish you could ‘activate’ your kids? Well Sustrans is a national charity that encourages children to travel to school in an active and environmentally-friendly way through its ‘Safe Routes to Schools’ programme and ‘Bike It’ project.

Not Quite So Easy

- Set up a toy and equipment swap shop so parents in your area can get together and exchange things they no longer need. For help and support contact Community Action Groups Oxfordshire.
- Your household and the environment will benefit if you use eco friendly cleaning products, which do not contain harmful chemicals like chlorine. These can be found in local health food shops, supermarkets and the Friends Meeting House on St Giles.
- Try out traditional cleaningÝmaterials such as bicarbonate of soda which can be used for cleaning shower curtainsÝor aÝdilute mix of malt vinegar for cleaning windows (apply with scrunched-up newspaper). The Low Impact Living Initiative has more information on natural cleaning.

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