Lucy Siegle’s sustainable living recommendations, from books to eco-friendly cleaning brands

“I absolutely love Lily Cole’s book Who Cares Wins: Reasons For Optimism in Our Changing World. I found it really useful on making better choices and just reconnecting with the fact that I am privileged to have a lot of agency but I could use it better. 

“Lily Cole is a very smart cookie, but also a good listener (a very good combination, I think) who has gone out of her way to engage with people who have a vision of a sustainable planet that is compelling and achievable. I read it and thought, ‘YES! Why not?!’”.

“I had this product applied at my hairdressers (who are part of the Green Salon Collective network of hairdressers) but found that it is only normally sold to ‘consumers’ in pouches. I never buy anything in pouches because it’s not good value and I’m yet to find one that can be recycled. So I wrote to Davines and demanded to buy a tub! I have now found it on sale in tubs that can be returned – but I use them as plant pots because they are aesthetically pleasing. I also now use a Davines shampoo bar (£15, Davines.com) to displace plastic shampoo bottles. It’s really good even with my ‘hopeless hair’.”

“About 15 years ago I became aware of the amount of oil (and clever engineering) in trigger sprays that perch on the top of average single-use bottles of cleaning spray and I couldn’t believe these were binned after the bottle was empty. I’ve long since rescued bottles and made my own vinegar and bicarb solutions. But these were imperfect and sometimes blocked the bottle.

“Thank goodness the industry has caught up and you can now buy refills in the supermarkets. My favourite in an increasingly busy marketplace is Neat. The aluminium bottle and trigger spray are really good, easy to refill, robust and don’t get clogged, and the refills (£2.50, Neatclean.com) are widely available. I think it’s an excellent product.”

“The stand out for me is Refill x Chillys water bottle for City to Sea (£10 goes to the Bristol-based reuse charity fighting plastic waste). There’s a space on the back to write your name so nobody can pinch it. But remember you also need a brush to clean your water bottle properly. I recommend this coconut bottle brush (£4.95, Andkeep.com).”

“If you consume meat and dairy, look for companies, brands and retailers that have won or been highly commended in the annual Compassion in World Farming awards. There is a strong connection between animal welfare and better environmental standards and these awards have strong methodology and processes. Waitrose for example – the 2022 retailer of the year winner – recognises animals as sentient beings, which has implications for all suppliers.

“Increasingly I buy more plant-based foods. Rather than standards or badges, I look for the best packaged products. Avoiding rigid plastics and vacuum-sealed packaging from the chill cabinets (energy-intensive and hard to recycle) and going instead for frozen products if I’m buying burgers or sausage replacements – in cardboard. I also prioritise brands, such as Quorn, that are meat-free first, rather than meat brands that are keeping up market share with a side order of plant-based.

“I’m also interested in diversifying our diets. We tend to eat the same three crops, which encourages monoculture farming, which by its nature is unsustainable. In order for soils to be able to regenerate we need a more diverse range of crops to be grown. Hodmedod’s grows all sorts of delicious pulses and grains on UK soils, which also encourages food security. I think it’s fantastic.”