Oxfam is harnessing the recession-busting powers of the nation’s grannies to help Britons to lead greener and cheaper lives, as part of a campaign launching today.
As the credit-crunch bites, there has never been a better time to pick-up pearls of wisdom from pensioners who grew up as part of a less wasteful generation. So Oxfam has recruited a crack team of Green Grannies who are offering advice to the public about everything from how to sew a button on a shirt or darn socks to how to make delicious food from leftovers in the fridge.
The Green Grannies service has been set up to launch Oxfam’s Lifestyles Campaign, as not only will these tips save cash, but they will also encourage recycling and help the UK public to tackle climate change – which is having a huge impact on the world’s poorest people.
Most grannies know all about valuing the earth’s resources (or ‘waste not want not’), and their low-cost lifestyle also results in a relatively small carbon footprint. Sadly, the same cannot be said for everyone in the UK as every day the British public throws away:
-
49% of the potatoes we buy – a total of 5 million potatoes a day 7 million slices of bread
1 million slices of ham
4.4 million apples
1.6 million bananas.
Per household we waste an average of £37 a year by leaving appliances on standby, and there is £4.7 billion worth of unworn clothing languishing unworn in wardrobes in the UK.
The grannies are also using modern technology to help spread the word. With a tour around a Green Granny’s house posted on Youtube, and a soon-to-be-launched ‘Ask a Granny’ service on the Oxfam website, our Grannies are keen to share their frugal tips with the next generation. http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=S48U0UNMxUE&feature=channel
Barbara Walmsley, one the Green Grannies says: “I have always made the most of what I have – it just comes naturally to me. Every granny has her own tricks for saving money, and I’m really glad to have the chance to share them with younger people. Its great to be involved with a campaign which is helping people living in poverty now, and which will also help take care of the world for my grandchildren’s generation.”
Oxfam’s campaign offers ideas on how to live greener and save money in all areas of modern life, from food to fashion, and travel to energy and waste. Lifestyles Campaign Manager Rebecca Gowland says:
‘The tips we are suggesting should really help people to save money at a time when they are feeling the pinch. They will also help people to reduce their carbon footprint, something which is becoming more and more important as we see the effects of climate change turn the lives of poor people upside down.’
For good ideas on how to live better and to find out more about Good Ideas Unltd, Oxfam’s lifestyles campaign see: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/good_ideas/index.html
For more information or to arrange interviews with Rebecca Gowland or one of our Green Grannies contact: Rose Marsh: rmarsh@oxfam.org.uk / 01865 472375
-Stats on food from: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
-Stats on leaving appliances on standby from: www.biggreenswitch.co.uk
-Stats on clothes from research carried out by Opinion Matters on behalf of Oxfam and M&S
About Oxfam : Oxfam GB is a development, relief, and campaigning organisation dedicated to finding lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world. See: www.oxfam.org.uk .
Additional information:
| Energy | Switch off | The average home has12 gadgets left on standby unnecessarily. Turning these off would save £37 per year . | Energy Saving Trust |
| Energy | Insulate | Loft insulation costs £32.49 per roll and saves up to £155 per year on household heating bills | Daily Mail / Kelkoo.co.uk |
| Energy | Turn down the thermostat | Turning the thermostat down to reduce room temperature by 1°C cuts heating bills by up to 10 % and saves around £60 per year . | Energy Saving Trust |
| Energy | Energy-saving bulbs | Changing all light bulbs to energy-saving bulbs could save a household £50 per year | Energy Saving Trust |
| Energy | Increase efficiency | Installing a Hot Water Tank Jacket and Primary Pipe Insulation costs on average £22 and saves an average of £50 annually | Energy Saving Trust |
| Energy | Dry clothes naturally | Run your tumble dryer half as often and save £37 a year – or £74 a year if you stop using it altogether | The Low Carbon Diet (Short Books) |
| Energy | Block draughts | Carry a lit stick of incense around your house – when smoke blows horizontally you’ve spotted a draught. Plug these draughts (fireplaces, windows, door frames, letterboxes, cat flaps) with compression and wiper seals from a DIY store, and save £20 a year on heating bills | The Low Carbon Diet (Short Books) |
| Energy | Reflect heat | Slide aluminium foil behind radiators fitted to outside walls to keep heat in the room, and save £7 a year | The Low Carbon Diet (Short Books) |
| Energy | Fill gaps | Fill gaps between old floorboards or the floor and the skirting board with commercial sealant or papier mâché, and save £10-20 a year. | The Low Carbon Diet (Short Books) |
 |
|
|
|
| Food | Stop waste | In the UK we throw away over 5 million potatoes every day. That’s 49% of the potatoes that we buy. We also discard 7 million slices of bread per day, 1 million slices of ham, 4.4 million apples and 1.6 million bananas. We also waste 1.2 million sausages, and over half a million rashers of bacon. In total we waste approximately 1/3 rd of food that we buy. |
Love Food Hate Waste
WRAP WRAP |
| Food | Make your own packed lunch | Making up your own lunch box rather than buying lunch could save you more than £20 a week (£80 a month / £1000 a year) | Research carried out by the Daily Mail |
|
|
|
|
| Clothes | Buy less | Three quarters of the British Public have bought clothes they have never worn - an average of 6 items per person. This equates to £101 per adult wardrobe - £4.7 billion in total | Research carried out online by Opinion Matters for Oxfam and M&S |
| Clothes | Buy from Charity shops | Two thirds of people take their clothes to charity shops and 39% donate expensive and fashionable items. This means that these items are available to shoppers at a fraction of the original purchase value . |
Research carried out online by Opinion Matters for Oxfam and M&S |
| Clothes | Donate | Take a bag of clothes to your local Oxfam shop containing at least one piece of Marks & Spencer’s labelled clothing, and get a voucher worth £5 to use when you spend £35 or more at M&S | Oxfam |
| Transport | Last Minute City Break – don’t go long-haul | Trip to New York: 4star from £600pp. (Includes flights and 3 nights accommodation from Heathrow.) Trip to Paris: 4 star from £300pp. (includes train and 3 nights accommodation from London.) Save £300 |
Research carried out by Oxfam |
| Transport | Cycle | Cycle to work and reduce your overall travel costs by 30% - 40% | Daily Mail / Kelkoo.co.uk |
| Waste | Mend | Mending a dripping tap could save you 5,500 litres of water per year. That’s £18 if you have a water meter | |
| Waste | Get a waterbutt | Installing a waterbutt can save up to 50% off your water bills (saving £150 pa if you have a water meter) | Daily Mail / Kelkoo.co.uk |
| Waste | Get stuff for free | ‘Shop’ at freecycle; the free online service, which enables people to exchange items for no cost over the internet. You get all sorts on there – all free ; from electronics, to furniture to homemade jams. http://www.freecycle.org/ |
Freecycle |
| Waste | Fit a hippo | Fitting a Hippo device in your cistern saves up to 3 litres of water every time you flush your loo – a saving of £20 a year off your water bills. | |
Tags: Oxfam Unwrapped
