Making sustainable swaps with SaveMoneyCutCarbon // Review

Product gifted for review

As a family, we are always aware of the amount of waste that we generate on a daily basis.  We are mindful of what goes into our rubbish every week, and we try and recycle wherever we possibly can.  It would be safe to say that we do try and alter our habits where we can to try and ensure that we are using less single use plastic, and we have made several positive changes in this area.

Small changes like re-using carrier bags in the supermarket and shopping and choosing paper bags rather than plastic ones have been relatively easy to implement, and we have also made some fairly major changes like cutting out bottled water in favour of filtered water from the tap.  All of these changes are hopefully teaching our boys about sustainability and cutting our carbon footprint.

Introducing SaveMoneyCutCarbon

So when we were sent a sustainable swap box by SaveMoneyCutCarbon.com we were very interested in different kinds of ideas that could help us to become even more of a sustainable household.  The swap box is a fantastic idea, which gives the recipient ten easy swaps for everyday items in the home.  The box provides sustainable alternatives to products and encourages the household to make a positive switch to these items.

What’s inside the box?

Inside the box, there are a number of items, that can be used in conjunction with the ’10 Easy Swaps’ card.  The most noticeable item in the kit is the beeswax wrap, which can replace cling film or other food wrap.  The biodegradable material is very colourful and feels durable to the touch.  Once the wrap has reached the end of its useful life, it can be placed in the composting bin with other biodegradable items.  

We also learnt about the microplastic contained in scouring pads, which we didn’t realise was contained within them.  The compostable sponge cloth inside the box is a good way of reducing our scouring pad usage, and it can be added to the food waste once used.

Other items in the swap box include a bamboo toothbrush and a bamboo sticking plaster, some compostable bin liners made from natural vegetable starch and also something very relevant to households in 2020; a reusable anti-bacterial spray bottle.  One of the most interesting items in the box however came in the form of a water flow bag.  This item, rather than a swap, allowed us to test our water usage in our bathroom taps and shower.  The idea here is to enable us to consider changing our shower head to an eco-friendlier one.

We were also interested to find some plastic-free cotton buds in our swap box too.  We were aware that at the beginning of October 2020, the supply of these cotton buds had been banned in England, and we were shocked to learn that 1.8 billion of them were used in this country every year.  The kit contained a small box of bamboo alternative cotton buds, a much more sustainable alternative.

Monthly subscription to make positive changes

The idea behind the box is that households purchase a monthly subscription to the service and receive the swap box to start making positive changes.  The box also comes with a 12-month membership of the SaveMoneyCutCarbon Home Club.  This ensures that having used the box and explored the alternatives contained inside, households can continue to source and purchase the items directly at reasonable prices.  The website also enables members to purchase other carbon neutral products, such as light bulbs, eco taps and even eco-friendly home appliances.

The membership cost to join the SaveMoneyCutCarbon club as a home user is £4.99 per month, and the minimum length of contract is 12 months.  New customers receive the swap box, free eco-gifts, and access to the exclusive member pricing for sustainable items on the SaveMoneyCutCarbon.com website.

Using our swap box has really given us some fantastic ideas for how we can continue to make changes to our lifestyle, and we hope to continue finding ways to live more sustainably in the future.