Review section: Recommended sustainable apps
Issue #01
Apps can be a very convenient way to be more sustainable. You can track your carbon emission of the day, scan products to check if they’re ‘earth-friendly’ and join sustainable communities online. Since I sometimes find it hard, with all the information that we receive, to do the best I can in ways of sustainability, I downloaded three apps to help me live a more environmentally friendly life.
My Little Plastic Footprint
This app is appropriate for beginners. It starts with simple questions about a couple of products that you might use and calculates your Plastic Mass Index (PMI) and compares it to the PMI of your country. The goal of the app is to make your plastic footprint smaller with a plastic diet or challenge. There are several segments such as kitchen and bathroom where you can find information and click on products that you use in these segments to find alternatives. Obvious products like plastic bags and cups are mentioned but also less obvious stuff like spatulas and earphones. I like to use this app since the tips are simple and there are challenges like #NoWasteNovember to make a start with a plastic free life. The app also has quizzes that you can do to educate yourself. However, the idea of making to do lists with products that you would like to stop using will not have me make a lot progress with making my plastic footprint smaller. The app also doesn’t have links to the alternative products which would made it easier to find these. However, the app is overall simple and fun to use and perfect for beginners!
For Good
For Good is an app that helps you decrease your carbon emission. By answering questions, the app calculates an amount of carbon emission that will be your climate goal. Every day you should try to stay under this number. The beginning questions are about bigger things than only what products you use during a shower, such as how many times you use public transport or what the meter readings are for your electricity. It also shows you how many globes we need if you stay living the way you do. The app gives you detailed insight into what your way of living does to earth which is definitely a good wake up call. You can save tips and climate reports in the app and also join a community to start a challenge. The app is well organized and can make a big positive impact on the environment. For Good is more for people that already do a lot for the environment and want to take that extra step.
Think Dirty
This app helps you find info about your beauty products! The app has recommendations on sustainable beauty products and a scanner to see if the products on your beauty shelf are ‘dirty’ or ‘clean’. It also has rankings for example ‘Think Dirty 2020: Body Care Nominees’ and is up to date with Christmas offers on earth-friendly beauty gifts. Even though this app does not calculate your PMI or carbon emission, it is still informative and does give insight in the products that you use. The recommended products are easily described with the term ‘dirty’, ‘half n’ half’ and ‘clean’. It also shows reviews, advice and an explanation to each product and directs you to a website with a simple click where you can shop the products. The only downside to this app is that the products I scanned, from brands like Redken and Nivea, were not found in their database. This is probably because the database is American, but you can add the product by filling it in manually. You might think that the app is kind of limited when only featuring beauty products, but this is definitely not the case. The app has more than 1.5 million products, a shopping website where you can buy Think Dirty beauty boxes and a blog with news about health and the environment.
Every app has good and bad things but every one of them does help you live more sustainable. For Good is perfect for people that already live a pretty sustainable life, whereas My Little Plastic Footprint is more for beginners. Think Dirty has a bit for both, in my opinion. Since changing your whole beauty shelf is a bigger step but getting insight into the products that you already use is a good idea to start with for beginners. All in all, I think every app has something to offer to the environment and I recommend all three apps to the readers of Green Life, according to how big you want your impact to be.
#staygreen 🌎🌿
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