Switch

On this week’s episode we have special guest Tessa Clarke, co-founder of OLIO - the food sharing app which connects people to share surplus food. 

A third of the food we produce globally is thrown away, and households are responsible for over half of all food waste in the UK. 

The average family throws away £800 worth of food each year. That adds up to £15 billion. £15 billion that is going straight to landfill! 

Meanwhile 800 million people go to bed hungry every night. That is 1 in 9 people on the planet who are starving or malnourished. 

OLIO’s vision is for millions of hyper local food sharing networks all around the world. They believe the app can help create a world in which nothing of value goes to waste, and every single person has enough to eat – without destroying our planet in the process.

The issue of food waste is one close to our hearts - and home. Even working in the industry that we do, we still find we have a problem with food waste at times. We’re intrigued by the way OLIO and others are using technology and other cool solutions to the problem.

Listen to find out more about the food sharing revolution and how you can get involved!

Download OLIO at https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/olio/id1008237086

Follow OLIO at @olio_ex

#sharemorewasteless

On this episode we address working out. Both of us love to sport and staying fit - it’s part of our weekly routine. So we wanted to explore whether there are ways we could apply our sustainability minds to it. 

We know that exercising (in moderation) is good for your longterm health and wellbeing, but we wanted to continue on the path of understanding and exploring what doing good for you and the planet looks like. How is the health of the planet and our own health intertwined?

What are some simple tips and tricks on how we can be more sustainable in our existing workouts? And can you do good and exercise and at the same time?

This week we talk transport. Whether it’s our daily commute, a weekend trip, or travelling abroad, we all depend on transport to get us from A to B. According to WWF’s carbon footprint calculator, travel makes up a whopping 35% of the average person’s environmental footprint. So what can we do to minimise our impact?

On today’s episode we want to dive into three things:

• The issue (with multiple different modes of transport) and relative impact on the environment 
• What industries and governments are doing about it
• What we can do about it

Listen in for our top practical tips.

Today we have special guest Rich, co-founder of MOJU, with us. MOJU creates performance drinks designed by Mutha Nature. They are powerful, punchy, cold-pressed juices and shots made from natural ingredients. Their ethos revolves around harnessing the power of ‘Mutha Nature’, rather than artificial nasties.

Performance drinks and supplements became popular in the 20th century, heavily processed and mostly packed with artificial flavours, preservatives and ‘E numbers’ rather than anything natural. The soft drinks industry as a whole has a pretty high impact - from water toxification, to packaging waste, to how ingredients are sourced.

MOJU thinks it’s time for a change. By embracing newer technologies, they are working with natural ingredients and delivering them in the closest possible form to the living plant. 

We want to understand more about how MOJU is bringing a different perspective to the conversation around sustainability, with their ambition very much focused on giving new people a stake in nature - not just preaching to the converted. This chimes with us because it’s also a reason we started Switch!

Head to www.mojudrinks.com to get your exclusive 15% discount now until end of September - just use Switch listeners’ exclusive code ‘switch15’. 

This week we are with Emilie Vanpoperinghe, co-founder of Oddbox - a subscription-based wonky fruit and veg box delivery which brings you fresh fruit and veg from around the UK that would have otherwise been wasted. 

One of our favourite things about getting a box is getting the story that comes with it that tells you why these fruit and veg were rejected by supermarket standards and would’ve otherwise gone to waste (e.g. small clementines that were ‘too tiny’ for a supermarket). 

We dissect why ‘imperfect’ fruit and veg go to waste and are shocked by the size of the issue. Importantly, we give some solutions and practical tips for you as ever!

Check out oddbox.co.uk and get 50% off your first box with discount code SWITCH50

Enjoy the episode, and please don’t forget to share, subscribe and review to help us reach as many people as possible. Thank you for listening!

This week we’re talking about all things beauty. The cosmetic industry is worth around $600bn USD globally and has a huge impact on the planet - from the packaging to the use of palm oil, water and animal testing. Even for a small product like lipstick or facial scrub, the impact can be relatively big. 

We talk about the impacts of cosmetics on the planet and some of our personal challenges with cleaning up our beauty acts. We also explore what beauty brands are doing to tackle their impacts and some ‘quick-wins’ for you to try at home... 

We even have a CHALLENGE especially for YOU! Switch something up for an alternative for one week and let us know how you get on. Whether it’s recycling your bathroom waste, buying a shampoo bar or something else, we want to know how you go. 

We also talk about some of your ‘switch on’ and ‘switch off’ moments from the past week. Thank you so much for sharing them with us, we always find it interesting and useful - keep them coming!

Don’t forget, please rate, review and subscribe so we can reach as many people as possible to open up the conversation on sustainability. 

Today we are with Besma, founder of Ethical Influencers, a digital community doing good. From sustainable storytellers to honest podcasters, ethical fashion instagrammers to zero waste vloggers, EI’s members are collectively working towards a better world. 

EI supports a diverse range of creators to improve their content, create connections with like-minded brands, and most importantly, get their voices heard. 

Besma also created her own blog, Curiously Conscious, so she knows all about the blogging and influencing world herself!

On this special episode we answer some of your summer questions from what sunscreen you should use, some swimsuit brands we think are great, and how to plan a fun BBQ. 

We also want to do this special episode to thank you all for your love and support. Please do continue to share the podcast so we can grow and provide you with more insights and awesome guests. 

We couldn't thank you enough.

xx Lyd & Ash


Switch picks discussed:

• Aethic Sôvée Triple-Filter Ecocompatible Sunscreen SPF 40: £53 for 150ml (however pretty pricey in comparison to all the other suncreens out there) 
• For half the price and also a fan favorite there is Organii Sun milk- also recommended for kids of people with sensitive skin 
• Ren Clean Skincare - a brand which uses all natural materials, is vegan, and packaging is recycled and recyclable.
• Tide + Seek (recycled plastic)- swimwear
• Gyko (Everything is made under one roof in London by a not-for-profit social enterprise that provides full-time training and day courses for anyone considering a fashion career. The packaging is plastic-free.)- swimwear
• Batoko: Based on the north-west coast, micro brand Batoko also makes swimwear out of recycled plastic waste. Collections are deliberately kept small to maintain quality and a slower, more planet-friendly pace, so there are just nine fun and colourful designs to choose from. -swimwear
  
  
  

This week we speak to Alex and Franzi, co-founders of Tutaka. 

With a background in design and the hospitality industry, these two women created Tutaka as a result of being frustrated with how much waste was produced by hotels. 

Tutaka is a partner for hosts in the hospitality industry dedicated to giving their guests the best experience without harming the planet. It’s a marketplace of carefully curated eco-friendly alternatives to all the products a hotel needs to purchase. But it is also an agency - there to provide strategy and comms support to the hosts trying to do good.  

We talk about the issue of sustainability in the hospitality industry, how Tutaka is helping tackle it, and also some handy tips on how, as consumers, we can help make our holidays as ecofriendly as possible (without being inconvenient)!

What are your challenges when it comes to staying somewhere? What are your simple switches? Let us know 😊

On this week’s episode we speak with Alec Mills, co-founder of the world’s first reusable tampon applicator and biodegradable, chemical-free tampons. 

100 billion period products are thrown away every year. Most contain plastic but cannot be reused or recycled. Instead they break into tiny pieces and enter our food chain. 

Most tampons also contain synthetics treated with chemicals and cotton sprayed with pesticides. Women use 12,000 tampons in a lifetime and the vagina is highly absorbent. You do the maths!

Women have been menstruating since time began, yet the industry uses the language of discretion. DAME thinks it’s time to bring periods into the 21st Century and ensure young girls become confident women.