Best Apps for Green Living 2020

As a nature lover and vegan, over the years I’ve accumulated a whole host of apps that all have the intention of making your life easier when it comes to sustainability, conservation or dietary requirements. I’ve put them all to the test and whittled this list down to the ones I think everyone should have…

Too Good To Go is an app that allows you to purchase leftover food from restaurants, shops, and cafes nearby when they close up for the day. You scroll through available foods like you would on Deliveroo, and place an order for collection after the establishment shuts. A meal that would usually cost up to £10 only costs a few quid, and stops the lovely food from going in the bin.

Supported by Emma Watson, Good On You focuses on fashion and encourages you to look at the ethical and environmental rating of your favourite brands before you purchase from them. From worker conditions to CO2 emissions, it provides a graded system from ‘We Avoid’ to ‘Great’, and allows you to provide feedback to certain brands within the app urging them to do better, or congratulating them on their efforts so far.

One of my personal faves, Refill‘s idea is pretty straightforward: any shop or cafe with the Refill logo lets you fill up your water bottle for free, even if you don’t buy anything from them. This prevents the purchase of a new plastic bottle (1 million are bought every minute globally, so this is pretty important). If you see the logo in a shop window, head inside and hand over your bottle – or download the app to see participating businesses on a map.

The 2 minute beach clean is pretty self explanatory – it encourages you to head out to your local shores and try to collect as much litter as you can in 2 minutes. You can then document this with photos in the app, and look at what other people have picked up too. I think the general idea is you’ll always be unpleasantly surprised by how much litter there is… everywhere.

The Wildlife Trust app shows you all their sites across the UK, how to get there and the key features of each protected area. There are so many more than I thought! Anywhere you are in the country, there’s sure to be somewhere close to home you can visit and appreciate nature.

Something a little different, Depop is an app for selling and buying second-hand items, primarily clothing. Fast fashion is one of the biggest contributors to pollution and climate change, so not buying new is key! There are so many people using this app, so you’re bound to find what you’re after. It’s also completely free to use.

Last but by no means least – Happy Cow is an app for locating your nearest veggie/vegan restaurants, cafes and shops. I’m an ambassador for the company now which is super exciting! The app is £4.99 but you can use the website for free. I would definitely recommend the app though for on-the-go ease. Anyone can leave reviews and photos from visits to their favourite places, along with price info and directions.

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