using water

How Much Water Are You Really Using?

Every day we drink to stay hydrated, shower to keep clean and use water for many household tasks.

However, we also consume a whole lot indirectly and we don’t often take it into consideration.

Your water footprint

Have you ever thought about the amount it takes to produce the food you eat, things you buy and even your energy consumption?

This ‘invisible’ or ‘virtual’ water contributes hugely to your overall consumption even though it’s indirect. You’re not walking straight to the tap and pouring yourself some water when you buy an item, but it has been part of the process all the same.

That’s right, with each bite of chocolate or chicken, with each piece of cotton clothing and every sip of milk or beer, you’re adding to your h2o footprint.

This is important as water is such a precious resource and we all need to be careful of just how much we’re going through, even indirectly.

How to reduce your water footprint

Just how much we consume and the purchasing decisions we make are the two most important factors in reducing our indirect footprint, which is often much larger than our direct one.

Buy only what you need and look to see if there are eco friendly products that can act as substitutes for another, less sustainable item. For example, purchasing a couple of reusable shopping bags to use for your groceries will take less water than the plastic disposable checkout bags every time.

Throwing fewer items away and buying less will have a great impact upon your footprint, so remember to look for alternatives to buying new and never throw anything away if it can be used, donated or repurposed.

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