Sustainability has become a huge influence for many Brits, now more so than ever. Searches for ‘sustainable lifestyle’ have increased by 104% in the past two months, suggesting Britons are keen to consider the impact of the environment after the UK lockdown was eased.
With that in mind, tombola has analysed search volume data between Feb and June 2020 (compared to 2019) to reveal the sustainable hobbies Brits are taking up in 2020, as well as expert tips on how to continue to live sustainably.
Key Findings
- Searches for ‘volunteering’ have grown the most, with a 75% increase in searches in 2020 – suggesting Brits are wanting to give back to the community in the current climate.
- Similarly, searches for ‘growing vegetables’ have increased by 72%.
- This is followed closely by ‘gardening’ searches, up 59% compared to the same period in 2019.
UK’s Most Popular Sustainable Hobbies
| Sustainable Hobbies | Increase in Search Volume (2019 v 2020) |
| 1. Volunteering | 75% |
| 2. Growing vegetables | 72% |
| 3. Gardening | 59% |
| 4. Knitting | 55% |
| 5. Scrapbooking | 53% |
| 6. Recyclable crafts | 43% |
| 7. Upcycling | 43% |
| 8. Hiking | 39% |
| 9. Beekeeping | 29% |
| 10. Sewing | 28% |
| 11. Vegan cooking | 25% |
| 12. Antiquing | 19% |
| 13. Bird watching | 10% |
3 Top Tips to Living Sustainably – tombola also studied how you can better live sustainably, with the tips below:
1. Extend the life of your current products
- Use less. For example, using just half a dishwasher tablet or making sure you only wash dishes or laundry when you have a full load.
- Fix stuff. Many small repairs are easily done, and you can quickly pick up new DIY skills on the internet.
- Re-engineer. Find new ways to use things you’d normally throw away. Even old egg cartons have lots of other uses, from paint pallets for the kids to organiser trays for jewellery or nuts, bolts and screws.
2. Buy responsibly online
- Search the internet for local, ethical suppliers in your area. Many will deliver without charge at the moment. Buy local, buy plastic free, buy seasonal wherever possible.
3. Make your own / grow your own
- There are literally thousands of things to make and do with the kids at home and a lot of them with ‘waste’ you might normally throw away. Search ‘things to make with toilet roll tubes’ to get you started.
- There’s no shortage of seeds in garden centres and most veg can be grown in pots and window boxes. Growing herbs is a great start and you can add them to other food for flavour. Many DIY and garden stores are still delivering, so if you need any supplies, you can still get them.
https://www.tombola.co.uk/pages/simple-ways-to-reduce-your-plastic-waste
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