Does it cost more to be eco-friendly?

One of the major perceptions about going green is that there is considerable cost involved, and that we need to be affluent in order to afford the eco-friendly lifestyle. However, the truth is, this misperception could be one of the major hindrances of the movement towards a greener and healthier community.

When it comes to going green, the long-term benefits certainly outweigh the short-term cost costs involved. The difficulty for most is to bear this in mind and make a conscious decision to make an investment for the future – for an enhanced quality of life.

Cost of going eco-friendly for food

Food is a daily essential, and going eco-friendly in the food category entails making changes to your diet – like using products that are made with sustainable methods, and avoiding produce that depend largely on industrial, synthetic substances like fertilisers, pesticides, antibiotics and hormones. This means consuming food that is organic.

However, organic food products tend to be more expensive than non-organic ones. This is also due to additional costs that are spent to get organic food certified. Besides purchasing organic food, the other option is to grow your own organic herbs, fruits and vegetables. By making a dedicated change towards an eco-friendlier diet, you are not only improving your health and your loved ones’, you are also contributing to a cleaner and greener environment and future.

Ultimately, investing in eco-friendly (organic) food may be more expensive than regular ones at present, but because you will be healthier in the future, you will be spending less on visits to the doctor and medication. These savings made in the long run will cumulatively outweigh the “costs” incurred.

Cost of going eco-friendly for energy

Today we are still highly dependent on fossil fuels. The available technologies to tap on these non-renewable energy sources are much more advanced and sophisticated than the infrastructure for renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. As a result, fossil fuels are much more cost-effective than the alternative renewable energies.

Nevertheless, the use of fossil fuels has caused loads of environmental problems – air pollution, global warming and disastrous climate change-induced events like floods, droughts and heat waves and severe, abnormal reversal of weather cycles. Not only do these occurrences endanger the lives of you and your loved ones, they also jeopardise the survival of humanity and other living species. We may not see the full-ranging impact of climate change right now, but its adverse effects are manifesting bit by bit, before our eyes. The threatened survival of our entire Earth could be the price we pay tomorrow, for the savings we make today from using cheaper fossil fuels – let’s ask ourselves if this is worthwhile.

It would be unrealistic to have fossil fuels totally replaced, particularly when the resources to tap on renewable energy sources are not developed to desired levels of efficiency yet. However, if more countries could invest time and money into such renewable energy plants, our reliance on fossil fuels would gradually be reduced, benefiting our environment and the lives of future generations in the longer term. Also, as fossil fuels become more scarce, their costs would also increase. Renewable energy sources would certainly play a great alternative if the world’s leaders are far-sighted about it.

The situation can be applied to a more micro level, in an individual household.

For example, an energy-saving refrigerator may be more expensive at the point of purchase, but the amount of savings in utility bills will exceed that significantly, over the years.

To conclude, being eco-friendly is without a doubt more expensive a lifestyle, but treat it as an investment for the future – for it’ll definitely bring about greater savings later down the road, with more rewards reaped. bio-home firmly believes in the principle of eco-friendliness, and we do so by creating a range of eco-friendly cleaning products that adds tremendous value to your life and your living environment. Find out more here.