With Allergy Awareness Week well underway in the UK this week, the team here are Little Soap have been looking at ways in which we can support this important campaign. Part of being a responsible world citizen is caring for not only the planet and the living creatures around us, but for our fellow humans too. A staggering 21 million adults in the UK currently suffer from allergies, and one of the biggest culprits is the air that we breathe every single day. This year’s Allergy Awareness theme aims to raise awareness of that, and to educate the nation on how we can all help to reduce air pollution. With this in mind, we’ve drawn up a list of three little changes that you can make right now, along with some solutions on taking the day away and caring for your mind and body when it needs it most.
Make a pledge to walk more
Walking to work, or the gym, or the shops can make a HUGE difference. Every time we get into our cars to drive short distances we are polluting an already polluted atmosphere, and we’re making the lives of those with allergies that much worse too. Make a pledge now: if you can walk it, then walk it. And if you can’t walk it? Take the bus. Or the train. Or rope your colleagues and friends into a car share scheme. Reduce the amount of pollutants you put into the air so that we can all breathe easily.
At the end of a busy day, fight back against the pollutants in the air with a soothing hot cloth facial cleanser. Our Organic English Bar Soap with Peppermint and Poppyseed has invigorating and healing properties that will take the day away and leave your skin refreshed and ready for anything.
Bonus tip: take things a little further and pledge to shop local too. When you buy from small shops, not only are you supporting a small business, but you are opting out of the bigger business of consuming products that need to be shipped in and transported across the country to the supermarket shelves. We understand that this isn’t always a valid option, but where it is then shopping local should always be a priority- especially when you factor in the damage that is caused when products are flown into the UK too.
Overhaul your way of eating
We’re huge advocates of living a vegan lifestyle, but did you know that just one day of eating plant based per week can make a really impactful change on air pollution? If everyone in the UK gave up eating meat for just one day each week, we could make such immense reductions in CO2 emissions- not to mention we’d reduce water usage by 13 million tonnes and save up to 5,700 acres of land.
The pollutants that are created during the production of animal products contributes towards the poor air quality that so many allergy 
sufferers have to deal with on a daily basis. If we can cut that down so easily, why wouldn’t we?
Eating a plant based diet can help to reduce allergy symptoms, improve weight loss and soothe skin complaints such as eczema. All of our products at Little Soap Company are vegan, which means that you can rely on us to support you in your new way of eating.
Bonus tip: make a pledge to try one new recipe a week, and transition slowly towards a plant based lifestyle that you can sustain.
Choose to live a sustainable life
Studies have found that premature deaths caused by air pollution occurred in countries that produce cheap products that are exported across the world for us to buy. These products contain synthetic ingredients that not only aggravate our bodies but ultimately contribute towards the destruction of our planet. Go natural. It’s the only answer.
As a nation, we currently over-consume and this unsustainable way of life is causing higher levels of pollution and increasing carbon emissions to dangerous levels. Our consumption of cheap, highly manufactured products affect pollution levels globally and we all have a responsibility to address this.
Bonus tip: make a pledge to buy natural, sustainable products that do not contribute towards outdoor air pollution. Choose products with natural ingredients wherever possible and give your support to local companies that are committed to sustainable manufacturing procedures, making attempts to reduce pollution in the air.
