A North West entrepreneur has fast tracked the launch of a brand new business venture after discovering the lockdown has turned the nation green.
From wedding business owner to eco champion – business woman Joanne Maclachlan from Chorley – launched The Eco Friendly Living Co on 20th March, weeks earlier than planned and just as the nation went into lockdown.
The ecommerce business, which sells environmentally friendly products for the home, has seen huge demand for its planet friendly cleaning products, reusable face cloths, natural soaps and plastic-free alternatives, as more people seek out sustainable alternatives for the home.
In fact, recent research commissioned by Joanne discovered that 75 per cent of people in the UK believe that the lockdown has made them greener – with almost two thirds (62%) of those questioned saying that in recent weeks they have stopped throwing food away, making sure everything in their kitchen is eaten up. Whilst one in four have started to grow their own vegetables and herbs.
Support for local businesses has also increased significantly with 68 per cent of people in the UK opting to buy local – helping to keep small business afloat and reducing their carbon footprint at the same time.
Joanne, who prior to launching The Eco Friendly Living Company ran a successful wedding chair cover business said: “I sold my wedding business at the end of last year after nine years at the helm. I knew that I wanted to do something entirely different and after a trip to Namibia to work in an animal sanctuary and research facility I decided to turn my passion for the natural world into my next business venture. What I didn’t plan for was that it would launch at such an unprecedented time.
“I spent the first few months of 2020 researching and sourcing the very best eco friendly products for the home which aligned with the business’ reduce, reuse, recycle ethos. As the country started to move towards lockdown my initial reaction was that this would be a terrible time to launch a start-up, but in fact people across the UK have used this time to really pause and reflect on many areas of their lives and as a result demand for eco friendly products has soared.
“The consumer research revealed some really interesting insights into how people’s living habits have changed in just a matter of weeks – single use plastic usage is down, people are switching to reusable alternatives such as nappies and face cloths and food waste has decreased.
“What is more, people are claiming that these lifestyle changes are going to be permanent – 48 per cent of the people we questioned claimed that all of their new habits would continue throughout 2020 and beyond.
“What I aim to do is to make it as easy as possible for people to make these lifestyle switches – offering a wide range of environmentally friendly alternatives in one place that have been researched and tested by me. If people are going to make the leap into a new way of living then I want to ensure that the products they switch to are as good, if not better than the ones they are so used to using.
“It is extremely heartening that we can take some positives out of what is a very difficult situation and that the simple lifestyle changes that people are committing to now will have a long term positive impact on the environment.”
