We sat down with Head of Sustainability, Amy, over a dram of her very own Quiet Rebels release, to chat about her top tips for sustainable living and also her favourite brands across Scotland.
AMY'S TOP THREE SUSTAINABLE LIVING HACKS
1. AVOID PACKAGING IF YOU CAN
What can you buy that doesn’t need to be wrapped or packaged? Think veg, fruit and household goods like soaps and sprays. Lots of local stores now offer refills for household essentials and food without plastic – if they don’t, ask them! This could spur on a conversation in their business about offering this going forward.
2. GROW WHAT YOU CAN AND FILL YOUR FREEZER
It's surprisingly easy to grow veg or salad even in small spaces or on window sills. Nature literally does all the work, and you can enjoy fresh food at very little cost. If you can't grow, you can always forage.. It's amazing how much food is out there when you look! I stuff my freezer with fruit like blackberries and wild raspberries, and dry lots of mushrooms this time of year, and if I am lucky it will see me through the whole winter. Remember to consult an expert before you start dabbling in foraging, or book yourself onto a course to learn about what is safe to eat and what is not. We are lucky to have the brilliant Clare Holohan (West Highland Herbal) here on the Morvern peninsula, but there are plenty of expert foragers across the globe who can help.
3. CHANGE UP YOUR ELECTRICITY
Shop around and switch your electricity to a renewable energy tariff. This is one of the best and easiest things you can do to support a greener future. Lots of green tariffs are very competitive, if not cheaper, than fossil fuel electric, so it’s a no brainer!
AMY'S FAVOURITE SCOTTISH COMPANIES WHO ARE DOING GOOD IN THE GREEN SPACE
1. BEER
Trying to pick my favourite beer is about as fair as asking someone which of their children they like more. However, there are three breweries whose beer I really admire for their flavour and organic principles and these are Futtle Brewery, Dun brewing and Black Isle Brewery. Located In very different corners of Scotland – but very much worth going out of your way to drink their wares!
2. CHEESE
Cheese has a very secure place in my heart, and one of my favourite places to go for full submersion in a world of cheesy goodness is the Connage Highland Dairy (who make delicious organic cheese) and stock an amazing variety of other cheeses that you can try! I also need to give a BIG shout out to the The Ethical Dairy in Dumfries and Galloway who are an amazing cow with calf dairy. Their Bluebell cheese is utterly divine and top of my Christmas cheeseboard list!
Image credit: The Ethical Dairy
3. TARTAN
Scotland is synonymous with Tartan and of course, the Kilt – and sustainable clothing is something that you have to look pretty hard for anywhere. However, there are a couple of great brands that I have come across on my travels around Scotland cutting some exceptional cloth for modern living. They are Ardalanish Weavers on Mull and Prickly Thistle in Inverness.
Image credit: Ardalanish Isle of Mull Weavers
4. PLACES TO EAT / VISIT / SHOP
One brand that I have come across in the last few years, which I found very impressive - aren’t just selling products, but an alternative to a broken food system. This is Bowhouse in Fife. It’s a farm steading that houses a local producers market, a butchery – filled with their regenerative grass fed meat, a mill and bakery supplied with grains from their fields, an incredible restaurant and café showcasing the best that their land has to offer. AND is the home of the aforementioned Futtle brewery. They host a great organic festival once a year for talks, sustainability, music and family fun.
The Free Company just outside Edinburgh too is SUPER cool and operating along very similar sustainable lines – we had our staff party their last year and it was great!
Image credit: The Free Company
5. HERBAL MEDICINE AND LIVING GREEN
I couldn’t talk about my favourite brands without giving the love to one of my best friends Clare Holohan (mentioned earlier), who has taught me so much about sustainable living and the power of nature. She is West Highland Herbal, and is almost single-handedly responsible for keeping me in great health and healing my wounds and ailments when needed.
Credit: Nc'nean (Clare, left, Amy, right)
If you fancy delving into the world of Amy a little more, check out her Quiet Rebels Whisky release here, or read our latest sustainability report here which highlights what Amy and the team are doing to reduce our carbon footprint and respect our beautiful surroundings