Shane Watson

Six ways to prove that you have eco appeal

Remember when we were out there looking for The One, there were a few standard non-negotiables: a reasonable standard of personal hygiene; basic domestic skills (grade one cooking, not necessarily up to a marinade but certainly eggs); being solvent/ not addicted to alcohol; having a driving licence. More recently, there’s been a shift towards emotional intelligence and self-care. You want a chap who isn’t embarrassed to apply sun cream, go to therapy, cry during

Paddington 2, or earn less than his wife. It would not be too much of an exaggeration to say that half the non-negotiables now were not even on the list a few years ago. And top of these is eco awareness.

As of summer 2019, eco appeal is up there with sex appeal.

Twenty-three per cent of singles think being eco friendly is a must-have quality in a potential partner, according to eharmony, and this is not just hot air. Most of those surveyed would not consider a second date with someone if they caught them littering. They would kick Roger Federer out of bed if, when asked “Where’s your recycling”, he said: “Er… no idea. Just chuck it over there under the hot lamp next to the microbeads.” Modern daters like a man with a dog, but wouldn’t make it to the end of the first date if he didn’t have a poo bag at the ready in the park.

If you are looking for love, you need to work on your eco appeal, and you would be wise to bone up on the basic rules:

When heading to the supermarket, don’t forget your bag for life

What could be excused as flakiness a year ago is now about as flaky as buying slippers made out of baby seals. Similarly, you don’t have to have your own stainless steel water bottle (yet), but you will notice the bloke sipping from the single-use plastic water bottle, the same way you notice the person with their feet up on the train seat.

Beware fast food

You can’t cheat with food any more, it’s really unsexy – the two-for-one battery chicken, the reduced turkey crown, or even the let’s-get-a-kebab-take-out solution. Total turn-off. Likewise, wasting food, because you bought way too much and you’d rather buy even more than eat two-day-old salad, is not hot. Creative cooking with leftovers, by men, is the new equivalent of cradling a baby on a muscular bare chest. It scores high on desirable points.

Same goes for fast fashion

Don’t say: “I just buy a ton of T-shirts, that way they’re always bright white.” No, no. Might as well say: “This? They must have killed some cheetahs, I suppose, who cares? It’s such a pretty pattern.”

Don’t be a pointless petrolhead

Better to be a paddleboarder than the Made in Chelsea type in the Vilebrequin shorts on the jet ski, if you want to attract girls on the beach. Even better, be the one picking up plastic waste in cave mouths. Litter-picking on holiday might once have marked you out as a loser – now it’s the opposite and the blokes with the ghetto blaster on the beach, who have left the AC on full in their room, are the losers (so Eighties).

Don’t be suspicious of vegans

Vegetarianism now is as unremarkable as beards and it’s not fantastically precious, as previously assumed, it’s eco aware. Being vegan is OK, too. Generally making a huge hoo-ha about where everything is sourced shows you care and you’re informed. (Apparently, jackfruit is the next big meat substitute, if you’re interested.) Also note, responsible organic farming: v attractive.

Don’t be a thoughtless smoker

Who knew it would come to this, but it has. If you stub your cigarette butt out on the pavement, it’s a new dealbreaker. We probably did it ourselves once – all the time, but that is the whole point. Now everything looks different.

Creative cooking is the new muscular bare chest