International Bath Day may, on the surface, seem somewhat whimsical, but dig a little deeper and it can represent so much more than simply an appreciation for bath time. It can help us reassess how our bathroom habits and routines effect the environment, and it can be used as a springboard for positive change.

The day’s heritage is entrenched in Ancient Greece, when mathematician and scientist Archimedes leapt out of his bath screaming “eureka!” having made the discovery that an object’s volume can be measured accurately while it’s underwater. That fated day was 14th June.

Indeed, for children too, bath time can be a time for learning, understanding and discovery as bath toys create an opportunity to learn about the cause and effect of concepts like weight, floating and temperature.

For Archimedes, bath time was something of an unenjoyable necessity, but today it can be seen as a luxury; a chance to escape, detox and destress.

The stats tell us we shower to clean. 32% of the UK have a bath every week, while 83% shower every week. At Home with Water’s recent study revealed that showers are now the largest user of water in UK homes, taking up a quarter of the 9bn litres of water households use each day. That contributes to a £2.3 billion cost on heating water for showers each year.

Bath time now holds a different, more relaxing purpose.

So, we could look at International Bath Day as an opportunity to combine both of those entwined meanings; your bath tonight is chance to take a step back, take a deep breath and greater understand our surroundings and the consequences are actions have on them.

However, baths aren’t particularly great for the environment. They use more water – baths hold around 80 litres, whilst an eight-minute shower would only use around 62 litres – and a lot of energy is needed to heat the water. But life is stressful, so how can we offset bath time to make sure our bathroom routines are more environmentally friendly?

Much of the solution lies in reducing waste and eradicating the need for plastic. Plastic toothbrushes can be replaced with renewable bamboo brushes; shampoo soap bars or refillable glass bottles can usurp plastic shampoo bottles, all for the good of the environment. Grey water can be used to water plants and even flushing the toilet less can make a huge difference as flushing accounts for a third of the UK’s daily water usage.

On that, where waste isn’t the solution, changing our attitude is. A recent WWF study found that over half of people surveyed leave the tap running whilst brushing their teeth and 36% knowingly waste water. As the climate agenda grows louder, we can use International Bath Day to reassess our bathroom and water wasting habits to help make a positive difference for the planet by cutting out unnecessary waste and being far more conscious about the effect our bathroom routines have on the environment.

International Bath Day might be a time to remember but at WEPA UK it is a reminder that we must continue to evaluate our impact on a daily basis, that is why we continually review our eco-policies and look at ways of making our products and approaches more sustainable.