During Plastic-Free July, we’re challenging ourselves, our friends and families, and our households to refuse single-use plastics and be part of the solution to plastic pollution around the world.
The global movement encourages us at home to reevaluate the products we buy, but it also encourages businesses to interrogate their own practices — something they really should be doing already. And we’ve started to see moves from the major players that would indicate they’re listening. Coles recently announced it would take single-use tablewear off the shelves, and LEGO revealed it is working on a new brick made from recycled plastics.
At home, there’s plenty you can do to shift your way of living to a more sustainable one. Whether it’s starting a soft plastics recycling bin or investing in these eco-friendly and plastic-free alternatives to common products in the home.
Plastic-Free Starter Kit
Let’s cover the basics, shall we? It can be challenging and costly to overhaul your kitchen in one go, which is why we love this Kappi starter kit from Nash + Banks. It comes with two organic grocery bags, three cotton mesh produce bags, two reusable silicone ziplock bags, a grab-and-go bamboo cutlery set complete with smoothie straws and chopsticks, two dish brushes, three compostable kitchen sponges and six stretch lids. All for $85.
TOM Organic Period Products
Those who menstruate can significantly reduce their environmental impacts by switching to more climate-conscious period products. Traditional period products come packaged in plastic and are often found with plastics in the products themselves. But TOM is doing things differently by looking out for you and the environment at the same time. TOM’s Period Briefs are made from breathable cotton and are washable, so they can be used time and time again. The Period Cup is made from 100% medical-grade silicone, and basically renders the need for disposable period products of any kind.
Refillable Cleaning Products
Investing in refillable home cleaning products is a super effective way to reduce your impact at home for more than one reason. First, more often than not, refillable cleaning solutions are free of nasty chemicals that contribute to the destruction of the environment, and second, the model revolves around using the same bottle, which means fewer new plastic bottles made and sent to landfill.
Our favourite players in the space include Pleasant State— which delivers durable reusable silicone spray bottles and dissolvable bars in compostable wrappers that transform into cleaning solution when placed in water — and ZeroCo, which delivers a chic range of refillable and reusable dispensers made from recycled ocean plastic filled with eco-friendly solutions like laundry detergent and body wash.
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