Here at Flora & Fauna, we’ve been overwhelmed with positive feedback and comments regarding Plastic Free July. So many of you have embraced the experience and helped one another by sharing tips, do’s and don’ts and encouraging words of advice.
Change is happening in our homes, schools, workplaces, and communities – both in our collective actions and in the way we think about plastic usage. Governments and businesses are noticing this widespread change, so let’s keep the momentum going - plastic-free for life, not just July!
Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental issues that we’re facing today, so it’s essential that everyone plays their part and makes an effort to reduce their overall plastic waste. At Flora & Fauna, we want to encourage you to make lifelong changes in how you think about, purchase, and dispose of plastic.
Firstly, rethink the importance of convenience!
Collectively, we need to slow down in life and place less importance on convenience. The average person leads a busy life; therefore, everything is marketed as a quick and easy solution to our problems. Forgot your water bottle? No problem! Just grab a disposable plastic one on your way to work. Need coffee? Easy! Just pick one up in a disposable cup on your lunch break.
Plastic has revolutionised the way we live, work and shop. But our throwaway culture means that plastic products are purchased, used once and discarded in mass quantities. This applies to food, homewares, clothes, appliances, technology, and toys – everything is cheaply made and designed to break down or expire in a shorter amount of time, which urges the consumer to replace the item for an even cheaper price. It’s a vicious cycle that we need to break!
The solution?
- Invest in items that will last - or buy second hand from op shops. Considered purchases really are key to cutting down on items we just don't need.
- Remember your reusable items before you leave the house! Bringing your coffee cup, water bottle, food containers, and cutlery will prevent you from purchasing disposable plastics. We have a fantastic range of on the go reusables here at F&F.
- If an item breaks or is no longer needed, either fix it, swap it with someone else instead of throwing it out, or upcycle it to give it a new life.
- Recycle responsibly. Unfortunately, recycling in your household bin is getting more and more difficult. Programs like our Terracycle Recycling Program really help you to know that smaller plastic items like beauty containers are getting disposed of responsibly.
Buy whole foods (and preferably in bulk!)
Plastic Free July is a wonderful initiative because it helps us understand how much plastic we’re buying in a variety of different places. A lot of the plastic that comes into our home is in the form of food packaging. To combat this plastic waste:
- Buy staple items in bulk (pasta, beans, rice, nuts, oats etc.)
- Bring reusable produce bags to replace the flimsy plastic ones in the supermarkets. Our Green + Kind Organic Cotton Produce Bag Set is perfect for bulk food shopping and fruits/veggies.
- Make your own bread or store a freshly baked loaf in the Onya Reusable Bread Bag. The bag is freezable and eliminates the need for bread wrapped in plastic!
Make some long-term swaps around the house
Swapping out plastic products has never been easier. Think about all the products in your bathroom, kitchen and laundry that are packaged in plastic: shampoo/conditioner, body wash, cleaning products, sponges/scrubbers, cling wrap, laundry liquid… the list is never-ending!
Imagine the number of household products that you use every week heading to landfill, then imagine that number multiplied by every house on your street.
Luckily, there is a solution;
- Swap your bottled shampoo and conditioner for a bar option. More info and tips here!
- Swap plastic food storage options for reusable vegan wraps, food covers, or food bags.
- Swap your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo one, like our Flora & Fauna Bamboo Brush!
- Swap your conventional laundry liquid for all-natural soapberries (they're zero waste, and they really work!)
- For a full list of plastic-free tips around the home, check out this blog post.
Remember that change doesn’t always happen overnight! Implementing even a few of these ideas into your routine will create such a positive difference for our planet. Good luck!
