Plastic Free July On A Shoe String
I wanted to do a little write up about Plastic Free July that didn’t focus so much on all the things you can buy to get that warm fuzzy eco warrior feeling - because it seems these days so much of the conversation has become centered around consumerism, having the perfect plastic free kitchen that is oh so instagramable and essentially unattainable for the vast majority of us.
Most of us know that using plastic straws = ‘bad’ and that taking a tote bag with you to the shop is better than buying a 10p plastic one at the till. But if we’re honest with ourselves, how many tote bags have we now got piling up in the pantry? The amount of energy it takes to produce a cotton bag vs a plastic one is huge, so when the totes start piling up, swapping one for the other is simply counterproductive.
Instead I wanted to focus on the things we can do to sustainably reduce our carbon footprint, and while this does include the reduction of single use plastics, as with all things, it’s a little more complicated.
UGLY KITCHENS
As I mentioned above, we’ve all seen the rise in Instagram videos of someone’s perfect larder, with all their grains in perfectly matching kilner jars and ordered by colour. (See Shabazsays on Instagram or tik tok for examples and if you want a laugh) And they are beautiful, yes, and dreamy to watch, but in the end they just make us feel bad that we aren’t living that ‘perfect’ eco friendly lifestyle.
But the fact is that it is far more eco friendly and sustainable to re-use the jars we already purchase - that old Hellmans mayonnaise jar? Sterilize it and use it to store your rice. Jam jars, pesto or old Jalapeño jars - Keep them! Will your larder look like the epitome of serenity and order? Maybe not, but it’s preferable to forking out a load of money on Amazon just to achieve a feeling of consistency.
2 FROZEN PRODUCE
Now this one might seem counterintuitive, as pretty much all of the frozen fruit and veg available to use come in plastic packaging. But this point centres more around food waste and ways that we can reduce it. There has been a big move of late focusing on having fresh produce from our local independent, and this is great, we’re all for shopping local and trying to get the best quality grub you can get your hands on. But for some of us this is simply unsustainable
How many of us have gone out to do a weekly shop with the best intentions of creating beautiful nutrient dense meals for the entire week, only to find the spinach wilting at the back of the fridge and that cauliflower turning suspiciously brown. If you live on your own, this problem is only magnified.
If like many of us your not able to shop local or from the farmers market, you’ll likely be getting your food from your local supermarket, in the end it’s more affordable and, to their credit, there have been some big moves to reduce the plastic covering on their veggies. But the problem with this veg is that it’s imported, which means it’s picked before its actually ripe - so that it can ripen on the long journey to your store. What does this mean? Poor tasting food with less nutritional density.
Frozen foods on the other hand, are picked at their peak ripeness. They can be stored for longer periods of time and they generally cost the same if not a bit cheaper. No more mouldy carrots at the bottom of the fridge, they’re safely tucked away awaiting your next meal.
Now we just need to campaign to get those Petite Pois packaged in cardboard instead of plastic and we’re good to go
3. SUSTAINABLE FASHION
The world of fast fashion is fast becoming one of the largest pollutants going these days, with companies like Shein producing 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide per anum. This together with the problem of sweat shops, plastic waste and the tons of clothes that end up on landfill, it’s no question that this is a problem.
Now one solution is to buy handmade clothes from a small business, Nadinoo, Phydra and walkerandwalker are a few of our favorites. Made from recyclable, natural materials, these kinds of clothes tend to be durable, immune to the constant change in what is ‘trendy’ and help by putting money into the pockets of the little people - not big conglomerates.
These items come with a larger price tag, and so they should, these makers have put in hours of work to create these beautiful items, so if you can afford it, it’s always best to shop this way. But if you can’t, that’s ok too, because there is another solution - buy second hand clothes.
Head down to your local chazza (that’s Bristolian for Charity Shop), organise a clothes swap with friends, or even buy second hand online. Anything to disrupt the chain of demand for polyester dresses made by underpaid labourers that puts money into the pockets of the already mega rich - sorry if I’m getting too political - but you get the point.
Where possible opt for natural fibres; cotton, linen, hemp and even wool (i know this one is controversial) but all of these fibres come from the earth and will one day return to it. Just like nature intended.
4. MAKE YOUR OWN
I don't want to use this write up as a place to promote the products we ourselves make, because that would defeat the point of this article. So instead I want to encourage you to take a look at making your own skin care products. The amount of plastic waste that gets pumped out by the beauty industry is insane, and so taking a bit of time to make your own skin and hair care can make all the difference ( it’s also really fun!)
We have a few recipes up on the blog that you can take a look at for simple recipes to try, but if you were really interested in looking further I like to scroll through Humble Bee and Me in my spare time (yes I really am that lame) She’s got a load of great info on what does and doesn’t work and can take you a bit further down your makers journey if that’s something your interested in
5. IMPERFECT PERFECTION
The list goes on, but I just wanted to repeat a phrase I’ve seen bobbing about on the internet quite a bit
‘We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.’
And I really think they are words to live by. I hope we can all make a little difference this July, and remember to have fun with it, we can’t all be perfect all the time but the little steps we take make all the difference
Signing off now..
WILD SAGE + Co
Simple
Honest
+ Good
