5 plastic free swaps
It’s Plastic Free July, and we’re here to talk about plastic-free swaps for your home.
Plastic pollution is currently choking our oceans and causing major destruction to our ecosystems.
Did you know that approximately only 9% of plastic is fully recycled? And that 10 million pounds of plastic is dumped into our oceans annually?
That’s equal to a dump truck full of plastic being tossed into our oceans every minute.
Yikes.
Here at Nature’s Bodega, we believe that even the small changes will help make a difference to our environmental impact and that this can start within our own homes.
Let’s dive into five beautiful plastic-free sustainable swaps that can replace your single-use or disposable plastic products:
We all know or are someone who loves plastic wrap. It’s cheap and easy to use, but the cost to the environment and even potentially your health is much greater.
We suggest swapping out your plastic wrap and replacing it with beeswax wraps. Not only do they mimic the natural skin of produce, but they also contain no harmful chemicals that can potentially leach into our food. They keep food fresh for longer and look beautiful at the same time with their designs. With all the different patterns available, we know you can find one that suits your style or home décor!
If you’d like to learn more about beeswax wraps, read our interview with Goldilocks about where they source their materials and all the wonderful uses of beeswax wraps!
Liquid dish soap is a staple in most homes. When we think of how many dishes we wash and how much soap we use, that’s an unsustainable amount of plastic waste.
Instead, we suggest a dish soap bar. These bars can replace up to six bottles of regular dish soap and contain no dyes, synthetic fragrances or palm oil. They are gentle on your skin and can also be used to take stains out of clothing and spot clean your carpets.
We love a versatile powerhouse dish soap!
The beauty industry is also another leading cause for plastic pollution. Instead of plastic bottled shampoo, we find that sustainable haircare with minimal to no packaging is a great swap.
Cue the shampoo and conditioner bars from Plenty + Spare. These beauties aren’t just for camping or traveling! They are full of clean ingredients that won’t harm your hair or the eco-system. They also come in recyclable paper packaging instead of plastic bottles.
Instead of replacing your disposable razor numerous times, try a safety razor. The blades can be recycled and are cheap to purchase in bulk compared to disposable plastic razors.
Making this switch will mean that you can help reduce the almost 2 billion razors that end up in our landfills each year.
Ps. Safety razors might look intimidating, but we have some tips and tricks to help ease your mind about the whole process and ensure you get a clean shave every time!
Just like disposable razors, we also have numerous other products (dish brushes, bottle bushes and more) in our home that end up in the landfills.
Toothbrushes for example, are made from polypropylene plastic and nylon which are materials sourced from non-reusable fossil fuels. When these are disposed of in the landfill it can take up to 500 years for them to decompose while they omit toxins into the environment. Another scary fact is that they not only end up in our oceans and beaches, but they can even be mistaken for food by marine animal life.
No thank you!
Well, let us introduce you to bamboo and all it's wonderful qualities that will make it a sustainable staple in your home. Did you know that bamboo fibres don’t need any toxic chemical treatments thanks to a natural substance called bamboo kun? This means that no nasty bacteria and microbes will grow on your bamboo brushes thanks to their natural anti-bacterial defence mechanism.
Naturally hygienic for the win!
If you’d like to introduce bamboo products into your household, Nature’s Bodega has toothbrushes, bottle and dish brushes, pot scrubbers, dish soap trays and more.
We hope that you have a great Plastic Free July, and if you have any additional products you'd like us to know about; we'd love to hear about them!
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