I’m writing this post because someone said to me that they genuinely don’t know where to look, or what to look for, regarding sustainable alternatives to normal supermarket buys.
I always look for the sustainable alternative, which takes some hunting down on the internet, but the algorithms on social media give me adverts for things that I might like so it gets easier! However, many people don’t have the time to look around for other things. I have also been doing this for many years and have tried and tested many brands to find what I consider are the best and cheapest options. This is just my opinion and I’m in no way affiliated with any of these brands. It’s what I use, and I’m sure there’s other options out there, so I’ll update if I change my ways or buy something different.
I should start by saying that I hate plastic waste. I know it’s completely unavoidable in our society, but I do try and reduce it as much as possible. I learnt so much about the environmental impacts of plastic waste and I’ve since learned that people don’t know / don’t care / don’t have the time to look into it. Did you know that only 9% of plastic ever produced has been recycled? That’s wild. There are multiple online sources that will back me up, and there’s some interesting reading out there [1][2] (I could go on). So, I do my best to recycle the plastics I can’t avoid (this includes taking my soft plastics to the supermarket) and buying as many products as I can that don’t use plastic in the first place.
So here goes…
Toilet roll and kitchen roll: I buy mine from Naked Paper – it’s unbleached, so it isn’t white, but I did think heavily about bleach going into the water system and the effect it would have on aquatic wildlife and went for unbleached. It comes in a cardboard box and their delivery times are really fast (1-3 working days). No plastic to be seen here! And I’ve never had a problem with the softness or anything.
Laundry capsules: I get mine from Smol, which are great and I also get my kitchen and bathroom spray from there. They do loads of products. The kitchen and bathroom sprays come with an initial plastic bottle which you then refill with water and a tablet, which dissolves and turns it into kitchen spray. So yes, it’s one plastic bottle, but in my mind that’s better than buying one, using it up then buying another one. You keep the same one forever, and then you just buy the tablets. I see that they’re now doing hand wash but I’ve got about 20 bars of soap that people have gifted me to get through first!
Toothpaste: I get toothpaste tablets from Smyle. I get the mint ones and cannot comment on the other flavours because I haven’t tried them. The mint ones are minty fresh. To start with you get a glass bottle to put them in but after that, you get packets of tablets (the packets are paper). You crunch them up in your mouth, wet your toothbrush, then off you go. They don’t foam in your mouth because they don’t contain sodium laurel sulphate which is what they add to shampoo and toothpaste to make it foam up.
Toothbrush heads: I use an electric toothbrush, but I get the heads from Brushd which come with an envelope to send the used ones back in so they can recycle them. They have a lot of sustainable oral care products on their website. I see they do toothpaste tablets but I haven’t tried them.
Washing up sponges: I get these from Amazon. They’re made from plants and last for ages. And when you need a new one, you can put the old one in the food recycling bin. The sponges you get from the supermarket are made from plastic and last for much less time. These are an investment. I bought a box in October and I’ve only used one so far.
Wet wipes: I get these, again from Amazon, which are biodegradable, so I save them up and put them in the food bin. A lot of wet wipes contain plastic so they never break down. I watched this video about ‘wet wipe island’ in London, which comes from people flushing wet wipes down the toilet (remember the three Ps people – the only things you should put in the toilet are pee, poo, and paper), although I did hear that the government are considering banning plastic in wipes because of this issue.
Water filters: I use a Brita filter kettle, so you put water in the top, it goes through the filter, and you end up with nice-tasting water in your kettle. I got annoyed with the fact that every time the filter was done, you had to replace it with a new one. Then I found Phox, which sends you carbon to refill the filter. You get an initial plastic filter which you then refill when the carbon is used up. Again, no plastic waste as you keep reusing the same one.
Sandwich bags: I get these from Amazon and when they are done, you can put them in the food bin.
Beeswax wraps: I use these instead of cling film, which is a single-use plastic. They are widely available, but I get mine from Etsy. You use them, wipe them clean, and they’re ready to go again. They mould to the container you put them over.
Soap saver: I use soap instead of hand wash, and you know those ends you get left with? I put them in a soap saver and use it in the shower. It’s exfoliating and means I don’t have to buy plastic bottles of shower gel.
So that’s all I can think of right now. Like I said, I’m not affiliated with or advertising for these brands. This is just what I use.
And I don’t like giving money to Jeff Bezos but Amazon is easy and cheap. I’m sure there’s other outlets out there.
Go forth and prosper in your quest for plastic reduction!
🦡💚🦡
Tingly Badger's Journey So Far 