There comes a point when living plastic-free means making stuff. Sometime you just cannot buy what you want and so your only option is to get all Blue Peter, source the ingredients and actually produce something. Turns out it’s quite fun and not that hard! Here are some of the skills I have mastered..erm….sort of ….maybe.
Sew
Making your own clothes is probably the only way to get them totally plastic-free. Plus the only way I can afford fair trade organic clothes is make them myself. And I get to support local fabric shops
How, why and where to buy can be found here
Its quicker then trying to choose between a hundred different shampoos and it’s really simple, fun to do, so much cheaper and I get to control what goes on my body, where it comes from and what environmental impact it has.
i don’t make many cleaning products. I use bicarb neat and occasionally vinegar. Mostly I scrub with natural bristles. You can read about my cleaning products HERE
Compost
Take control of your own waste and make plant food Here
up-cycling plastic is a good way to use up waste plastic. Have a look at what these talented folk have done over in the arty crafty part of this blog and check out my PINTEREST board. Lovely but by no means the answer to plastic over consumption.
N.B. lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
Imagine a world where you returned your empty milk bottles to be refilled and took your washing up liquid bottle back for more of the soapy stuff. Seems such an obvious way to save resources and cut waste doesn’t it? Well thankfully a few far seeing people still offer such great services. You can find them here.
Any we forgot? Please let us know in the comments section below. Together we can make changes!
Here is a one of the worlds finest inventions as radical in its time as the computer has been in ... Read More
Reusables
I don’t think theres enough said about reusing stuff. By which I don’t mean recycling – recycling is great but it usually means the waste product is taken away then processed into something else.
We really don’t need a new bag every time we buy some beans. A cotton reusable bag is more than good enough. Yet we have become such a throwaway society we have almost forgotten about reusables.
Here are some products that dont need to be thrown away after a few uses.
Disposables
Sometime you need a disposable and when you do it has to be compostable. Here are biodegradable bags for the butcher, paper cups for the office party and plastic free tampons. To name but a few. Find them here
There comes a time in every plastivists life when there really is no alternative – what you want only comes plastic wrapped. Of course there is the truly noble option of doing with out giving it up completely. And for some products this is an option. Crisps for instance. But toilet paper?
Here are your options
Toilet rolls – loose or in compostable wrap
Cheap boxes of tissues.
Water & Hand
Water & Wipe
Toilet Paper
Yes it is hard to find plastic free loo roll but not impossible.
You can sometimes buy loose rolls from the corner shop. Many asian supermarkets sell them this way.
Or these that come in compostable packaging. More information and suppliers here
Cheap boxes of tissues.
Not just for economic reasons. Expensive boxes of tissues tend to be reinforced with plastic.
There is the jug of water and washing method. For this you will need a jug or bottle of water.
Fill the bottle/jug with water
pour the water over the affected area.
Clean with your hand
Dry
Ooo and don’t forget to wash your hands afterwards, with soap – though I am guessing I didn’t I need to tell you that.
Sounds grim but feels really clean.
If you do become converted you can get flexible hoses plumbed in which make the job much easier.
When in India (and other places) I am quite happy to use this method. You can find out how to make your own portable backpackers bum washer here.
But back in England…. well most visitors to my house would fall down and die if called on to wash their bum with their bare hands so it’s back to loo roll. If I was really deep green I could use….
Poop Cloths
There are hardcore greens who use washable poop rags. Yes they are exactly what they sound like. Two problem with this – the first, as before, screaming visitors fleeing the bathroom; the second, a screaming me. I can not regard this option with anything other than horror. Washable nappies yes- but adult poop… urghhhhh. See, everyone has their sticking point.
Water & Wipe
A combination of the above. Wash first with water – no hand then wipe using a moistened tissue. You will use much less tissue this way. Or if you prefer reusables, your cloth will need far less cleaning.
Although I use natural cleaning products like soap, bicarbonate of soda and occasionally Ecover cleaning products, I prefer not to. Cold water and elbow grease clears most things. I know I sound dreadfully Victorian, and house proud, but really I am not. It’s just that even home-made scouring powders involve some plastic and of course represent some environmental impact. It seems a waste of product when a good scrub does the job just as well.
But you need to have a good range of scrubbers on hand. I use everything from bristle brushes to wire wool to get the job done. In my opinion natural products are good to go most of the time but occasionally synthetics come into their own.
This is my list of scourers in order of toughness
Knitted metal ribbon pad – the big boys of the scouring world will shift almost anything can not be used on plastic, non stick or delicate surfaces.
Luffa a natural and renewable plant product rather more abrasive than a cloth but still pretty soft. Good for cleaning plastic baths and washing up (not the same luffa obv.) Get them here
Synthetic scouring pads are good, where metal is too much and might leave black marks – think tiles but luffa too weak. Plastic scourers are ideal for burnt on non stick pans (though after reading this you might want to phase out the non stick and so the need for plastic scourers). However they are plastic and while I do occasionally use them, I am not entirely happy recommending them. When I have to, I use these recycled products that come sustainably packaged.
Coconut Pads – while not quite as powerful as synthetic pads they are a good, non-plastic alternative.
Natural Bristle Brushes in a range of stiffness great for general cleaning, crevices, non stick pans and vegetables,
And finally for completely friction free wiping you cant do better than these biodegradable cellulose Sponges
I don’t use kitchen roll. I have cotton dishcloths that can be used to wipe up spills, loo roll for sticky fingers and cotton napkins for fine dining but if this is your thing you can now get it plastic free.
THIRSTY & STRONG!
Our 100% biodegradable paper towels comes in a convenient 2 roll pack with each roll having 80 sheets.
12 packs of 2 rolls. Each roll 80 sheets, 2 ply.
Total 24 rolls per carton.
Wrapped in biodegradable cellophane and sent to your door in a cardboard box. More details More
These days most of us automatically reach for the teabags but is that really the best choice? Certainly not from a plastic free zero waste point of veiw.
Nasty Bags
Whats in your tea bag? Paper and tea you wish but actually no. Most do in fact contain plastic and so are only between 70-80% biodegradable. And chlorine bleached. Read more HERE.
There are plastic / chlorine free bags out there but they are very expensive and often come packed in plastic read about them here.
How To Use Loose Tea
In short, loose tea is a better option. But it may seem daunting. It’s not. Here is a guide on how to make the perfect cuppa.
Buy
First you will need to source some loose tea. Not as hard ad you think thanks to PG Tips. Find out more HERE
Pots, Strainers & Balls to you Mrs!
Next you will need a teapot and, unless you fancy taking up fortune telling, something to stop the leaves getting in your cup. You can get great teapots from charity shops. I favor the stainless steel 70s version, good for traveling in the van with. You can get all metal tea strainers if you look. Try the market, Ebay or Amazon. I am not a big fan of tea strainers. They dribble and you need a saucer to put them on. And you have the icky job of removing the tea leaves from the pot afterwards, a soggy business at the best of times. No, I like these mesh balls. You put the tea in them then put them in the pot. At the end you empty them in the compost bin without worrying about nasty plastic mesh. Easy as! You can even get some teapots that have integrated diffusers built in.
Just One Cup?
If you are brewing up for the WI, a teapot is fine but what when you want a quick cuppa for one? You can get cotton bags that you can fill to make your own reusable teabags but really who can be bothered with that kind of faff.
I have found that a steel mesh single cup infuser works perfectly. It sits on your mug, you fill it with loose tea, let the brew, brew then remove. Really no effort at all and very easy to empty into the compost bin after. Mine was given as a gift but I have found something similar on Amazon
Brewing Up
So now we are good to go. Put the leaves in the pot (or the mesh ball first) add boiling water and let it brew.
and again…
Don’t be so quick to empty the pot. You ca muse those leaves again to make a fresh pot. Even keep them in the fridge and reuse the next day.
When the tea gets a bit weak you can ad a pinch more.
Honestly. I learnt this from the Chinese tea shop where they sell 50 year old tea for a hundreds of dollars a gram. Yes apparently tea, like wine, does improve with age. Who knew?
Being committed to local shopping I prefer to buy that way whenever possible. I would encourage you to do the same. One of the joys of living plastic free is mooching round the local shops seeing what you can source.
If you can’t buy local, please do check the links in the posts. They link direct to the suppliers. Do consider buying from them and support their online businesses.
If you can’t do that then I have put together and Amazon catalogue. Yes I know…
Amazon is a very dirty word at the moment and I thought long and hard before suggesting them. Heres why I went ahead….. No we are not entirely happy with Amazons recent history. However these links are for 3rd party sellers, we have always found the Amazon service to be good and their packaging usually compostable. In the absence of anything else we feel we can recommend them.
If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project (read more here) or
SaveSaveSaveSave
N.B. lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
One of the real joys of buying #plasticfree is sourcing the stuff in local shops. The excitement when you see milk in glass bottle in the newsagents is beyond words.
But sometime you have to buy on line. And then you come up against the prickly problem of packaging
There is nothing that enrages plastic activist in me more than researching a product that claims to be plastic free and environmentally friendly, purchase online, wait eagerly only to find it comes plastic packed.
Plastic free and plastic reduced products are of course a great step forward in the battle against plastic. But when I am buying a product I want to know how the product is packaged. There is little point buying a wooden comb if it comes in a plastic bag.
If it comes via an online, postal service, onward packaging needs to be stated. I want to know how the product will be packed and the more information the better. Down to what kind of tape is used (whether it is plastic or not) and whether the invoice will be in a plastic bag on the front of the box.
Which is why I like he following companies who offer plastic free products but also consider the onward packaging.
N.B. But no matter what I say, check and double check for yourself. One mans plastic free is another’s little bit of sticky tape.
These guys are super keen plastic free suppliers
Loose Foods
This is stuff that that normally comes plastic packaged like beans, dried fruit and pasta.
While there are an increasing number of shops selling loose food they are still few and far between, not everyone has local shops and supermarkets love plastic packaging. Don’t despair if there is nowhere near you selling rubbish free food, you might be interested in this option. It is possible to buy food online loose and plasticfree. You can even use your own cotton produce bags for some things. Read more here
N.B. Prefer the high street? You can see if a shop near you sells food loose via this list of towns
General, Household & Personal
From soap refills to soap dishes, almost everything you need for a plastic free life. posted out to you plastic free.
Myriadonlinefor toys and craft supplies. Use cardboard and paper packaging including paper parcel tape.
A really lovely shop full of wooden toys and wool felt balls. Recommend you have a look HERE
More
Most of the products featured on the blog have an online option to buy. It is always worth contacting businesses and asking if they can post you product plastic free. Offer to cover the costs of a cardboard box if needs be.
Look here for individual products.
We a try to link directly with a business we know and have used but we cannot always do this. And sometimes cost considerations mean we want to offer a range of options in different price brackets. In these cases we try to find other more affordable on Amazon.
Amazon is a very dirty word at the moment and I thought long and hard before suggesting them. No we are not happy with Amazons recent history. However, we have always found their service to be good and their packaging usually cardboard and so compostable. Though of course this cannot be guaranteed. You can read more of our reasons in the post.
lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
And before you go…
If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project (read more here) or
Which wrap should you choose? Well we prefer reusables over all else so here are some wraps you can use over and over again…
Reusable Wraps
Wrap your presents in cloth and tie with string
Or just use cloth and the ancient Japanese method of knotting. Called furoshiki. YOu can find more info here .
Try this reusable crackle paper made from recycled tents.
Make or buy a fabric gift bag
Try this stretch wrap from Wragwrap
fabric bottle bag from Wragwrap
Disposable Paper
As much as we love reusable gift wrap and bags, you have to know someone pretty well before you can snatch back the wrapping once the gift is opened. Gifting for the first time? Maybe consider a disposable paper wrapping.
Shop local – You can still buy gift wrap in single, unpackaged sheets from card and book shops. Or check out brown paper packages, other cheap wraps and plantable paper.Read more and find purchase details here
Of course one way to get the most out of your wrapping paper is to reuse it. In which case you done want it torn off. Walk away from the sticky tape and tie your brown paper packages up with string.
A bit more effort than sticky tape but there are advantages
less chances are the paper will be less damaged when the gift is unwrapped.
looks very retro chic
tie it with a bow and the ties themselves be reused.
Lets start with string. From traditional brown hairy string to U.K. woollen twine, there are some great options.
Greetings cards Cards have been the bane of Pam’s life , (I mean greeting cards not gambling – that’s all in the past) as many come wrapped in icky plastic. So what are the alternatives?
Organising a big bash? Nipping off out to buy some paper plates? WAIT!!!
Given the choice between washing up and disposable partyware, the answer may seem obvious. Or maybe you are a minimalist and don’t own much crockery. However at the end of the night when the black bin bags come out that decision may seem a little bit, well, environmentally unfriendly. Of course the wine bottles are going to the bottle bank and the beer cans will be recycled, but what about the coleslaw covered plastic forks, potato salad smeared polystyrene plates and dreg filled plastic cups. And bear in mind that most paper plates and cups are in fact lined with plastic!
How to avoid this kind of litter?
Go to the pub.
Hire reusable glasses plates and cutlery but you have to wash it up and return it.
Or, if you must, use….
Use Compostable Disposables
You can get
Cutlery made from PLA cornstarch and are 100 percent biodegradable and compostable. We have used and composted these -you can read our review here.
PLA cornstarch clear “glasses” can be got from shot size upwards. PLA cannot be used to make stemmed glasses, so wine glasses are not available yet!
Biodegradable plates and bowls made out of a variety of materials.
Paper cups lined with compostable PLA plastic can be used for hot and cold drinks.
Drinking straws need not hang around after the parties over. There are a load reusable or compostable options here. Plastic free straws
Plastic free booze is hard to find….glup!!!!. But we have managed to source some for you here… Other considerations If you are serving large amounts of wine, think wine boxes and not bottles. Though not in themselves particularly green (all tetra packs and foil), they are carbon cheaper to transport from far flung places than heavy glass bottles. To be greener still buy from close to home – French wine rather than Chilean.
This is rather a good idea for festivals and other events where glasses are not an option but disposables result in a sea of waste. Reusable, plastic cups that can be branded to suit. Pay a deposit at the bar that can be refunded or the customer can choose to keep the cup as a souvenir. Read more here…
This is an introduction to why you might want to and how you can start sewing plastic free. If you already know the answer you can follow the links to the specialist posts as listed.
Since I started the blog in 2006, the range of plastic free products available has skyrocketed and online shopping is well established. Facebook and Twitter can convey information far more quickly.
And so any of these posts will be out of date. Updating them is time-consuming and given the rate of change hardly worth it. Many of the products it took me so long to source can now easily be found in a variety of places online. I’m leaving them up as a record of availability but do your own research.
Making your own clothes is probably the only way to get them totally plastic-free. New clothes come packed in plastic and hung on plastic hangers. Even when they are made of natural fibres, the cotton used to sew them, buttons and care labels are all synthetic, plastic fibres. You can readmore about the plastic in ready made clothes, here. Plus the only way I can afford fair trade organic clothes is make them myself. And I get to support local fabric shops which is very important to me. As is buying U.K. made fabrics.
Here is my guide to sewing plastic free….
Fabric First you have to decide which fibre – synthetic or natural. While they all have bad points, naturals are way better than synthetics not least because at the end of life they can be composted. Natural fibres are harvested from nature either from animals like wool and silk, or plants like cotton. Most synthetic fabrics are derived from petrol. But there is a kind of in-between called regenerated fibres. The base material is cellulose that can be obtained from a range of sources including wood, paper, cotton fiber, or bamboo. It is then converted through a chemical process into a fiver. the later is often touted as an eco fabric but treat those claims with caution.
Wool cotton and linen are really the plastic free way to go for me.
Organic & Fair-trade
As many fabrics are made in poorer countries, do try to source fair-trade when ever possible. There are good reasons for trying to also source organic. Cotton especially uses huge amounts of pesticides.
I can only buy organic fair-trade fabric on line. Which leads to problems with packaging. So many people will send it out in plastic bags. But there is one company, Offset Warehouse who in addition to having fantastic fair-trade, organic, eco credentials, and a great range of fabric they will post out in plastic-free packaging.
Local Shops
Problem is fair trade and organic don’t come cheap and I can’t always afford it. Also I cant always buy it locally. So, without beating myself up about it, I also buy natural but almost-certainly-non-organic, who-knows-how-it-is-made fabric because I like to buy from local fabric shops. Buying locally is also buying sustainably. There are many very strong reasons to support local shops. especially fabric shops. There aren’t that many of them, you get to see and learn about fabrics, the staff know lots, they get people into sewing they provide all the bits and bobs you might forget to order online and like all local shops they need supporting.
Locally Made Fabrics
This year I wanted to source some locally made fabrics. In the U.K. the locally made fabric is wool. It is especially relavent to me as I live in Yorkshire a place once famous for its woolen fabric. There used to be hundreds of mills churning out meters of the stuff but those days are long gone. Indeed you may be surprised to hear that there are any working mills left. I was. But my research revealed that Yorkshire cloth is still being made by a handful of mills. What they turn out now is a luxury product. If you thought organic fair-trade was expensive check out these prices. £ 50.00 a meter is the cheap end of the market and way out of my price range.
BUT down on Leeds Market there are folk selling end of line end of roll lengths for very reasonable amounts. And I am sourcing lots more
These can be tricky to find plastic free so you will pleased to know we have found these online suppliers who will post out in plastic free packaging Organic cotton on a wooden reel. Needles & pins in cardboard boxes
Patterns
I buy paper patterns from my local fabric store.You can download them from the internet but you might need a bit of sewing experience for this to be completely successful. There’s no doubt that patterns ar expensive but you can make a surprisingly wide range of outfits from just a few basic shape. Check out my patterns here.
If you want to be really hardcore, plastic free you will have to sew by hand. I did make some bloomers and a headscarf that way. It can be done but meh! life is too short. So unless you buy and old treadle sewing machine, you will be using a modern machine with some plastic. Consider it plastic to cut plastic.
N.B. lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
Laundry Liquid & Fabric Conditioner
ECOVER do a
LAUNDRY LIQUID,
FABRIC SOFTENER,
You can get your plastic bottle refilled.
To find where Ecover have a refill station check the postcode search on their site
If you cant get to a Ecover refill station try getting a refill by post….
Splosh
This is an online refill service.
Some products come in soluble pods which you drop into water; others in plastic pouches which can be sent back to be refilled or recycled.
Splosh also claim that the postal packaging for the starter kit and refills are plastic free. Though according to some reviews they come with some plastic.
Read more about cleaning product refills here e http://plasticisrubbish.com/2014/12/14/u-k-europe/
Hanging Out
Pegs, Peg Baskets and Washing Lines
N.B. I got sent some Ecoforce stuff to review. They supply a range of household cleaning and laundry products made from recycled plastic.
I agreed because while I dont think recycling is the answer it can be part of the solution and one way to deal with all the waste plastic we have created, most of their stuff is made in the UK making it even a better recycling option and the disposable product packaging is pretty good.
And I think with damp damp laundry sometimes plastic products may be preferable so they might as well be ethical plastic options. And it gave me the opportunity to compare and contrast options.
Pegs
Wooden
I use wooden pegs. I bought them ages ago. They came in plastic packaging. Obviously my wooden and steel pegs represent a pressure on natural resources. And there is no denying they get a bit mucky and fall apart quite easily. I don’t know where they are made, or from what kind of wood.
The plus point about my wooden pegs is that when they do fall apart and they end up lost in the garden they will naturally biodegrade. Plastic pegs of course don’t.
Plastic
If you really want plastic pegs you can try these by Ecoforce. I like that they are 93% recycled plastic and (so far) very sturdy. They don’t use steel which I like. I worry about how much steel we use. They are made in the UK which is nice and local. On the down side they do come in a plastic bag. The bag is clearly marked with a plastic code which is good, but made of a type of plastic rarely recycled in the UK – not so good.
I would feel much happier about this product if the throwaway part the packaging was compostable.
Peg Baskets
Metal
I keep my pegs in a peg basket which hangs on the line. Mine is an enamel bucket with holes in the bottom. I bought it from one of those gimcrackery shops that sell arty gubbins. I dont think the quality is of the best as it is getting a bit rusty.
Plastic
Apart from the rust, I cant really think of any reason why you would prefer a plastic peg basket but if you do the Ecofriendly peg basket is a good choice.
As with the pegs it contains 93% recycled plastic, seems sturdy and made in the Uk. Also, whoop, whoop, it is packaged in cardboard and better still the display hanger is made of cardboard.
It bugs me so much when I see cardboard packaging with a plastic hook attached to hang the item – one of those tiny unmarked pieces of plastic that are so hard to dispose of.
The basket is clearly marked with a recycle code so it can be recycled again.
Eco friendly clothes line »
I don’t have a drier and when I do have to use one, in the depths of winter say, I go the launderette. For environmental reasons I choose to mostly air dry my washing line. Our business means I do a lot of drying. My washing line is an important bit of kit and sad to say I have found a plastic washing line to be the best for the job. It gets very wet where we live and natural lines soak up the water, never dry out, then start to grow mould. A plastic line can be quickly wiped dry and doesn’t get slimy.
Ecoforce Plastic line is 89% recycled plastic and like that it is made in the EC so fairly close to home.
But I HATE that the plastic line is wrapped in unidentified plastic wrap. Why? It’s a plastic line. And unidentified plastic at that. Booo.
Sometime you need a disposable – wether its a compostable bag for the butcher, biodegradable paper cups for the office party or a plastic free tampon. Here are some options. They are all #plasticfree and biodegrade.. Click on the links to find suppliers.
Disposable cups are made from plastic lined paper, polystyrene or plastic. To make paper cups water proof they are laminated with polyethylene, ... Read More
These deli pots are made from PLA plastic. This looks and acts just like plastic but is made from corn starch ... Read More
Important
All of the above are certified compostable. They break down naturally. They have to meet certain enforceable standards to be classed as compostable. You can read about composting standards here.
Buy
Being committed to local shopping, I prefer to buy that way whenever possible. I would encourage you to do the same. One of the joys of living plastic free is mooching round the local shops seeing what you can source. But sometimes you can’t buy local so I have put together an Amazon catalogue. of independent sellers operating through Amazon.
Amazon is a very dirty word at the moment and I thought long and hard before suggesting them. Heres why I went ahead….. No we are not entirely happy with Amazons recent history. However, we have always found their service to be good and their packaging usually compostable.
If you buy a product via this link we do get an affiliation fee for this. This is not why we do it.
Microbeads…. the newest way to exfoliate. These tiny particles, or microbeads, scrub away at the skin supposedly leaving it wonderfully cleansed. These beads may well deep clean your skin but guess what? Unless otherwise stated, they are almost certainly made from plastic.
After using, they are washed off your face and down the drain and into the ocean where they become pollutants that don’t biodegrade. Truly, plastic is rubbish!
Here’s a really easy way to avoid this problem.
Reusable Products
Cotton Flannels – the old school way to clean up. Rub away the dirt and dead skin…it works, honest.
Want tougher love? try a luffa. These dried fibrous vegetables will buff up your blackheads and polish your butt. I got mine, unwrapped, from TKMax. I cut off smaller pieces to do my face with. Gently scour.
Then there are natural bristle brushes for body brushing. This is exactly as it sounds. Brushing your body and I love this. I have had my brush for ages and I can’t remember where I got it, but these look quite nice – sustainable beech body with pig bristles – vegans and vegetarians you could try these with tampico fibres.
Exfoliating Scrubs From the Kitchen….
All these have been recommended on the internet. I usually use the above so cannot really comment.
BE CAREFUL
it is probably good practice to do an allergy test and do some further research.
Disclaimers
If you are happy to bumble along with me and are aware of the risks of listening to someone who
a) doesn’t have any training in this field,
b) most of what they know comes from Google,
Welcome aboard but please, proceed with caution….
Bicarbonate of soda. Before I knew as much as I did about bicarb I did use this occasionally on my face when it got really greasy and blotchy looking. Since I have found out how alkaline it is I think it is best left for the the laundry. I do not advise that you use it on your skin.
However if you choose to, its particles are rough enough to scour off dead skin but not so brutal as to leave you weeping. You can get plastic free bicarb here.
Pumice is a textural term for a volcanic rock that is a solidified frothy lava typically created when super-heated (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Salt is good and scratchy and makes a good scrub. It is not as harsh as pumice, and you can use it in a plastic bath. I like it for my oily chest but would not use it on my face. You can find plastic free salt here.
Sugar Scrubs – use sugar mixed with coconut oil. This one seems to work well .
Oatmeal – described as soothing, exfoliating, soft (no scratchy edges) and known for its gentle, skin-healthy effects. It also contains vitamins B and E. Grind up plastic free oats in a food processor. I don’t use this on my face because I have get a reaction to it. I find it too brutal.
Coffee Grounds – grab them out of the pot rub them on. Let them cool down first! I will use these occasionally and sparingly as it is a bugger to clean the shower afterwards
Other stuff….
For truly brutal exfoliation try pumice powder…arghhhhh. Best suited to hands, feet and really grisly elbows. Use up to 10% in a moisturising cream base (find out how to make your own right here). Do not use the pumice scrub on sensitive skin. Do not use in a plastic bath – it may take off the surface. Can be bought from Aromantics. (NB Comes in a plastic bag)
Other plastic free health and beauty products can be found right here
If you do become converted you can get flexible hoses plumbed in which make the job much easier.
Please Note…
