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Borax

by Posted in 3.1 Cleaning Up, 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 1 Comment

Borax occurs naturally in evaporite deposits produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. The most commercially important deposits are found in Turkey; Boron, California; and Searles Lake, California. Also, borax has been found at many other locations in the Southwestern United States, the Atacama desert in Chile, newly discovered deposits in Bolivia, and in Tibet and Romania. Borax can also be produced synthetically from other boron compounds.
WIkkipedia

Proper borax is No longer sold on the shelves in the UK. You have to make do with a borax substitute from Dripak.

“Borax Substitute is sodium sesquicarbonate – a mineral compound, with similar pH to borax, making it ideal for cleaning and laundry. It is gentler than Soda Crystals yet stronger than Bicarbonate of Soda.

Using Borax Substitute around the house
Uses Borax Substitute as a:

Multi-purpose cleaner – Mix it with some water to form a paste. This makes it an excellent scouring agent that offers more cleaning power than Bicarbonate of Soda.
A water softener to help keep your washing machine clear of limescale.
To make your own bath salts, simply add some perfume or essential oils and a drop of food colouring to some Borax Substitute.”

That said you can still buy borax from Ebay

Uses

You can use real borax for the above and
Can be used to make a fire retardant spray
To deter moths

More

Borax, washing soda, bicarbonate or all three. What should you use for your cleaning needs? A comparison HERE
See all out #plasticfree cleaning aids HERE

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Coffee Fresh

by Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink Tagged , 2 Comments

When I first started my boycott, the only way to get plasticfree coffee was to buy the beans loose and grind them. Now theres all kinds of options from instant in your own bag to compostable pods

For other coffee posts check out our index. You will also find tea, cocoa, milk in glass bottles and something stronger.

Buy Beans Loose

I love my morning coffee,
Can’t do with out my brew,
But Lavazzas wrapped in plastic!
So whats a girl to do?

Done got myself a bean grinder and I buy my coffee beans loose in my own plastic-free packaging

I am extremely lucky in that I can buy (fair trade), coffee beans from the superlative Coffeevolution, Huddersfield, an independent coffee shop, run by the owner. They import their own fair trade beans and roast them themselves. I give them my own bag they give me fresh, loose beans. Happy days.
There are many other good reasons to go to the café. It is not a chain the ambiance is great, and they have home made biscuits stored in glass jars. There are murals on the walls. and they have a great notice board. Smashing.

Elsewhere

If you cant get to Huddersfield there’s a list of

Supermarkets & Chains

Whittards

Whittards are. U.K. wide chain that will sell you tea loose.this from twitter
“Hi there, yes if you visit our store with your own container, we can fill it with either tea or coffee.”
They have over 50 shops. You can find one one here.
NB you will have to take your own plastic free or , better still, reusable packaging. See below for links.

“The company was founded in 1886 by Walter Whittard. It expanded in the 1980s and 1990s, and was bought by the Icelandic Baugur Group in 2005 for around £21 million.”

Ground Coffee In Compostable Packaging
Percol do ground coffee in home compostable plastic free packaging. I bought some in Waitrose. The coffee was acceptable. I composted the packaging in my home bin. Read more about this, below.

From their website
“You’ll start to notice the Plastic-Free logo on our new home compostable Ground, Beans and Coffee Bag packaging from November 2018.  Like many, we want to do more to reduce the amount of packaging (particularly plastic) we’re using, and as a UK retail brand which sells more than 4 million products a year, we have an important role to play in reducing the impact we are making on our planet”
Read more here

Online

Just got a doorstep of delivery of ground coffee in a reusable/returnable tin. Not one bit of plastic. from the @ModernMilkman_

https://www.facebook.com/TheModernMilkman/

Roasting House

We’re a micro coffee roastery based in Nottingham. We roast all of our coffee in very small batches to order. Our environmental and ethical values guide us in how we run our business. We have a zero waste to landfill policy informs our purchasing decisions and use only 100% recycled and recyclable paper packaging and labels for our coffee. At events when serving hot coffee, we use both ceramic reusable cups and fully compostable takeaway cups.
Website: roastinghouse.co.uk

Onward Packaging
Would also like to add that when I contacted on twitter they confirmed that you can order online and they send out in a cardboard envelope.

MORE COFFEE!!!!

For other coffee posts check out our index. You will also find tea, cocoa, milk in glass bottles and something stronger.

There’s the old school stuff – paper, cardboard, leaves and other plant based materials. And then there is the new. The biodegradable plastics.

What is biodegradable?

Biodegradable products break down through a naturally occurring microorganism into stable compounds which can be absorbed into the ecosystem.More about biodegrading here

What is compostable? 

To be classed compostable, items must biodegrade within a certain time  and the resulting biomass must be able to sustain plant life  For a man-made product to be sold as compostable, it has to meet certain standards.  You can find out more here.

Composting Plastic At Home

While most agree that some plastics are compostable, they also say it can only composted in large scale municipal schemes. I say the days of large scale municipal schemes is fast approaching as governments aim to divert biodegradable rubbish from landfill sites. But more to the point, I have been composting my compostable plastic at home for years now, including Biobags, deli pots  and disposable cutlery. Read more about that HERE.

The Home Compostable verification logo clearly identifies and differentiates packaging materials as biodegradable and home compostable. This means that the biodegradable packaging will break down under specific home composting conditions back into water, carbon dioxide (CO2) and biomass.”

  • 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
Join our Facebook group here

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Toys

by Posted in 3.1.7 Wo/M/animals Tagged 8 Comments

There are some lovely plasticfree toys featured on our toy Pinterest page.

Myriadonline

for 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

Talking of games….

Any teachers out there want to trial a plastic awareness game?

The Auroville community in India are tackling plastic waste through education. Sometime ago I spoke to them about a children’s game they were developing – here is an update….

“Last year, interviewing experts was part of our research phase for developing a memory style card game which we have decided to call ‘kNOw PLASTICS’. The game educates children about the impact of plastics on animals, the environment and us.

We are now in the pilot testing phase of the game. Up till now we have tested the game in schools here in and around Auroville, Tamil Nadu, South India. It is a really rewarding experience and so much fun to see the children playing with the cards. So far we have received positive responses but we would like to get feedback from as many other children throughout schools the world over. We are looking to test the game internationally with students from diverse cultural background so that the game is relevant to as wide an audience as possible.

If you know of any schools, organisations or teachers then we would be very happy if you could connect us or test the kNOw PLASTICS game, please find below what this would entail:

  1. Printing the game in colour (we’ll send you the designs and clear instructions).
  2. Find 4 resource persons or teachers to help you or test the game (3-5 student per group).
  3. Playing the game with children and answer questions (takes about an hour and it lots of fun).
  4. Sending us the feedback and if you can Skype/WhatsApp call at your convenience.

Our goal is to complete pilot testing the game by the end of November, so our design team can finalise the game, print and launch it in February 2017.

When we have produced the game we would like to provide a free copy for a school or organisation you work with as a thank you for your assistance in pilot testing the game.

Please do help us test this game!

I really appreciate your time and effort and promise it won’t be a waste of time!

If you can help you can contact Chandra on wasteless@auroville.org.in
www.wastelessindia.org
 Facebook.com/WasteLess

Why This Post Is ….

A little bit rubbish. You are reading a work in progress. Here’s how the blog is written and why we post half cocked.

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Remembrance Poppy

by Posted in 3.1 Personal, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged ,

One of the most poignant events of the year happens in November. Every year on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month all of Britain observes a full silence for two minutes.  Because 11 November is Armistice Day and the anniversary of the end of the first world war. Remembrance Sunday is always held on the weekend so that everyone can participate. On this day we take time to remember all those who have fallen on the many wars.

Through November the most visible sign of remembrance is the wearing of a red poppy badge.

November is also When the Royal British Legion, a U.K. Charity organise a massive fundraising campaign. Whatever your opinions on the politics of war, whatever you feel about the senseless loss, many soldiers have died leaving families behind. Many soldiers have survived but so badly hurt that they now need help. The Royal British Legion supports the Armed Forces community both past and present. It provides support for the serving men and women, veterans and for their families.

Every year (2017 starting on 26 October), they ask for contributions in return for which you receive a poppy to pin on your lapel.Sadly the poppies made from paper and plastic are disposable. Many people buy a new poppy each year. Some careless ones like me get through two or three a year. Hundreds and hundreds of little green plastic stalks and black centres are left over once the paper petals have have rotted away.

So this year why not do it differently. The Royal British Legion have many new and interesting ways to contribute. And of course if you want to show your support by wearing a poppy you can buy a reusable poppy. You still make a donation each year but wear your own reusable poppy.

You can buy reusable poppy pins from the Royal British Legion,(visit the Website), Or these from Marks & Spencer’s. If you don’t like any on display, or find the offerings to be too plastic packaged, try making your own. Loads of ideas HERE.

 

 

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Supermarkets & Chainstores Index

by Posted in 3.2 Shops & Businesses, 3.2.3 Supermarkets & Chains

And let me say right now I don’t like supermarkets. They are killing off the local shops and take money out of the community. But for many people they are the only option. So how to make your experience as ethical as possible?

But before you enter those hellish portals please do consider shopping at your local shops. Reasons why here.

Here are some suggestions to make your choice of chainstore shopping more ethical.

I prefer to shop in British owned chainstores if possible. These are my favourites

The Co-op in the UK
Waitrose is owned by staff in the John Lewis Partnership
Will Use Tesco plc, trading as Tesco, is a British multinational groceries

But sometimes of course I have to go where the plastic free products can be found. Like salt in a cardboard box at Lidles. Its always a tradeoff.

Plastic Free News

Waitrose
Waitrose are cutting the use of plastic lined disposable cups in their cafes!
“We’re removing all disposable takeaway cups from our shops by the autumn.You can still enjoy a free cup of tea or coffee when you shop with us; remember to bring your own reusable cup and your myWaitrose card with you.#KeepYourCup 💚
This will save more than 52 million cups, 221 tonnes of plastic and more than 665 tonnes of paper a year.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/2Jwh0d2

The Co-op
Talking of hot drinks the The Co-op are meat to be introducing their own plastic free teabags . Though I have yet to find them!
For those of you who didn’t know, most teabags contain plastic. not just the packaging but actually in the bag.

Morrisons
Starting in May, Morrisons will be inviting customers to use their own containers when purchasing produce from the meat and fish counters in stores, in order to cut down on single-use plastic. Read more here.

Plastic Free Finds

Sometimes supermarkets can surprise you – check out the plastic-free and reduced packaging products here.

Boots

About ? Latest Plastic News ? They have a range of plastic free products. Other Products From Louises database BecoThings Potty ...
Read More

Cooperative Supermarket

Plastic free teabags For those of you who didn't know, most teabags contain plastic. not just the packaging but actually ...
Read More

Lidles

Lidles  is a chain of budget supermarkets. It offers some plastic free surprises. (Click the links to see a review ...
Read More

Lush plastic free products

lush are one of the more forward thinking British companies. They are ethical in all kinds of ways and  sell ...
Read More

Morrisons

A quick overview of some of the plastic free / reduced stuff you can get in Morrisons Supermarket, Huddersfield. A ...
Read More

Tescos

I have one near me so I tend to visit more often then I think is ideal. here are some ...
Read More

The Range – a chain of home & garden shops

Loose pet food, home wares and some loose sweets. Being committed to local shopping, I prefer to buy that way ...
Read More

U.K. Owned Chainstores

And let me say right now I'm not overly keen on chainstores. They are killing off the local shops and ...
Read More

Waitrose

Waitrose are cutting the use of plastic lined disposable cups in their cafes! "We're removing all disposable takeaway cups from ...
Read More

Whole Food Market U.K. Chain

Rushing through the Cheltenham suburbs, had to buy wine so lurched into the huge carpark of an out of town ...
Read More

Wilkos

Did you know you can buy loose screw and other fixings at Wilcos - as many or as few as ...
Read More

My Favourite Chains Are…

The Co-op in the UK is owned by it’s members. That’s you. So do use that whenever possible. Sadly they are bad for packaging. Write and tell them.

Waitrose is owned by staff in the John Lewis Partnership and do some excellent plastic free buns and bread.

Will Use

Tesco plc, trading as Tesco, is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer with headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom.[3] It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by profits[4][5] and ninth-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues. It has shops in seven countries across Asia and Europe and is the market leader of groceries in the UK (where it has a market share of around 28.4%),
Wikipedia

Not so keen on

ASDA

Asda Stores is a British supermarket retailer, “headquartered in Leeds, West Yorkshire.[5] The company was founded in 1949 when the supermarket owning Asquith family merged with the Associated Dairies company of Yorkshire. It expanded into the south of England during the 1970s and 1980s, and acquired Allied Carpets, 61 large Gateway Supermarkets and other businesses, such as MFI, then sold off its acquisitions during the 1990s to concentrate on the supermarkets. It became a subsidiary of the American retail giant Walmart after a £6.7 billion takeover in July 1999” wikkipedia

While Sainsburys is a British company
“As of February 2018, the largest overall shareholder is the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, the Qatar Investment Authority, which holds 21.99% of the company.[6] It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
In April 2018, Sainsbury’s entered talks with Walmart about a proposed merger with Asda, which could form the largest UK supermarket company.[7]”
“The Qatar Investment Authority is Qatar’s state-owned holding company that can be characterized as a National Wealth Fund. It specializes in domestic and foreign investment. Wikipedia”  and Walmart? No thanks. So while I might be able to get paper wrapped butter at Sainsbury’s (check out the cheese counter), Im not sure I like their politics.

Morrison plc are listed on the London stock exchange. Whilst the majority of investors are British or British companies or pension funds, these investments can be held by anyone around the world.

Plasticfree Finds

But sometimes of course i have to go where the plastic free products can be found. Like salt in a cardboard box at Lidles. Its always a tradeoff. See all our supermarket posts here

The biggest supermarket chains in the UK, by market share are:
Tesco (27.8%)
Sainsbury’s (15.8%)
Asda (15.3%) American
Morrisons (10.4%)
Aldi (7%) german owned
Co-op (6.3%) owned by its U.K. members
Lidl (5.2%) german owned
Waitrose (5.1%)
Iceland (2.1%)
Ocado (1.4%)
from the bbc

If you want to buy from a British chain company, I have listed some  HERE

Widely Available At Most Supermarkets

Bread Mixes – Paper
Laundry Powder – Cardboard, no scoop
Fruit and Vegetables – Bulk, take your own bags
Instore Butcher, Deli, Fish Counters and Bakery- Bulk, take bags and containers
Flour, Sugar, Eggs and Oats – Almost always available in paper or card
Frozen Produce in Cardboard – Linda McCartney, Fish (MSC), Potato Waffles Shake box to check there’s no plastic inside

The Rest

Hooray for Louise Bayfield and her  “POSTIVE PRODUCTS LIST (UK) a list of High Street and Supermar-ket products that have no packaging or in some way help reduce packaging.”

The List
The original PDF will be updated as  Louise shops around so do check back there for updates. 

Remember not all stores stock all products. It might be wise to check ahead if you are making a special visit.
There may well be other products that have not been listed.
Feel free to add your finds in the comments box belew.

Once again thank you  Louise for such a fantastic resource!

Homesence

Castile Soap, Larger bottles – Packaging varies but mostly plastic
Shampoo/conditioner/shower gel/ Bath – Very large bottles, sometimes organic and glass packaging
Soap Bars, sometimes organic- Beautifully wrapped in paper/card – Good gifts
Candles – Often votives in glass or metal tins with no packaging or cardboard box
Glassware – Recycled water glasses and sometimes goblets, No packaging other than a small sticker to base.
Many home items are unpackaged other than a price sticker. Some items are surplus. A good place to look for
Zero Waste Kitchenalia – Glass Jars, Stainless Steel Water Bottles, Insulated Travel Mugs, Tea strainers/Infusers,
Reusable Silicone Bakeware, Wooden Brushes, Scrubbers, Coffee presses, Wooden Boards, Wooden Bowls etc…
Some will be in cardboard or unpackaged with sticker.

Ikea

Crisp breads – Paper
Kilner style Jars – Good value – Paper and sticker
Loose sweets pick & mix stall with paper bags

Ocado

Cake Mix, Wright’s – Paper
You cleaner refills – A concentrated eco cleaner in small plastic bottles

Poundland

Selection of glass kilner style jars – great for those on a budget
String

Robert Dyas

Borax Substitute, Dri-pac – Cardboard

Staples

Toilet Tissue, Maxima – 100% recycled – Large cardboard box, no inner tubes
Toilet Rolls, 8 pack – 100% recycled – Plastic wrap, recycle at Sainsbury’s
Envelopes, various sizes, business size bulk packs – 100% recycled – Cardboard box
Tea and Coffee – Huge catering size packs, various packaging, shake box to check there’s no plastic inside

T.K. Max

A write up here from Liz Hodge.

Missed Some?

If you have a review of a supermarket please send us a link and we will add it. Leave the link in the comments below.

Which Chain

Here are a few tips to help you choose a supermarket. Some are more ethical than others. or you might want to buy from a British company. Read more HERE>

 

Shopping Tips

If you want to buy loose, you will need to take your own reusable packaging – produce bags, tupperware even compostable disposables. You can find them here.
The plastic free freak should remember that
metal lids to glass jars are of course plastic lined .
Tin and cans including those for cosmetics are also plastic lined
Paper and foil wraps will be plastic lined.

Choose Well
If you really can’t do without it and you have a choice a plastic wrapped products, choose to buy the one in simple plastics that can easily be recycled

More Ways To Buy Food

Here is a list of food types category with purchase details
Loose Food
Find out if a shop near you sells bulk food loose. This is stuff that that normally comes plastic packaged. A list of towns with shops selling loose food.

Milk 
Delivered in glass bottles but double check before you order

Other Considerations

Whole food Market A supermarket case study
How to eat plastic free Buying only from supermarkets HERE.

Buy British and cut those air miles. Some ideas HERE

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

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Commercial Composting

by Posted in 3.1 Composting Tagged ,

Ever wonder about how much waste we really throw away each year? Well, studies estimate that 30 to 40 percent of the food produced in the United States goes to waste 30 to 40 percent of the food produced in the United States goes to waste, often ending up in landfills. In 2014, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study found that the U.S. tosses over 3.8 million tons of food every single year.

That’s tragic because so many people in the world are going hungry. Food waste also contributes to global warming and disposing of it costs a lot of money. Using our food more efficiently would be a more permanent solution to the problem, but there are some things we can do to improve our disposal process as well. With composting, disposal doesn’t have to mean the end of food’s useful life and may even have some positive environmental attributes.

How Composting Works

Composting allows us to recycle organic materials, including many food items, yard waste, animal products and paper products. It uses a natural process that’s integral to life here on earth, the decomposition process that breaks down these materials into rich soil from which plants can grow.

Composting takes that natural phenomenon and accelerates it using one of several different methods. Individuals and families can compost their food and yard waste in their own backyards. Large companies sometimes compost their own leftover materials. Some local governments also organize composting operations, and local businesses might offer composting services to nearby residents. These services can be a perfect, easy-to-use solution to our organic waste disposal problem.

Composting Methods

Beyond simple backyard composting, there are a number of methods that large-scale composting operations employ.

  • Aerated Static Pile Composting

One of the simplest methods for composting large amounts of waste is aerated static pile composting. It involves placing well-mixed organic waste into a large pile, along with bulking agents such as woodchips or shredded paper. This method can produce compost within three to six months.

  1. Aerated Windrow Composting

Aerated, or turned, windrow composting involves placing waste in rows that are about four to eight feet tall and 14 to 16 feet wide. These rows, called windrows, must be turned occasionally so that the inner part of the pile ends up in the outside and vice versa. This method is ideal for particularly large amounts of waste.

  1. In-Vessel Composting

In-vessel compost allows for more control of the composting process and produces results quickly. In this method, compost is placed into contained spaces such as large drums, enclosed tunnels or other containers where machinery regularly turns it. This produces usable composts in a few weeks to a few months.

How to Get Involved

Other popular methods of disposing of household organic waste, such as garbage disposals, can be useful but don’t have all the same capabilities as composting. Garbage disposals, for instance, can’t handle solid items like peach pits. Regular trash collection has environmental consequences.

Composting can take care of many different kinds of waste, is environmentally friendly compared to other methods and produces a useful end result – compost that can be used to grow crops and other plants.

Many people don’t have room, time or ability to compost their own waste. For these people, commercial composting methods are the solution. Contact your local government and search for nearby businesses to see if organic waste collection and composting services exist in your area — and whether you can get some freshly made compost for your garden.

Bio:

Emily is a sustainability writer and the editor of Conservation Folks.

Please note…

This post was written by the contributor.

Read more about composting, compost bins and other rotten posts HERE

Guest Post & Plastic Free Promotions

We love to feature guest posts. If you have something to say about #plasticfree living let us know. You can read more about submissions HERE

NB we reserve the right
not to post
to remove guest posts.

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Pasta

by Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink

An essential in our house. Quick and easy but hard to get plastic free.

Fresh Pasta

Apparently you can make your own pasta. I even bought the machine. Still not made any!

Dried pasta
An essential in our house. Quick and easy but hard to get plastic free.

Good news is that the Jar Tree in Leeds Market  sells wholewheat spaghettis and pasta twirls both brown and white loose. And  I think the Nut House (also Leeds Market) might sell white pasta tubes.

I love Leeds Market. I love it. Its a great place to buy #plasticfree almost everything. Read a review here

Loose Food

As the plastic movement grows more shops are selling naked food; stuff that that normally comes plastic packaged ie rice, Some sell pasta. Heres a list of towns with shops selling loose food.

Buy Online

But loose food shops are still few and far between, Don’t despair. 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.

Better Plastic
Cant be denied that all the above options are expensive and if you really can’t do without it (who can), and you have a choice of plasticless and plastic wrapped products.

Almost Plastic Free Barilla
Barilla sells all sorts os pasta in a cardboard box with a small plastic window. Lots of supermarkets sell it.

Pasta Polythene Bags

Many products like dried pasta come packaged in lovely looking, printed, laminated plastic film.  Or to put it more simply several layers of plastic each with different properties stuck together. Because they consist of different plastics bonded together it is difficult to know what they are and how to treat them and separating the films is tricky and so very expensive. Films therefore often don’t get recycled but burnt or landfilled.
Simple polythene bags are easy to recycle. You can read more about that here.

Check the recycling info on the package to find out more.

Tescos
Sell pasta in bulk in polythene bags. Sadly they don’t do whole wheat or organic pasta like this so you will have to make do white white pasta twirls. Possibly other supermarkets also do this.

More

Supermarkets & Chainstores
Because sometimes we have to shop there and yes you can get plastic free and zero waste stuff. Read  our supermarket reviews here.

If you want to buy loose, you will need to take your own reusable packaging – produce bags, tupperware even compostable disposables. You can find them here.

Feel guilty buying plastic packed food? So do we but sometimes you have to so we apply the special treats rule. read more about the three levels of plastic free food

See all our food posts via the food index

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

And before you go…

If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

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Creams & Lotions – Recipes

by Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Personal Tagged , , 1 Comment

The following information is for guidance only. None of the following recipes or tips have not been tested on anyone other than me. I strongly advise you do your own research and proceed very carefully.

Disclaimer

Be 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,
That’s me I mean.

If you want a better informed opinion I suggest you head on over to the Aromantics website. They will sell you everything you need to make sun tan lotion including recipes you can download as a PDF. They have been in this game for years and are far more qualified then I am.
The following is an account of my own experiences which may help you in your own research.

It is so easy to make your own creams and lotion that once you start you will never look back. The advantages are huge; you get to control what goes on your skin, be way more eco-friendly and save a whole load of cash. You can make almost anything the cosmetic companies sell but without the palm oil, dodgy chemicals and weird colours. Though you can have all those too if you want.

Lotion and cream is basically a mix of oills,waxes or butters with water combined using an emulsifier. Lotions are thinner, cream more solid.

Do you really need to make a cream? Many times you can use an oil or butter neat. But sometimes they are just too oily.

Many commercial creams including E45 use mineral oil. That’s derived from the same gloopy black oil we use to make petrol.

ingredients

To make cream or lotion you will need

Oil, butters & waxes.
There are hundreds of vegetable oils. Different skins like different oils and you will have to experiment to find what is best for you. Generally speaking the richer the oil the heavier the cream, the more water you put in the lighter the lotion. There are hundreds of vegetable oils. Different skins like different oils and you will have to experiment to find what is best for you.  See my guide to oils here.

Water
There is much talk of using distilled water but I use tap.

Cooking thermometer
VERY useful .

Emulsifiers:
Water and fat do not naturally mix, you need to use an emulsifier.You have to add other ingredients to turn what is basically salad dressing into lovely thick cream. So in addition to oils and water you will need an emulsifier.

Notes On Emulsifiers

The most complex ingredient in cream is the emulsifier. The water and oils are simple enough but this is what makes them bind together.

There are a few completely natural emulsifiers  but they  do not give consistent results.
Most commercially used emulsifiers are manufactured. They are most often derived from coconut oil and palm oil. More recently, rapeseed has been used.
But some are produced from pig fats. Check what you buy.
I have tried a few with varied success BUT
A combination of VE Emulsifier, MF Emulsifier and Cetearyl Alcohol works every time and can be used to make a wide range of products from thick creams to thin lotions.

VE Emulsifier or Glyceryl Stearate is a vegetable-based emulsifier
Cetearyl Alcohol is a vegetable based emulsifying wax
MF Emulsifier or Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate  can be fermented from lactose (milk sugar)but more commonly comes  from nondairy sources such as cornstarch, potatoes and molasses.


Palm Oil
Please note that all the above also may be derived from or include palm oil. Be sure to buy from a good practice supplier. For example there should be something this note on Aromantics VE emulsifier “The Palm oil that is used in both in MF/VE emulsifiers comes from suppliers that are either members of the Round Table of Sustainable Palm Oil or a subsidiary company or who are members of FEDIOL which supports sustainability. FEDIOL is a European industry federation based in Brussels”.
You can read more about palm oil here.

Preservatives

Optional?

Oil on its own does not go off – there is no water for bacterial to feed on. Once you have added water to oil then it can. Now your creams are vulnerable to bacteria. Preservatives will help “keep” your cream. I don’t use it as it can cause skin irritations. And I find cream without I less itchy on my skin. I have had a few pots of cream go mouldy but we are talking maybe 5 in the years I have been making my own creams. You can read up and buy preservatives here Aromantics

However there is a growing movement on the internet that insist the bacteria that could grow in your creams could be harmful if spread on the skin. Obviously bacteria can grow in your cream  which is why preservatives are added. Without preservatives your cream might have a shorter shelf lie.  As to wether it is harmful I cant find any actual research linking cream to infection but i suggest you research more.

For me being able to use moisturiser that doesn’t make my skin flare up is a worthwhile risk. However I do store it in the fridge and use a clean spoon each time to scoop some out. 

Pots
to put your cream in.

Process

Heat the Fat Stage ingredients in a double boiler (or a metal pot on hot water) until above 75°C. Use a thermometer to check.

Boil the water add the MF emulsifier and other Water Stage ingredients to 75°C.

Take off heat. Now pour the Fat Stage into the Water Stage in a slow steady stream before they drop below 75°C.

Mix well – I use a hand blender.

Allow to cool. Whisk occasionally to achieve a nice creamy consistency. As the mixture cools it becomes thicker and more creamy. It will reach its thickest consistency when it has cooled down to room temperature.

When the temperature is below 40°C you can add active ingredients
perfumes or essential oils and other magical things to make you look years younger.

You can also add specialist ingredients to make for example sun tan lotion or self tan.

Put the Cream into jars and label.

Take Care

That everything you use is clean, very clean.
Make sure you have enough pots to store your cream in.
That you label it – and date it. Believe me you will forget!

Recipes & Kits

Here are some sample recipes.

Supermarket Cream (My recipe)

You can buy all these ingredient from the supermarket.  I cut the olive oil with the lighter almond oil because I find it rather heavy.
Makes One liter of cream – have a big pot ready!

Fat Stage

  • 20g Cetyl Alcohol
  • 70ml Almond Oil Tesco’s or Asian Shop
  • 30ml Olive Oil
  • 20g coconut oil Tescos or Asian Shop
  • Water Stage
  • 800ml water
  • 40g MF emulsifier
  • Fancy Aromatics RecipeTo be honest I think this recipe has way to many ingredients but I like this company, I have used their products many times and think that this will probably make a nice cream. It is also useful to have a recipe that lists by percentages.You can experiment and use different oils, or even less oils. Just make sure the percentages stay the same. For example you can cut the thistle oil and use 10% Apricot Kernal Oil.

    By percentage
    Fat Stage (above 75°C)
    2% Cocoa Butter
    3% Macadamia Nut Oil
    7% Apricot Kernel Oil
    3% Thistle Oil
    2.5% VE Emulsifier
    2% Cetearyl Alcohol

    Water Stage (above 75°C)
    4.5% MF Emulsifier
    69% Boiling Spring Water
    2% Glycerine

    Third Stage (below 40°C)
    1% Preservative 12 or Eco
    1% Vitamin E Simulated Natural
    2% NFF Complex
    1% Essential Oils of your choice

    From Aromantics

    Rich Tropical Delights Cream (My recipe)

    Much easier far fewer ingredients. I cut the olive oil with Almond because I find it rather heavy.
    Makes One liter of cream – have a big pot ready!

    Fat Stage

  • 25 g VE Emulsifier
  • 20g Cetyl Alcohol
  • 70ml Almond Oil
  • 30ml Coconut Oil
  • 20g Shea butter
  • 10g Cocoa butter
  • Water Stage
  • 800ml water
  • 40g MF emulsifier
  • Design Your Own
    You can adapt the mix of oils for the above recipes based on your personal preference.
    If you want to design you own cream from scratch, follow these guidelines…
    style=”font-size: medium;”>Emulsifiers 5-8%
  • Oils 12-20%
  • Water, Additives, and Botanicals to 100 %.

Trouble Shoot
Cream too thick? You cannot add more water once the mixture has cooled. This ruins the cream – it will not rub in. You will need to make a thinner lotion and mix your creams to achieve the desired consistency. You can add more oil and mix well. This of course makes your cream more oily.

Lotions

If you want a thinner cream add more water at the water stage.

Kits

If this is your first time making lotions I can also recommend the Aromantics cream making starter pack from www.aromantic.co.uk  It comes with everything you need including, sadly, 30 little plastic pots to put it in. All the ingredients were wrapped in plastic bags as well. Hmmm. On the plus side, the cream is really easy to make and they send you several different recipes.

Anti Aging, Sun Tan Lotion & Fake Bake
You can add  specialist ingredients to your base to make for example sun tan lotion or self tan.

Buy

Aromantics is a good and ethical supplier of ingredients but expensive. I buy a lot of stuff in bulk from other suppliers. Ebay is a good source. Prices vary so do shop around.

I store my creams in old jars but for display  I have bought some glass jars with metal lids.

Plastic Spoiler

Most plastic base ingredients come in plastic bags but I get huge amounts cream out of one small bag of ingredients so I consider it a worthwhile compromise.

Making Personal Care Products 

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.

Lots more info here on  toothpaste and other products  
and making other stuff – here.

Making creams while travelling

You cannot carry a years supply of home made cream in your rucksack so here are some ideas about making your own home made creams in hotel bedrooms.

Kits
If this is your first time making lotions I can also recommend the Aromantics cream making starter pack from www.aromantic.co.uk  It comes with everything you need including, sadly, 30 little plastic pots to put it in. All the ingredients were wrapped in plastic bags as well. Hmmm. On the plus side, the cream is really easy to make and they send you several different recipes.

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Gift wrap reusable

by Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged ,

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 .
Make or buy 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

Crackle Paper

I have to admit to using synthetic tents. I feel this is one instance where plastic really is the best product for the job, (remembers sleeping under canvas and shudders #plasticweuse). But what to do when your trusty old tent is no longer up to the job. Well you could re- use  it to make crinkly sounding wrapping paper. Or if you don’t camp, or sew, you could buy some recycled Glastonbury tent wraps form these guys….
FESTIWRAP

FestiWraps are made from tents, discarded at UK music festivals such as Lattitude and Glastonbury, and then collected by us. Tents that cannot be recovered by charities and would normally be sent to landfill, are collected, cleaned and used to create fabulous reusable gift wrap. The wrap itself is made from two outer layers of tent fabric sandwiched around a piece of ground sheet.  This creates a crinkly sound like paper folding and un-folding, bringing the emotional sounds and experience of a wrapped gift to life.  The fastening cord, which makes the FestiWrap so quick and easy to use, is made from the recovered tent guy ropes. You can buy here.

More

You can find other gift wrap options here, plus biodegradable sticky tape, string and pretty ties

And you can read up more about special days and general partying here.

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Extracts

by Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink Tagged , , 2 Comments

Did you know that simply by steeping herbs, peel and fruit in alcohol you can make extracts? I discovered this quite by accident when researching what to do with an excess of leggy lavender from a rampant bush. I found a post about lavender vodka and because I refuse to follow recipes, I used far too much lavender.  Rather than a delicately flavoured beverage I ended up with a murkey liquid which, lucky for me,  turns out to be an extract.

Make Your Own

Extracts are strongly flavoured plant extracts. They used to flavour drinks and food. They are a great way of using up a glut of something and preserving it for use later in the year. They are incredibly easy to make and have to be the easiest way of preserving.

The alcohol used is usually vodka and the general rule of thumb seems to be to buy mid range. Too cheap and the nasty flavour intrudes, too expensive and it is a waste of good vodka. Some recipes also suggest rum.

The method is the same.

Take the herb put it in a jar cover it with vodka and leave in a cool dark place remembering to shake occasionally. Time steeping varies with the herb and the recipe.
Once done you strain off the liquid through a sieve and them some fine cotton.
Here are some steeping guidelines.

  • Lavender – flowers steep for 4 weeks
  • Vanilla use the beans steep for two months.
  • Mint leaves one to two months.
  • Citrus Extracts use the rind of the fruit but not the bitter white pith. Use organic unwaxed fruit. steep for 5 to 6 weeks.
  • Cinnamon bark (sticks) steep for two weeks.
  • Berries  6 to 8 weeks or longer.

    • Apparently extracts will keep for  3-5 years.

    Interesting articles
    Three main reasons for using alcohol 

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    Water carbonated / fizzy drinks

    by Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink Tagged , 4 Comments

    I have long wanted a Soda Stream to make my own fizzy water for soft drinks and, more importantly, mixers for gin -the best of all spirits. For now I am buying tonic in tins (but they of course come plastic lined), or bottle (plastic-lined, metal cap and very expensive!).

    But it has to be a SodaStream Crystal Sparkling Water Machine ( see one here) because these take glass bottles rather than plastic.

    Until now there have been 2 drawbacks to this scheme. Recently I have been traveling… a lot. No fixed abode means no large kitchen appliances. Extended travel also results in limited income and those things cost around £110.00 pounds. Yes I am sure I would make the money back in the long run but in the short term I simply don’t have the cash.

    Recently however the planets have aligned. I now have a kitchen and I got a bargain on Ebay. A new Soda Stream machine in original packaging for less than half price. Given my gin drinking habits, I will soon make that back!

    Yes the machine is plastic but I consider this to be plastic that ultimately cuts my plastic consumption. And of course it is cutting my consumption of  disposable plastics while it is a reusable item.

    Packaging

    The Soda Stream itself was well packaged. The box is shiny cardboard (maybe plastic coated) with one little plastic carry handle. Inside it was all brown card protective units. Yay!

    The Ebayer I bought it off sent it wrapped in bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard and plastic tape.

    If I had got it from a shop it would have been almost plastic free… but when you are skint you often have to compromise. Sigh.

    Bottles & Gas

    It was so cheap because it came without a bottle. At least that is what I understood the blurb to say. So I bought some gas and a glass bottle from Amazon. I know it was wrong of me and I wont do it again but they too were bargains.

    The Amazon packaging was cardboard with plastic tape and the original soda stream gas and bottle packaging were (plastic coated?), shiny cardboard.

    The gas bottle itself had a plastic cap and a seal. And a plastic sleeve with information printed on. I see no reason why this could not be paper.

    Not In My Bin….

    The tape had to go on my monthly plastic tally but the boxes I free-cycled. There’s always Ebayers who need packaging.

    Syrups

    To make fizzy drinks you need to mix the carbonated water with concentrated cordial. You can buy a range of Soda Stream mixers to make all manner of beverages from cola to tonic. They come in plastic bottles and while this represent a massive cut in overall plastic consumption, I think it is avoidable.

    You can buy cordial in glass bottles from most supermarkets but it is really easy to make your own and you get to control how much sugar and other nasty additives go into them. I find commercial soft drinks, even tonic, to be way too sweet.

    To date I have made raspberry fizz and ginger and lemon sparkle. Both taste great with gin!

    Raspberry Fizz

    Go to Bently Grange PYO fruit farm and get some raspberries. Boil them up with some sugar. Strain. Add fizzy water. Yay!

    Ginger & Lemon Sparkle

    Boil ginger pieces, lemon juice and sugar. Strain. Add fizzy water. You can save the ginger to flavor other stuff with. Goes great with melon!

    Grapefruit & Lavender Blush

    Juice of the grapefruit, few heads of lavender the last dollop of jam. Add some sugar, boil.

    Storage

    If you put enough sugar in I guess these cordials would last a long time. I don’t use much sugar so I make small batches and keep them in the fridge for a few days. If I make a lot I  freeze the cordial as cubes of icy flavour.

    Find more recipes in the plastic free cookbook

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    Fabric Shops Button Box

    by Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged ,
     I got the printed cotton for my tabbard tunic, linen for the extremely wide pants, voile for the choir boy smock and denim for shorts from

    Button Box, Huddersfield

    At Queensgate Market where you can get a wide range of plastic free stuff

    It looks more like a hobbies shop catering to quilters, stampers and card makers. But dont be put off by the decoupage, it has recently upped its fabric game. I remember the range as rather limited and extremely synthetic – think dance fabrics. Now it has some really nice stuff; funky prints, subtle colours and a lot of natural fibres.

    More plastic free

    They sell paper patterns and cotton bias binding by the meter. They have some hessian and cotton ribbens that look natural.

    Plasticless

    They do 100% cotton thread but it comes on plastic reels. You can get cotton on wooden reels online (link below), but you to be well organised and plan ahead, skills I have yet to master.

    The Button Box stocks metal zips in what looks like a polyester fabric.

    General

    They have all the other stuff you need to sew with but it comes plastic packed (for plasticfree sewing supplies see the link below).

    They have a great range of ribbons and laces which look to be mostly synthetic.

    Find

    The Huddersfield store is located at the entrance of Queensgate Covered Market.

    Samuel Taylor’s Button Box

    4-5 Queensgate Market Arcade
    Princess Alexandra Walk
    Huddersfield
    West Yorkshire
    HD1 2UJ  View on map

    01484 435 235

    About

    Samuel Taylors is a family business that has a number of Yorkshire-based, fabric retail stores and an online shop. You can find them here…

    Head Office & Internet Showroom 

    Leeds Central

    Leeds Market

    Brighouse Store

    Embsay Store

    Harrogate Knitting & Haberdashery 

    More

    You can buy plastic free sewing supplies here.

    Find other Yorkshire based #plasticfree products and shops here