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2019 Yearly Round Up

Welcome to our yearly round-up of news and products. Each month we blog about our  latest finds and collate them all here.  Subscribe to get our monthly updates delivered to your virtual door. There’s a subscription form at the bottom of the page.

You can see our past round ups here HERE.

Plastic Free Christmas

CHRISTMAS WREATHS Completely Plastic Free in Sheffield

We do use wires (& know its tempting to have a sparkly wreath!) But our wreaths have zero plastic or glitter.
We can also do gold, red and blue – more examples to come over the weekend in different designs!
But why not consider a natural, festive wreath!?

We make all our wreaths from scratch – from mossing to sprucing to decorating

This one has citrus fruits – oranges, lemons, grapefruit – apples, lotus pods and pinecones and it actually Smells Amazing!
Measures app 24″  £30.00

Will be Available to purchase from the Winter Gardens Next week or can be delivered this weekend!

Limited Orders being taken now for Christmas  Wreaths start from £20.00 – message us know with your requirements!

#florist #sheffield #plasticfree #christmas #wreath #ecofriendly

https://m.facebook.com/auroraecofloral/

Elastic

But honestly, I’m more excited by this… organic, biodegradable plasticfree elastic!!

Find More

I have been updating my list of towns with refill shops and adding new shops. Have a look and see if there is one near you.. Plus how to get your shop added to the list.

Online


This is an interesting option that allows you to buy basic foods on line plastic free.
You can even use your own produce bags. Read more
HEREdd your own grisly finds and ghastly zero waste ideas.

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

Instant Coffee

Finally managed to score some plastic free instant coffee! Its back to the wonderful Leeds Market. Read more here.

Make

Conker soap

Like Soapnuts, conkers contain saponins, a soap-like chemical compound. Unlike soap it’s they don’t have to be shipped halfway round the world but rather picked up off the streets. They can be used to make

laundry soap and
shampoo.
Conkers are not as strong as soap nuts but are free.
WARNING: Conker juice, like saponin, is mildly poisonous and should be treated as such.

September

Cheese update how to buy and what to do with the wax.

BYOB

Bring your own bags?

If you want to  shop plastic-free you often need to take your own packaging. While seems bothersome, it means no hormone inhibitors and toxic chemicals leaching from plastic packaging into your food, and less plastic pollution. Here are the win win alternatives. 

The Curse Of The Single Cup Brew

coffee pods made up a nearly 5 billion dollar industry.
at least 16 million U.S. households currently have a single-serve brewer on their countertop.

Good job I found these. Coffee single-cup brewing system – compostable pods

Compostable Plastics

What is compostable? To be classed compostable, items must biodegrade within a certain time (around the rate at which paper biodegrades), and the resulting biomass must be free of toxins, able to sustain plant life and be used as an organic fertilizer or soil additive. For a man-made product to be sold as compostable, it has to meet certain standards.

One such is the European Norm EN13432. You can find out more here.

Composting Plastic At Home

While most agree that some plastics are indeed compostable, many say that it can only composted in large scale municipal schemes. As we don’t have many large scale municipal schemes this they say is a pointless advantage. 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.
It does take longer than other products and  sometimes I have found shreds of it in my compost but I dig it into the soil where it quickly disappears.

Read more about compostable plastics here

Greenwashing
And never forget that bio-degradable plastic bags do not biodegrade where as compostable plastic bags do compost. Not all bio-plastics (plant derived plastics) are compostable. Read more here.

Compost Bins

How Do I Compost?
I have a Green Joanna compost bin and I  compost up in the North of England.

More Drink

Tea, coffee, cocoa and drinking chocolate all bought #plasticfree and made with milk from a returnable glass bottle. Details here 

Water

To make coffee you need water. Go to the water index to see all posts on water

August

On holiday

July

This month we are talking about

Merino and sunburnt sheep! Do we believe this? Check out U.V resistant clothes here http://plasticisrubbish.com/2014/05/25/love-your-layby/
Holidays
Why my blog has gone private!?!
Plastic Free July
Water in returnable glass bottles

Planning Your Jollies

Going on holiday or maybe a longer trip perhaps backpacking? Check out our #plasticfree travel experiences with links to how we #passonplastics when backpacking, where we have been and how to avoid #pointlessplastics abroad. Wish you were here

It’s that time of year when sitting on the balcony becomes a feat of endurance rather than a pleasure and it’s down to those vile biting mosquitos. Time to take action…

Notification of wonky links

It has come to my attention that some of the internal links on this blog lead you not to some plastic free loveliness but an abrupt notice saying the blog is private and that you need to contact me for access. The blog is not private so please DON’T email me for access as I don’t appear to be able to grant that either. another problem!
This is some kind of internal mixup and I am correcting the links as I come across them. Please let me know if you come across a bad link via the Plastic Is Rubbish Facebook or Twitter accounts.

Many Thanks

Titanium Dioxide

also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO ₂.
It can be used in Sun Screens, Moisturisers, Powdered Make-up, Lip and Baby products and virtually any Skin Treatment product.

Read more here http://plasticisrubbish.com/2012/10/26/but-can-i-drink-the-water/

Of course every month is plastic free for me but plastic free July is a time to make a bit of extra effort, promote projects, look at my bin and join with other people all over the world who are taking this time to rethink their relationship with plastic.

Water

Well its finally getting warm and everyone has to stay hydrated so lets revisit the subject of plastic free water

Plastic Free Bottled Water

Returnable Bottles

“Crag water are the only bottled spring water company in the North of England that reuses its glass bottles. By that we mean that we will deliver and collect then send back to be washed, sanitised and refill the bottles.

read all our water posts here http://plasticisrubbish.com/2012/10/26/but-can-i-drink-the-water/

AugustJune

More Medical Stuff

Did you know you can recycle your inhaler?
Find your nearest participating pharmacy via this website.
Enter your post code
and its as easy as that to breathe new life into your old inhalers.

If you fancy making your own decongestant and with a reusable inhaler – check this out.

Try a  reusable inhalers and eucalyptus oil.  Breath easily and cut the trash.

Find more #plasticfree personal care products here.

And more refill services HERE

Talking of refills….

Supermarkets

Some time you have to use them.

Morrisons is to become the first supermarket chain to remove packaging from its fruit and vegetables.
The company said customers would be able to choose from up to 127 varieties of fruit and veg in many of its stores, buying them loose or putting them in recyclable paper bags.
However, there will continue to be a neighbouring section where customers can still buy packaged veg, if they choose
The move follows a ten-month trial in three English stores where the amount of loose fruit and veg bought by customers increased by an average of 40 per cent.
From the Scotsman.

Read more abut supermarkets, local shops and how we choose where to shop, HERE.

Plastic Free June

Want to really cut your plastics? Then this  is a great campaign organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCSUK).The MSCUK is a UK charity “that cares for our seas, shores and wildlife”.
The Plastic Challenge takes place every year in the U.K. in June.It is organized by them.

You can read more about it here

If  a month seems too long why not do this instead. On 5 June 2019,UK-based activist group A Plastic Planet will be organising the  the second annual One Plastic Free Day . here’s PICK, SNAP! POST.

Visit the website here

May

Back Home

Keen readers of this blog will no doubt have been devastated that there have been no monthly updates recently.
Why you ask desperately?
You may remember that back in 2018 May I wrote “back in the U.K.  in Leeds after year backpacking. Re-entry has been rather bumpy. I have a horrible stomach complaint which has meant I’ve had to stay close to home or at least close to a toilet.”

A year later my complaint has finally been diagnosed and hopefully cured. I’m off my bed of pain but very much weakened. I have the energy to move about (a welcome improvement),  but nothing extra. Writing the blog and maintaining my social media groups has definitely counted as extra. So I’ve had to take time off.

Given that I have written posts in deepest darkest Borneo back in the early days when internet access online was via some grimy café, you can appreciate how frustrating all this has been! In short its been a very long year involving a lot of plastic medicines.

Now I would never suggest you don’t take your plastic packed medication.

But surely we can do something about the onward packaging? Thankfully someone is.

Boots supplying prescriptions in plastic bags!

Hi Everyone!
I know you’re all as concerned about the use of plastic as me, so thought you would want the chance to sign another petition – this time to Boots who have decided its a good idea to start supplying their prescriptions in plastic bags!
Let’s them back to plastic free prescriptions – please sign and share this petition: http://chng.it/gswWWfqh
Thanks,
Rosie

However this fantastic news has had me back at the keyboard.

So glad to announce that fellow campaigner Michelle Cassar has written a kids book. As well working long and hard at raising awareness of the environmental damage caused by plastic pollution, she has always shown and encouraged practical solutions. Plastic pollution, that is the non-biodegradable throwaway plastic that is increasingly littering and damaging the land and sea. She has lived plastic reduced for decades and coined the descriptive term Being PALL, that is Being Plastic A Lot Less, to describe her lifestyle choice. She went on to become one of the original members of City to Sea, an organisation preventing plastic pollution at source.

Add to that Michelle has now written a book to teach children about the dangers of plastic misuse. Especially single use plastic plastic. That is the plastic products used once and then discarded. Yes it a big subject for small children and an incredibly complex one. But she has managed to write a heartwarming, kind and informative tale that introduces children to the problems without scaring the pants off them. She highlights the issues while gently suggesting ways children can change their habits to help change their future. It features snarky big sisters, goggle-wearing supersheros, leatherback turtles and Narwhals. Add a curious determined little girl who realises that one person can make a difference and what’s not to love? Written for kids but great for adults (and snarky big sisters), too. Read it and be inspired.”

You can help get this book published by supporting her crowdfunded. It goes live on the 5th June #WorldEnviromentDay up and running for the 8th June #WorldOceansDay. It will be a kind of ‘pre-order’ with some additional rewards for name in book, and kids party planner etc.

Keep track via her blog.

Buying British Made 

Read up on how and why we buy, here

March

Hair Bands / Ties – Kooshoo-  pleased to have found these made from 100% biodegradable materials. Read up here

It’s way too sunny so I am looking for some sunblock and some shady clothes. By which I mean clothes that protect me from the sun and not a dubious looking look.

Anything But Plastic online sell this

Shade Sunscreen for £9.75 for 100ml. I have bought some and will be writing a review.

But at that price I will also have to continue making my own. So far I have made a zinc based lotion and a zinc based suntan oil. You can read more about that and find my recipes HERE

February

Plastic free February is happening in leeds, right now and being run by Plastic Free Me. Find out more here

Events with Plastic-Free Me
FEB 5 Plastic-Free Youth Leadership Course
FEB 21 Plastic-Free Film Workshop
FEB 22 Plastic-Free Me Workshop

Check out their Facebook page

Crisps

Wahey…after years of no crisps….Its now possible to buy crisps in home compostable packaging! Find them here!

Refill Service

This is a very interesting article “A coalition of giant brands is about to change how we shop forever, with a new zero-waste platform. Loop will send you name-brand products, like Tide detergent, Crest mouthwash, or Häagen Dazs ice cream. When you’re done, you ship the empty container back, where it gets cleaned and reused for the next customer.” Read more here.

Of course we are already big fans of refill services.  Here are a few we have found. #plasticfree refill index

Head on over here to get loved up!

January

PG tips threatening to bring out plastic free tea bags

 http://plasticisrubbish.com/2010/09/13/bean-me-up/

coffee in compostable packaging

read more here.

Bedding

A plastic free duvet cover is hard to find. It seems that washable cotton products generally need a tough plastic casing. well not at Denhelm mill.

Bedroom

Talking of shopping…..

Here are my thoughts on how to shop #plasticfree and ethically. I try to apply as many of the following criteria as possible

Obviously first and foremost said products have to be plastic free or help me reduce my plastic footprint
Support independant shops
Buy British made products
Support British companies
Realistically I sometimes have to shop in supermarkets and chains. Then I have to consider which is the most ethical choice

You can read more here

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Calendar & Petitions

As well as boycotting plastic in your daily life there are an increasing number of campaigns you can support. In this post you will find:
Featured campaign the latest project:
Annual events – dates for your diary:
Petitions you can sign right now.

Dates For Your Diary

These annual events are recurring.
April
Big Spring Beach Clean this April (3rd – 9th April) organised by Surfers Against Sewage

July
Plastic Free July is a world wide event.
Every year, in July, people everywhere try to cut their consumption of one use plastic, for this one month.
Read more here

September
Zero Week Week runs the first full week in September.The aim is to cut the trash going to landfill.
Read more here

The Marine Conservation Society (MSCUK) organises The Great British Beach Clean Up

Petitions

Go straight to the petition…

Bottle Deposit Return Petition
Placing a small deposit on plastic bottles and cans would dramatically increase recycling and reduce marine plastic pollution. Surfers Against Sewage’s Message In A Bottle campaign site. 

Straws
Introduce a 5p charge on plastic straws to reduce the UK’s plastic waste, for both the environment and the economy. Sign Here.

Boycott plastic straws completely or use a reusable/ compostable alternative.  

Tampax
As the leading tampon brand around the globe we are reaching out to you to stop a very serious environmental hazard: plastic tampon applicators. Sign here
Find out more about menstruating plastic free, here.

Cut Food Packaging
Please sign the petition to ask the major retailers (and our lovely local farm shop) to end plastic packaging on foods!
Find a whole loads of plastic free foods here – and how to cook them!

More on the above

Read more about the potions here….

Bottle Deposit Return Petition
Surfers Against Sewage have just put out a petition which I think we all should sign….
Stop marine plastic pollution by introducing a small, refundable deposit on all plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans to recycle the 16 million plastic bottles thrown away every day.
Why is this important?
In the UK we use a staggering 38.5 million single-use plastic bottles and a further 58 million cans every day! Only half of these are recycled, so it’s no surprise that many of these end up on our beaches and in our oceans.
Plastic bottles take 450 years to break down, killing marine life, harming the coastal ecosystem and ruining our beaches.Placing a small deposit on plastic bottles and cans would dramatically increase recycling and reduce marine plastic pollution.
For full information on deposit return systems please visit Surfers Against Sewage’s Message In A Bottle campaign site. 

Update on the SAS petition
Today Coca-Cola have performed a dramatic and unexpected U-turn, publicly coming out in support of deposit return systems for the UK!  This is fantastic news for the campaign!
Adding to this great news, earlier this week, the CEO of Suez, one of the UK’s largest waste collection and recycling companies also added his support, going on record on how deposit return systems can benefit communities, the economy and the environment!
Click here for more news on these stories.
It feels like the tide has really turned and we’ll be handing in the petition to Government in the coming weeks.
Thank you for signing the petition Bring back bottle deposits to stop plastic pollution in our oceans, can you help spread the word by forwarding the link below to your friends?
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/bring-back-bottle-deposits-to-stop-plastic-pollution-in-our-oceans-1

Tampax

As the leading tampon brand around the globe we are reaching out to you to stop a very serious environmental hazard: plastic tampon applicators.
An alarming number of tampon applicators are washing up on shores all over the world, some beaches even have to be closed after large numbers of them flood the beach after a storm. In the past two months of cleaning up beaches JUST along Lake Ontario in Canada, my team and I have picked up 415 plastic applicators. We are aware that these applicators are not meant to be flushed, but it’s evident that many users are not following this advice and we would like to stop this problem at the source. Sign here

Plastic Free Food

Opting for food without plastic packaging could be a huge relief for our limited resources, however until the supermarkets change their packaging this is going to be difficult for consumers who frequently go for convenience in our ‘one stop shop’ age.
We need to act now before this problem gets worse – it’s not one to hand onto the next generation.
Please sign the petition to ask the major retailers (and our lovely local farm shop) to end plastic packaging on foods!

SaveSav

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2017 01 Roundup

Welcome to our monthly round-up of news and products. You can subscribe to get our monthly updates delivered to your virtual door. There’s a subscription form at the bottom of the page.

You can see our all our round ups here HERE.

2017

Sign Up

There are now so many plastic free petitions I am now listing them on a separate page. So get your pens out and head on over to the petitions page.
Don’t be silly. I know nobody uses pens, or paper petitions come to that – but if you ever do want to write something try these refillable fountain pens… 

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 (read more here) or

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

December

This month we are
Making sweet mince for pies
Singing landfill carols
Last minute preps for a plastic-free Christmas

So the big day is nearly upon us.

Plastic Free Christmas mince-food-featured

As for the rest of December….sigh! But lets not give way! Gird those loins and get busy. By now I am usually making mincemeat. You can see our sweet mincemeat recipe here. 
It”s scrummy,yummy and features our brand new recipe Small Wrinkled Balls Of Christmas Fire! Whats not to love.

Songs

Going out carolling? Here’s a song you might like to learn!

Presents

I am busy buying my passive-aggressive, pointed, eco gifts. These cotton produce bags are for  you, you crazy, double-bagging  freak! No – not really! These are lovely gifts for lovely people …. who doesn’t want to sponsor a hippo? But should you go really hardcore  here are some perfectly good reasons from Unistash to cutdown on presents….
UnstashManifesto

Unstash manifesto

More

And as for the other festive stuff –  as we all know by now, plastic isn’t just for Christmas. Sadly. So here are a few tips on how to ensure your festive rubbish can be composted to feed next years plants. See them HERE.

Fair Share Fabric

The end of the year and it time to start counting, weighing and documenting my  plastic-free, compostable wardrobe.

And Finally

Green Elvis has led the building. Happy Christmas one and all xxxxxxxx

The Plastic Free Year

Read about it here 

November

While travelling I’ve been buying locally made fabrics for next years outfits. I have been through India, Japan and Thailand so the choice has been huge. And I have had to learn a lot something about the different kinds of fabrics. If you too are thinking about making your own clothes you might find the following introduction to fibres and fabrics useful.
I am starting from a position of ignorance so it’s very much a dummies guide.
I of course have been only buying natural fibres that have been locally made. I tell you next years wardrobe is going to be stunning!

Fair Share Fabric Rationing 

Wahey. talking of clothes, this year Ami is joining in in the fair share fabric rationing project. You can read more about it here

Packer Tracker

You can rummage in our plastic free backpack, find out where we are and link to other travel related posts here

 

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.

Getting ready for Christmas christmas

Too early for the C word? I know Halloween is hardly over but you need to plan ahead in the plastic free world. For example if you want to make a reusable advent calendar you need to start collecting loo rolls or get sewing. Or at the very least order online. You will also need to get some biodegradable sticky tape, think about making fantastic home made candied peel even some sweet mincemeat. See how to plan a plastic free Christmas here

Then there is the office party (groans!). Given the choice between washing up in the tea room sink, and disposable cups, the answer may seem obvious. However at the end of the night when the black bin bags come out that decision may seem rather environmentally unfriendly.  So we put together some plastic free party tips here.

Leaf Mold

Another C word and one of our favorites. Yes it’s composting. Hooray! You can use all those Autumn leaves to make seed compost. Instructions here

October

Because plastic is too scary – even for Halloween

Whhhooo oooo

Yes its time for spooks, ghouls and zombies to take to the streets and beg sweets.  We have put together a few tips to cut the plastic horror that results. Included are…

  • Get,(or make), some fabric trick or treat bags to take out with you – not to my house obvs.
  • Buy plastic-free sweets for when the ghouls come calling.
  • Use compostable, disposable partyware
  • Make a reusable, burlap witches hat .
  • make your own costumes

Check out the How To Halloween Plastic Free page for details. And please do add your own grisly finds and ghastly zero waste ideas  ….. love Hollies mushed beetroot brains!

Updates

Compostable Coffe Cups

Look out for the lovely green van. Maybe you can hire it for your events. Not sure. You will have to contact them. As well as a great vehicle they are using compostable disposables. Mmmmmm.
London based
We’re a new mobile catering company coming soon! We’ll be serving excellent artisan coffee and bites out of our gorgeous vintage wagon!
Thanks to @BiopacLtd for our compostable coffee cups & other packaging! #TheWackaWagonCo http://www.TheWackaWagonCo.com

Straw Wars

All Bar One
Are cutting plastic straws…..
It’s simple really, over the next year we’re going to reduce our straw usage by a third.
Don’t worry you can still sip away merrily on our delicious cocktails and soft drinks, and for those crushed ice cocktails we’ll be offering replacement eco-friendly options.
So why does this matter to us? Our own research show just how many straws are in use and in turn, creating an environmental problem. To give you a snapshot of just how many straws we use at All Bar One:
Straws are served in 25% of our drinks
An average of 1,600 straws a week in each bar (about 13,000 a day as a brand)
We purchase 4.7 million straws a year
We need your help, we can’t make this happen without you, the change starts with how you enjoy your drinks and we ask that when you do, you don’t ask for a straw. Let’s all work towards making a difference and get rid of plastic straws for good.
We’re also calling on other bars to join the pledge and get involved in the #StrawsSuck movement.

Check out the website HERE

Weatherspoons
Are also giving up straws for new year.
From January 2018, Wetherspoon chains will no longer automatically put plastic straws in their drinks, instead using only biodegradable paper straws. The pub chain claims this will stop 70 million plastic straws from heading to landfills or finding their way into the ocean, where they can cause damage to all kinds of sealife. The plan is part of a massive campaign called Refuse the Straw, which urges pub chains and restaurants to stop handing out plastic straws willy-nilly.

Read more
HERE

If you really need a straw, there are some options here – reusable or compostable. Read more.

 

Apples

October is the time for apple harvesting. If you don’t have your own tree you could try a PYO farm. There are hundreds of orchards offering this in the southern counties, rather fewer up here in the north.Check out this great farm finder website

Urban Harvest

Otherwise you coud get involved in some of the urgan harvest programs. They pick and distibute unwanted fruit. Abundance in Manchester is one such. From the website…

“A mature garden fruit tree produces more than the average family can eat. And at the same time there are lots of people in our city not able to access fresh food.

Abundance Manchester is a voluntary project which picks surplus or unwanted fruit from gardens and public trees around South Manchester and distributes it to local groups and communities who can use it. We also collect and distribute surplus vegetables from allotments.”

I have listed a couple more here.

September

We are always happy to work with others promoting plasticfree products. Every so often we run a give away for fabulous #plasticfree prizes.
This month you are super lucky. WE have two!
Snact Fruit Jerky in compostable packaging and WUKA period underwear cutting the need for disposables.

Zerowaste Week

Zerowaste week starts on the 4th of this month.
For a number of years now I have been a zero waste ambassador. Here are some quick zero waste week facts!
Zero waste week is organized by Rae Strauss:
It has been going since 2008:
The aim is to cut the trash going to landfill.

This year each day will focus on a different topic.
They are:
#MakeItMendItMonday – Make Do and Mend – get fixing. See how to make stuff plastic free HERE

#TrashlessTuesday – try and have a complete ZERO WASTE day with bonus points for carrying their waste around in a clear plastic bag all day!
#WasteLessWednesday – Upcycling don’t bin it transform it into something extremely lovely.
#TopTipsThursday – Time saving and Top Tips. What’s your favourite.
#FoodWasteFriday – Food waste and how to minimise it.

Visit the website here.

Of course its not just me  doing it- there are loads of bloggers doing all kinds of stuff. You can find them herded together in one easy to access place on the Zero Waste website and listen to them wittering – sorry twittering – on on the twitter hashtag #zerowasteweek

If you want to join in you can make a pledge here on the zero waste website. If you decide to blog about it you can decorate your blog or  post with various buttons, if you don’t you can print off posters for your living walls (easy tiger!) with these links posters and pdfs

Read more about My zero waste weeks here

Summer Holidays

Do you need DEET check out these Malarial regions here
Read about DEET and the plasticfree alternatives here

Which times of the day are worst for The UV index here.

UV-Control Merino (Knitwear)

A UV absorbing finish is applied to the Merino wool product during dyeing or bleaching at either yarn stage, fabric stage or during knitted garment finishing. The finish can also be applied after dyeing either by exhaustion or by padding. Read more

More about merino

Read more about Plastic free fun in the sun here.

Lush making an Exhibition

lush are one of the more forward thinking British companies. And they do stuff like this:

One of four Pop Ups being staged to support the Lush 2017 Creative Showcase event in London next month, Naked House is part gallery exhibition and part immersive experience curated by the brand team at Lush to show just how easy it is to make the switch to Naked (as in living with less packaging).
Read more here.

August

Summer and it’s time for high tea with

Strawberry jam and scones
First pick your strawberries. Unless you have been super organised and grown some, you will need to visit a pick your own farm. Find a PYO farm here ….
Now you can make some jam. I know you can get it in glass jars but the lids are plastic lined. Jam recipe here

And Cucumber Sandwiches
Cakes can be tricky but Asian stores and Polish delis often stock the smaller kind.

And then of course you need a nice cup of tea…
What’s in your tea bag? Paper and tea? you wish! Most teabags contain one or more
Plastic
Thermoplastics
Epichlorohydrin
And have been chlorine bleached.
There are plastic free teabags but they often come plastic packed.
And yet in a strange twist of fate you can get conventional tea bags that contain plastic in compostable packaging.

Read up about it here.

After which you will no longer want to use a conventional tea bag ever again. And you will have to be super rich to afford the cleaner greener alternatives even if you can find them in plastic free packaging. And please let me if you do.
So what to do when you want a nice cup of tea?
Loose leaves are the way forward. But how to steep them? 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 use to make your own 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

Fun In The Sun

Don’t forget if you are going out berry picking to slap on some sun block.
Sun protection even on cloudy days is vital. But dont listen to me, have a look at www.skincancer.org website an invaluable source that should be read by everyone. Though you might find yourself spending the rest of Summer cowering in a cellar coming out only after dark after doing so.
But educate yourself and you can enjoy the sun sensibly.

More

There is lots more information about sun protection here. Do read up before you decide to make your own.

Oily Sun Tan Lotion

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 as sunburn is not only painful and aging but dangerous.

I have been mixing up sun tan lotion using zinc from home with rice bran oil bought in a Thai supermarket.
It chose an oil in a plastic bottle but there is a reason for that. On the island we are staying I have seen several points where plastic bottles are collected for recycling and none for glass. I have seen a lot of glass bottles piled up round the bins. Judging by the dust and weeds they have been there a long time. So I while I could have got coconut oil in a glass jar, I chose rice bran in a PET plastic bottle. principals are fine but not if they add to everlasting waste trashing up this island. And glass also lasts forever, is heavy and costs a lot to transport. PET plastic bottles are easy to recycle. They are the plastic most often collected by litter pickers because they have a value.
So I chose to buy one big plastic bottle of oil because it is most likely to be disposed of “properly”.

I added the zinc to oil to make lotion which so far seems to be working. You can see my recipe here. making your own sunblock

Rest Of The Oil
It was a very big bottle so I used some more oil to make
suntan lotion you can see my recipe here.
It can also be used to make

After sun lotion
I don’t believe all the hype about essential oils. That said it seems that lavender essential really might help with burns. And it is grown locally in Yorkshire. So I use lavender oil added to a carrier oil to make a soothing after sun lotion.

Mosquito repellent
I also use citronella essential oil mixed in a carrier oil as a mosquito repellent. I don’t know if it really works by which I don’t know if it repels Mosquitos. I feel it does and it certainly seems to soothe bites and reduce irritation. Obviously mosquitos present a real risk of malaria and you should consider your options very carefully before you proceed with this option.

Essential oils
Essential oils are resource hungry, have a large environmental footprint and should only be used on special occasions.
You can read more here

July

Hello and welcome to July. This month sees us back from Japan and hanging out on a beach in Thailand.
We are backpacking #plasticfree. You can find more details as to how and where in the packer tracker section.
But first”Plastivists united will never have to secumb to icecream in tubs”. Yes as a slogan it needs some work but here’s how we are going to bring plasticfree to the masses..

Stronger Together

I always wanted the blog to be a resource where numerous people could Collaborate on producing the bestest ever data base of plastic free resources for UK plastivists.

So if you want to contribute and I hope you do, please do this.

It’s not perfect but here’s how it works: find a plastic free product i.e. Pasta, search the database or A to Z index to see if there is already an entry for that product. If so, add the details in the comments for that post. You should be able to do this quite easily via any of your social media accounts.
If you have a post on the subject on your own blog please  leave a link to your own post again in the comments section.

Plastic Free Products

The easiest way to find a #plasticfree alternative in our huge database of products is to use the search function (#grandmothersuckeggs!) However we have also organised them by other criteria.
By Category Everything from food to Gardening to personal care
By Task 
Want to know how to wash the pots, #plasticfree? Check out these posts organised by task!
A to Z organised… erm…alphabetically
By Place
Towns organised alphabetically that have #plasticfree/ packaging free/ zerowaste shops. Find them here.

By Shops
Local shops Places selling refills and packaging free food (of a type normally sold prepacked)Heres a list of towns with shops selling loose food.
Supermarkets & Chainstores can surprise you – check out the plastic-free and reduced packaging products here.

By Blogger & Projects
Plastic Free People
Plastic Free Bloggers U.K. based bloggers can be found here 

Campaigns Arts, Media and Education Can be
found here

WHAT! NO POST? if you cannot find a post about pasta for example, tell me and I will set one  up.
Sharing Is caring And with your contributions,  posts can stay up to date and we can all benefit from each other’s expertise.

What do you think? Inputs, feedback and thoughts greatly welcomed. Anyone fancy out trying out and commenting on the system?

Big gold star to Yolanda for adding information on the ice cream post. Yum!

 

Competitions for designers

Any clever designers out there? Want to help design out plastic pollution and win a share of 1 million? Read more here.

And now you can reward yourself by entering our Giveaway. It’s from a company called Greencane 
They make #plasticfree tissue products including loo roll. Wahey.

They will be giving away a cardboard box  containing

32 Rolls of Toilet Paper (8 packs of 4 rolls)
6 Rolls of Paper Towels (3 packs of 2 rolls)
3 Boxes Facial Tissues

How Plastic Free

The products come in individually wrapped packs.
All the packaging is paper, card and or cellophone.
The cellophane is certified  as commercially compostable.
Delivered to your door in a cardboard box from their Brighton warehouse.
There may be some plastic tape on the box but they are working on that!
I have reviewed these produce – you can read my review here.

Enter Here

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter by clicking the link and following the instructions to either
Visit the Greencane Facebook page and leave a like
Comment here on the blog on why you want to wipe #plasticfree
Tweet our cheeky tweet
OR, for a better chance of winning, all three.

SORRY but this is only for people living in the UK

Buy

Can’t wait? For lots more info and to order products  visit the website

Composting Plastic At Home
FYI While most agree that some  plastics are indeed compostable, many say that they can only composted in large scale municipal schemes. I have used and composted a number of compostable plastic products 

Of course every month is plastic free for me but plastic free July is a time to make a bit of extra effort.

What is Plastic Free July

The aim is to cut your consumption of one use plastic, for one month; how much you choose to cut is up to  you – read my take.

A bit of history

Plastic Free July started in 2011 in Australia  in 2013 it went global. They have a great website and are all round good eggs.

My Plastic Free July
I try to cut all disposable plastics including the lesser known sneaky plastics

 U.K. Participants

2017  This year progress  and uk bloggers can be found  here 

More Info

And you might like these other health & hygiene posts.

 

June

 

Packer Tracker

Back in Malaysia and not drinking bottled water. Is the tap water safe to drink in Malaysia. I can find out using this super cool website ” can I drink the water.”  I pick the country you want and read the result. And  No it’s not safe to drink. But it does have a few water refill machines that are cheap and easy to use.

You can read about them here

Otherwise it’s back to tap water made safe by a steripen. You can find that and other plastic free travel aids here.

How Much Plastic

Last month others from the PLastic Is Rubbish Facebook group agreed to track our plastic consumption for a show and tell at the end of the month. This is not a competition or one upmanship but an out of interest kind of project.

I don’t know how they did but I made more plastic trash last month than I have done in the whole of my 10 years boycotting plastic. I was camping in Japan where it is almost impossible to buy food plastic free. When travelling a I take my plastic free shopping kit of reusable bags, tiffin tins and compostable PLA bags. But this only works if you can find loose produce. In Japan they love packaging. We did what we could but noodles, rice and even potatoes came in plastic bags. While we sometimes found a loose lettuce most veg was bagged. Most protein wether meat fish or soya was again well wrapped. The usual ploy of buying food in markets and local shops didn’t work here because even then they plastic wrapped it. They really are obsessed with packaging. To console ourselves we drank a lot of beer in tins. Plastic lined of course.

#myplastictrash.

But this month should be better because we are back in Malaysia.

June

Hello there. We are now in Japan where it is suprisingly green. Lots more trees than I expected. We are travelling round in a carvan. That is a car big enough to have a fixed bed in the back but no more. It came with a little camp stove and some bowls. We are staying in rest stops. These are car parks with toilets where you can sleep the night for free. It’s fanatastic but its not a campsite and cooking has to be quick and discrete. And there are no pot washing facilities.Or showers come to that. It’s an interesting experience. More of which later.

In the meantime…..

New Kid On The Blog

Sarah from Devon blogs about living plastic free in this lovely part of the world. Read about it here.

How Much Plastic

Myself  and others form the PLastic Is Rubbish Facebook group will be tracking our plastic consumption for a show and tell at the end of the month. This is not a competition or one upmanship but an out of interest kind of project. Feel free to join in. Don’t need to do it for a month, a week or a day will do.
Post at the end of the month, each week or whenever works for you. A list, photos, total weight however you want to record it. Post them in the plastic Is Rubbish group with the hashtag #myplastictrash.

Any other ideas on how to organise such a project greatly welcomed as I am talking off the top of my head here.
I can tell you now mine is going to be dreadful. I am in Japan and everything comes plastic packed!

Plastic Free June

Want to really cut your plastics? Then this  is a great campaign organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCSUK).The MSCUK is a UK charity “that cares for our seas, shores and wildlife”.

The Plastic Challenge takes place every year in the U.K. in June.It is organized by the

The MSCUK “have a vision of a world where plastics don’t end up in our seas and on our beaches, where they persist and impact our marine life.”
So they challenge you to give up single use plastics for a month (June), and get sponsored whilst doing it. The money goes to support MSCUK projects which are many and very worthwhile.

You can read more about it here

Giving Away

Getting ready for our next giveaway. Plastic free loo roll, and tissues and kitchen wipes. In a big cardboard box. Wahey!
Is from a company called Greencane 
They make tissue products and will be giving away a
 Mixed Box
a cardboard box, containing
Buy

Can’t wait? For lots more info and to order products  visit the website

Composting Plastic At Home
FYI While most agree that some  plastics are indeed compostable, many say that they can only composted in large scale municipal schemes. I have used and composted a number of compostable plastic products 

Biodegradable, Compostable Plastics

What is biodegradable? Biodegradable products break down through a naturally occurring microorganism into simple, 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 (around the rate at which paper biodegrades), and the resulting biomass must be free of toxins, able to sustain plant life and be used as an organic fertilizer or soil additive. Read more about compostable plastics here

More Info

And you might like these other health & hygiene posts.

Packer Tracker

In Japan where thanks this super cool website I know can I drink the water. It’s the only thing I can get plastic free!

 

Plastic Pollution

Saw and photographed some dreadful instances of #plasticpollution in India. You can see all our dirty pictures here on our Planet Trash FB page. Its why we travel plasticfree. You can see our plastic free backpack, find out where we are and link to other travel related posts here

 

May



Here we go gathering nuts in May talking of which did you know they did loose nuts in Lidles? Of course they offer you a plastic bag to put them in but if you take your own cotton produce bags you can get your nuts plastic free. Which brings us to this months fantastic give away.

Giving Away

U.K. Made cotton produce bags – win a set for free….

Or Buy Your Own

But if you can’t wait that long or don’t feel lucky, you can still enjoy the frisson of plastic free shopping by buying bags right now from the Do Your Bit shop

Read more about Do Your Bit in the Plastic Free U.K. Directory

Read about produce bags and how to use them here And the plastic free shopping kit here You can find a a list of refill/loose food shops here.

Plastic Pollution

Saw and photographed some dreadful instances of #plasticpollution in India. You can see all our dirty pictures here on our Planet Trash FB page. Its why we travel plasticfree. You can see our plastic free backpack, find out where we are and link to other travel related posts here

Packer Tracker

Off to Malaysia on our way to Japan. Is the tap water safe to drink in Malaysia. Or  Japan come to that? I can find out using this super cool website ” can I drink the water.”  I pick the country you want and read the result. Japan? All I  need to take is my refillable bottle. Malaysia? No. But it does have a few water refill machines that are cheap and easy to use. You can read about them here Otherwise it’s back to tap water made safe by a steripen. You can find that and other plastic free travel aids here.

Sign Up There is a Canadian petite to ban non compostable Produce Sticker Labels WHEREAS composting is available and encouraged in most communities and many backyards in Canada; AND WHEREAS the use of plastic non-compostable identification stickers contaminates the finished compost in commercial and private compost facilities; The petition is to change both domestic and import regulations related to food labeling to require compostable stickers or vegetable based ink/food safe stamps on all fruits and vegetables sold in Canada. Interesting. You can sign it here. Do it quick it is being delivered in mMay https://www.change.org/p/lmlga-may-2017-attendees-stop-non-compostable-labels-on-food? April

Back on the road
off to India so busy packing up my plastic free back pack. I will be taking a mini iPad with me so be prepared for rather less lovely looking posts as I struggle with tiny keys. And of course the dodgy links and poor images.

We are currently in India where the tap water can be challenging. So really glad to see water refill machines offering triple filtered sterilised water appearing at train and bus stations. More information on these and other refill points in India can be found here
Otherwise it’s back to tap water made safe by a steripen. You can find that and other plastic free travel aids here.
And you can see our plastic free backpack, find out where we are and link to other travel related posts
here

Campaign For A Plastic Free Aisle
But first…. Let me take a selfie… Organised by www.aplasticplanet.com.

A Plastic Planet campaign are collecting thousands of films of ordinary people demanding a Plastic Free Aisle in supermarkets. Why? They want to meet with the CEO of a top supermarket and need to prove consumer demand.

Sounds like a good idea? Wouldn’t it be great to buy plastic free food using your own cotton produce bags? Then here’s what you do. Go to the events page and follow the instructions.

They and the planet will thank you.

 

Easter


Easter Sunday will fall on April 16th – and you might like to know that Montezuma’s do an eco egg. The “packaging is plastic free and eco friendly.”

Find lots more good stuff like these refillable, reusable eggs in our  guide to a #plasticfree Easter.

Latest Campaigns
And I’ll just mention this latest campaign.

Against Microfibres
The people behind the story of stuff are now tackling this insidious form of pollution.

A story, a problem and a solution: The Story of Microfibers. This new 2-minute movie explores the impact of synthetic clothing (and the rapid growth of “fast fashion”) on our waterways oceans…and include a strong call for solutions.

It’s why we wear natural fibres. You can see our #plasticfree wardrobe here.

Bloggers

Talking of Plastic Free Lent we have a new blogger in Wales who has been doing just that. You can read about her experiences here.

A set of U.K. Made Produce Bags

Many shops and supermarkets still sell some produce loose. I am talking unpackaged onions, bread rolls and even dried fruit, rice and nuts if you know where to look. (Try here).
But if you want them plastic free you have to take your own packaging. Produce bags are reusable bags that are, (as the name suggests), for your loose produce.
There are two kinds of bags available – cotton and polyester mesh. I prefer the cotton but until now I have had to buy them from Spain and before that, America! Hardly local,
So I was delighted when I discovered DoYourBit, a U.K. Based company who make organic cotton reusable bags from fabric sourced from a fair traded local company.
Yay!

To celebrate Plastic Is Rubbish has teamed up withDo Your Bit and in May will be offering you the opportunity to win a set of 3 drawstring produce bags 34x28cm (with olive green cord).

But if you can’t wait that long or don’t feel lucky, you can still enjoy the frisson of plastic free shopping by buying bags right now from the Do Your Bit shop
Read about produce bags and how to use them here
And the plastic free shopping kit here
You can find a a list of refill/loose food shops here

March

Well not exactly #plasticfree but good news all the same. Spring has sprung. The 2017 vernal or spring (or fall) equinox comes on March 20 at 10:29 UTC (March 20 at 5:29 a.m. CDT).
And it marks the beginning of spring – the is here in the Northern Hemisphere.The sun crosses the celestial equator going from south to north and from now on sunrise is earlier, nightfall comes later, the soil is warmer and plants start sprouting.

Found a place that sells shea and coco butter in Leeds
And wrote a quick introduction to shea butter here
And a new #plasticfree blogger in Scotland. Read more here…

Talking of businesses we have a sourced #plasticfree toilet roll delivered to your door in a cardboard box. Result. 
Plus another reason to visit . A new Refill store has been sourced in Bath.

A Biodegradable Cornstarch Toothbrush?

 The interchangeable head of Smiti is made of 100% biodegradable PLA. The aluminum alloy handle can be used for years, and at the end of its long life, be recycled.

Learn more by checking out the Smiti campaign page: http://kck.st/2kbnkZN
Find pictures and more information in the Smiti Press Kit:

U.K. Sourced Cotton Produce Bags  At last a U.K made produce bag. Thanks to DoYourBit who make the bags right here in the U.k. using  material sourced from a fair traded fabric company. Read more right here.

11th & 12th of March

Bea Johnson author of the book Zero Waste Home is coming to town – well 2 towns actually.




12th March Unpackaged is proud to present, for the first time in London, Bea Johnson – the founder of the Zero Waste Movement. We will be hosting her inspirational talk, Q&A and book signing in Bloomsbury, Central London. On the night we will also be highlighting innovative projects and brands in our exclusive Zero Waste showcase.  Read more here…

Bristol
On the 11th March Bea will speaking in Bristol see the Eventbrite website (where you can buy tickets)
There will also be a talk from our very own Michelle. One of the first plasticvists campaigning.

About Bea
Bea Johnson lives in the USA, She  “and her family are dedicated to living a Zero Waste lifestyle; they generate a mere jar of waste per year. Through her blog and with her book, Zero Waste Home, Bea inspires a growing international community to live simply and take a stance against needless waste. Her passion and positive outlook have earned her appearances on TV and in publications around the world. Grand prize winner of “The Green Awards” in 2011, she regularly speaks at universities, corporate events and conferences. She has become the spokesperson for the Zero Waste lifestyle or, as The New York Times puts it: “The Priestess of Waste-Free Living”.


February

Sign Up

Surfers Against Sewage have just put out a petition which I think we all should sign….
Stop marine plastic pollution by introducing a small, refundable deposit on all plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans to recycle the 16 million plastic bottles thrown away every day.
Why is this important?
In the UK we use a staggering 38.5 million single-use plastic bottles and a further 58 million cans every day! Only half of these are recycled, so it’s no surprise that many of these end up on our beaches and in our oceans.

Plastic bottles take 450 years to break down, killing marine life, harming the coastal ecosystem and ruining our beaches.
Placing a small deposit on plastic bottles and cans would dramatically increase recycling and reduce marine plastic pollution.
For full information on deposit return systems please visit Surfers Against Sewage’s Message In A Bottle campaign site. 

I know nobody uses pens, or paper petitions come to that – but if you ever do want to write something try these… 

Plastic Free…This Month

Featuring plastic free fruit and veg – an update

January

Save Our Bottles
In 2015 I started a petition asking Diary Crest to reconsider their decision to phase out refillable glass bottle for doorstep deliveries. In December I received this message from Milk & More (Diary Crest)

“glass milk bottles will continue to be delivered until at least April 2017. This date may be pushed back further. Many thanks.”

Good news for now but I will continue to promote the petition. If you haven’t signed yet please consider doing so.

If we cannot produce more (and we are rapidly running out of resources), we have to consume less. And consume more fairly. This is how the equation works for me

  • We cannot exceed current levels of production
  • We cannot expect others to want less than we have.
  • Therefore we can only consume our global share

What’s a global share? 

If all the fabric created annually was shared out equelly amongst the global population

11.74 kg per person of which 3.8 kg is natural fibres. You can check my figures here.

Last year I used 3.5 kg of natural fibres and 3.2kg of synthetics. You can see what that looks like here.

2016

This year I will be doing the same with hopefully a lot less synthetics.

Back HomeBeen on the road for much of last year. I am looking forward to getting back home, ordering some fabric from Offset Warehouse and getting sewing….

We can make a more meaningful world….

A take on modern life…  a tad gloomy but worth bearing in mind and beautifully expressed.

youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMDu3JdQ8Ow&w=560&h=315]I




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Fair Share Fabric Project

In 2015 I pledged to  use no more than my fair global share of fibres. I was trying to determine what is a reasonable amount of clothing. After all one mans over consumption is after all another’s nothing to wear. But more importantly, the use of synthetic fibres is often promoted as a way to reduce the demand for natural and in that sense helps reduced pressure on the environment. I want to know if I can stay decent using only my share of natural fibres.

How Much

However there can be little doubt that we in the UK are consuming fibres in a hugely unsustainable way.
Heres how many textile fibres are produced annually: Total fibres, both natural & synthetic, around 8.5 million tonnes Rough calculations suggest that the average amount of fibres per annum, per person in the world, works out at 11.74 kg.

Global share 11.74 kg per person
of which 3.8 kg is natural fibres.
The rest is synthetics.
As I don’t like synthetics I try to stick to 3.8 kg of natural fibres.
Just so you know a kingsize double duvet cover from Ikea weighs in at 991 grams and a Marks & Spencer short-sleeved tee-shirt is 156 grams.

By Year Synopsis 

To see an actual break down of my clothes please go to Past Years

2014 & What I started with

Rationing might not seem so much of a burden if I already had a hundred outfits and enough sheets to stock a small hotel. I didnt. You can see my original wardrobe listed at the end of the article.

Fabric Types

Dont know regenerated yarn from a synthetic fibre? no worries. Theres lots of information on fibres yarns and fabric HERE

Synthetic Versus Natural Fibres

One of the much touted benefits of plastic is that it reduces pressure on natural resources. Nowhere is this more true than in fabric and fibres.Producing natural fibres is certainly resource intensive. And synthetic fabrics have moved on since the early days of crimpolene and can now convincingly replace anything from wool to silk. They used to make the sheerest of stockings to the thickest and woolliest of fleece jackets. Dirty old fishing nets can be recycled into saucy bikinis.

And at a fraction of the price. So much so that synthetics now make up 60% of the market.

While using synthetic fibres means that less space is needed to grow cotton or flax, less pesticides are used and vegans can be pleased that less sheep need shearing and silk worms dont need to die for us.

But of course synthetics come with their own very real and severe environmental costs. Not least is that every time a synthetic fabric is washed it releases hundreds of tiny little plastic fibres these are washed out into the sea with grave consequences.

Some Will Have To Go Without?

If everyone on the planet was to have 35kg of clothes each year, production would have to triple.
This is unsustainable.
To replace all the synthetics with natural fibres would also have a huge environmental impact but synthetics need to be phased out.
So if we cannot produce more, we have to consume less. Or accept a huge global inequality where some have more clothes than they can possibly wear while others have a few rags.

Well not on my watch

Global Rationing
If we cannot produce more, we have to consume less. the purpose of this project is to see if I can live within my global share of natural fibres as produced at the current rate. And cut synthetics.

This is how the equation works for me:
We cannot exceed current levels of production:
We cannot expect others to want less than we have:
We cannot swamp the market with synthetics:
Therefore I have to live with my global share of natural fibres.

Global share 11.74 kg per person
of which 3.8 kg is natural fibres.
The rest is synthetics.
As I don’t like synthetics I try to stick to 3.8 kg of natural fibres.
Just so you know a kingsize double duvet cover from Ikea weighs in at 991 grams and a Marks & Spencer short-sleeved tee-shirt is 156 grams.

But can it be done? Cautious reply after 2 and a half years is yes it can.

You can read more on the subject and check my figures and sources here.

Whats Sustainable Clothing?
Plastic-free, fair-trade, ethically made and lots more.You can read my clothing manifesto here
You can read more on the subject and check

Second Hand Clothes
Can I buy second hand clothes to supplement my allowance? No. I can buy second-hand but it has to count as part of my allowance.

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2018

Welcome to our monthly round-up of news and products. We update it as we go along so do check back for our latest finds. and you can subscribe to get our monthly updates delivered to your virtual door. There’s a subscription form at the bottom of the page.

You can see our past round ups here HERE.

November

people are always selling you stuff. including stuff to get the sticky left behind form sticky lables. well if the gunk is on glass this is a great tip. Mix oil with bicarb and spread on the sticky residue. wait 30 minutes then use an abrasive scrubber to clean the glass. It works. I tried it. Lots more info here .

Busy updating my links to local shops and british businesses

My guide to buying

U.K. made stuff I have recently bought.

Building a new van and I want it to be as environmental and as plastic free as possible. Decorating is very dirty work and needs a lot of research.

You can see all our related posts here

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. 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.

Nice Initiatives

Leeds Peeps…

REAP wants to support our Roundhay and Oakwood community to reduce our plastic use, particularly single use plastics.
We want to work with volunteers who are willing to get actively involved in specific local campaigns e.g. with supermarkets re packaging or with bars and cafes which offer plastic straws.ACT NOW email us at info@reap-leeds.org.uk or come and chat to us at our monthly Farmers’ Markets.
Read more about REAP here. And perhaps get involved.

October

This Month

Whhhooo oooo

Because plastic is too scary – even for Halloween
Check out the How To Halloween Plastic Free page for details. And please do add your own grisly finds and ghastly zero waste ideas.

Interesting Ideas

Fairmondo UK wants to provide an online marketplace for buyers and sellers with strong ethical commitments – connecting ethical producers and sellers with like-minded consumers.
The Fairmondo brand began life in Germany in 2012 as a co-operatively owned marketplace promoting fair goods and services. The UK launch is the next step in building a global network of co-operative platforms for trading goods and services.

Friends Who Compost
Fantastic project. Linking people with biodegradable waste to folks who compost. Cutting down on landfill, methane emissions and returning nutrients to the natural cycle. Give your waste a second chance! https://sharewaste.com

Synthetic Fibres

I wear mostly natural fibres but occasionally have problems with elasticine. I thought this referred to elastic. So when the label said 95% cotton 5% elasticine I thought the article of clothing contained elastic. I was kind of confused to find my jeans contained elastic but considered it essential in my knickers. Obviously more research was needed. Read More here

Harvest Time

October is the time for apple harvesting. If you don’t have your own tree you could try a PYO farm. There are hundreds of orchards offering this in the southern counties, rather fewer up here in the north.Check out this great farm finder website

Urban Harvest

Otherwise you coud get involved in some of the urgan harvest programs. They pick and distibute unwanted fruit. Abundance in Manchester is one such. From the website…
“A mature garden fruit tree produces more than the average family can eat. And at the same time there are lots of people in our city not able to access fresh food.

Abundance Manchester is a voluntary project which picks surplus or unwanted fruit from gardens and public trees around South Manchester and distributes it to local groups and communities who can use it. We also collect and distribute surplus vegetables from allotments.”

I have listed a couple more here.

Supermarket & Chainstores

Buying a bin ….

Robert Dyas is a UK hardware retailer founded in London in 1872. It sells a range of housewares, small electrical appliances, gardening products, kitchenwares, DIY, and consumer electronics throughout 96 shops, mainly in Greater London and South East England, as well as online.Wikipedia

Read all about supermarkets/chainstores here, what plasticfree products they sell and which ones I prefer, right here.

Noodles

Finally found them plastic free. Its back to the wonderful Leeds Market. I love it. Its a great place to buy #plasticfree almost everything. Read a review here

While we are talking about online shops, check out Objects Of Use, a truly lovely shop. “Any plastic packaging materials used will have been recycled by ourselves from incoming deliveries. Otherwise packaging used will be paper or card of recycled or high percentage recycled materials.”

Sad & Super Supermarkets

Asked the @tesco butcher to use my own, new, compostable bag for meat. They refused.
Left and went to @Morrisons who didn’t. Thank you for the #plasticfree bacon. they also let you use your own tubs.

Which Chain Should I Choose?

Read up on which supermarket is doing the most to tackle plastic and which is the best place to shop.
See all our supermarket posts here

Zerowaste Week

Zerowaste week starts on the 4th of this month.
For a number of years now I have been a zero waste ambassador. Here are some quick zero waste week facts!
Zero waste week is organized by Rae Strauss:
It has been going since 2008:
The aim is to cut the trash going to landfill.

This year is focusing on plastic. Wahey. Visit the website here.

Of course its not just me  doing it- there are loads of bloggers doing all kinds of stuff. You can find them herded together in one easy to access place on the Zero Waste website and listen to them wittering – sorry twittering – on on the twitter hashtag #zerowasteweek

If you want to join in you can make a pledge here on the zero waste website. If you decide to blog about it you can decorate your blog or  post with various buttons, if you don’t you can print off posters for your living walls (easy tiger!) with these links posters and pdfs

Visit the website here.

Read more about My zero waste weeks here

 

August

 

Why So Slow

For those of you eagerly waiting, I am sorry for the delay in the monthly updates. I have rather ill. i can just about manage the daily essentials of life but my spare time is spent lying on the chaise longue with the smelling salts. And as the blog is written in my spare time… well you get the idea.

It has other implications. nearly all of the plastic from plastic free July was medical related. Apart from that I have to say we did pretty well.

Yoghurt

A great find for Plastic Free July was viili yoghurt. I make my own yoghurt but production is always varaible. I can keep a live culture going for around two weeks before it all goes wrong and I have to buy a new starter. in a plastic yogurt pot. If you have no idea what I am talking about, read this.

So this find got me all giddy.
“Viili, Filmjölk, Matsoni, and Piimä yogurt starters are all mesophilic cultures. This means that they culture best at 70º-77º F. They are also heirloom cultures meaning they are re-usable. With the proper care you can re-culture them to make batch after batch of homemade yogurt.”

Which means they are easy to make and last forever.
And they are good for you too. A bit more info…

“So far over 15 strains of bacteria and yeasts have been found in Viili yoghurt; making it one of the most active yoghurts available.”

Read more here.

Basically Viili yoghurt is made using a different, more robust culture. You add it to milk and leave it out all night. Some say you have to boil the milk others not. By the end I was just adding my old yoghurt to a pint of full fat milk, leaving it by the bread bin and ta-da, next morning …yogurt!
Note
It is a thin mix more like a drinking yoghurt that is quite tart.
But you can drain it to create a thicker yoghurt.
You can drain it more to create a rather yummy cream cheese type spread.

I kept it going for a whole month and it is still effective even now.

And I bought my villi cultures https://www.freshlyfermented.co.uk/. Super service and very helpful. of course they came packed in plastic but its less plastic than than a pot of live yoghurt. and its still working. result!

Read more about yogurt, here.

Milk

Find a rounds that delivers in glass bottles here but double check before you order

But lets crack on. Summer and it’s time for high tea with

Strawberry jam and scones
First pick your strawberries. Unless you have been super organised and grown some, you will need to visit a pick your own farm.
If you live near Leeds you could try these guys
Horseforth Farm (tend to close early in August)
Please look at our facebook feed for daily updates
If not find more PYO farms here ….
Now you can make some jam. I know you can get it in glass jars but the lids are plastic lined. Jam recipe here

And Cucumber Sandwiches
Cakes can be tricky but Asian stores and Polish delis often stock the smaller kind.

And then of course you need a nice cup of tea…
What’s in your tea bag? Paper and tea? you wish! Most teabags contain one or more
Plastic, thermoplastics, epichlorohydrin and may have been chlorine bleached.
So what to do when you want a nice cup of tea?
Loose leaves are the way forward. But how to steep them? If you are brewing up for the WI, a teapot is fine but what when you want a quick cuppa for one?For lots more info on teabags and where to buy loose tea, tea balls and milk check out the hot drinks index

Fun In The Sun

Don’t forget if you are going out berry picking to slap on some sun block.
Sun protection even on cloudy days is vital. But dont listen to me, have a look at www.skincancer.org website an invaluable source that should be read by everyone. Though you might find yourself spending the rest of Summer cowering in a cellar coming out only after dark after doing so.
But educate yourself and you can enjoy the sun sensibly.

Oily Sun Tan Lotion

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 as sunburn is not only painful and aging but dangerous.

For a year now, I have been mixing up sun tan lotion using zinc mixed with straight oil which so far seems to be working. However it is a bit oily so I am also using zinc mixed with home made lotion. You can see my recipes here. making your own sunblockJuly


Of course every month is plastic free for me but plastic free July is a time to make a bit of extra effort, promote projects, look at my bin and join with other people all over the world who are taking this time to rethink their relationship with plastic.

What is Plastic Free July

The aim is to cut your consumption of one use plastic, for one month – July. If that sounds a bit much bear in mind that definitions of one use plastic can vary. And how much you choose to cut is up to  you. You can  take this opportunity to tackle one item. Maybe get your self a milkman, buy (or make) some produce bags for loose veges or get a refillable water bottle.
You don’t have to do it all at once!

But whatever and how much you choose to do, the plastic you loose is more important than the plastic you use!

A bit of history

Plastic Free July started in 2011. It is an initiative of the Western Metropolitan Regional Council (WMRC) in Perth, Western Australia and was developed by clever Earth Carers staff. In 2012 Plastic Free July expanded across Perth and in 2013 it went global. They have a great website and are all round good eggs.

My Plastic Free July

I cut all disposable plastics and just to remind you, that includes:
tins & cans:
tetrapaks:
glass jars with plastic/ plastic-lined lids:
Plastic lined cardboard:
Teabags:
Don’t know they had plastic in them? You can read all about sneaky plastics here.

Plastic packed personal care and hygiene products. I will as ever be making my own. Sadly the ingredients came plastic wrapped but it can’t be avoided. Read more here.

Any other plastic goods that I can’t think of right now.

Plastic I find myself using but Try not to
Booze. It is almost impossible to find plastic free booze to take out and there is usually at least one social occasion that requires a gift of alcohol. Read about plastic free booze here.
If the morning after visiting said friends painkillers are required then they will be administered. As of course will any other necessary medicines.

Daily Guide

Fantastic plastic free successes are in orange. Hooray. 
Big plastic boos are in blue because thats how they make me feel.

Day 1
sample plastic free breakfast
toast- bread from the baker
butter in paper
tea loose leaf
milk from the milkman

 Tin of beans. Had my lunch made for me. It involved beans. Tins are of course plastic lined. boo. it was a shared lunch so I’m only counting half a tin.

Day 2

Pickled beetroot!!!

Lunch was potato salad with apple, pickled beetroot and fresh picked mint. Pickled beetroot was not from a jar. Because jars of course have plastic lined lids and I dont do plastic #plasticfreejuly. No I got my pickled beetroot loose from Barnsley market. I have my own tub, she had loose pickled beetroot I came home with two pickled beetroot sans plastic. The dressing was not mayonaise (again jars, lids – same story), but my new countertop yoghurt. This is a different yoghurt culture that is, it is claimed easier to use. I will be trialling it throughout the month. Visit www.plasticisrubbish.com, @plasticSrubbish on twitter or join our facebook plasticisrubbish group for updates.

Day 3

No need for tinned tomatoes. Use fresh in this chicken casserole. didn’t have time to cook them first so chucked them in raw. yes there was a bit of skin but this cook don’t don complaints!  Read more about tomatoes here

Day 5

Bottle of wine. the cork was corky but the foil wrap was plastic lined booo.

 

 U.K. Participants

Every year UK based bloggers have joined in.
It’s really important to link up with U.K. based plastivists who will be sharing throughout the month. While some solutions like solid shampoo from Lush can be accessed UK wide,  many are local.

You can find a list of bloggers who have contributed  here.

Past Years

I am proof that you can do this anywhere no matter the constraints.
2014 I did it while travelling  in a van. Here is how I did.
2015 I did it with a backpack  check out Plastic free Mongolia
2016  here
2017  On a desert island. read more  here 

More Resources & Info

Loads of plastic free products here… A to Z of plastic free products

Keeping in Touch

Join in at the Plastic Is Rubbish Support Group where people share plastic free tips. See the link below.
And Twitter @plasticSrubbish

Hashtags
I encourage UK participants to use the  hashtag #pfjuk for British related posts. Mainly because it gets very dispiriting to hear of a fantastic bulk food store only to find it is based in Sydney.

 

June

 

Currently researching tonic. Hic!

Tonic comes in in tins which are plastic lined. Mixers also come in glass but the  metal lids of glass bottles are also plastic lined. And who can afford Fever Tree? You can make your own with a soda stream and  ready made syrups.

Read more here including British made tonic syrups.

And looking into spirits.

And more Cocoa !!!!!

Honestly you search for years to find some loose cocoa and then two come along at once!
Find them HERE

This now means that all my hot drinks are plastic free. Check out my hot drinks index HERE

Local Shops

I love me my local shops and this year I am making a real effort to buy British and buy local.
Use your local shops Reasons why here.
Buy British and cut those air miles. Some ideas HERE

Plastic Free Shops

There are a growing number of plasticfree/refill shops in the U.K. Here are our latest finds.

Loose Food
Find out if a shop near you sells bulk food loose. This is stuff that normally comes plastic packaged.Heres a list of towns with shops selling loose food.
Buy On Line
No.Sad face? Don’t worry. These shops sell plastic free products and send them out in plasticless packages. Find them HERE
Want to open your own?
For anyone working on opening a zero waste shop try this page – visit here

Milk

Clipstone Dairy near Leighton Buzzard now has a milk vending machine.

Find a rounds that delivers in glass bottles here but double check before you order

Butter

Its getting harder to find paper wrapped butter. Bother co-op and Waitrose have stoped feeling this product.

Good news from a FB plastic is rubbish grouper

Anyone west Yorkshire way, Overlaithe Creamery make delicious butter wrapped in paper. Available at a few shops I think, one is definitely Très Bon Raymond, Delicatessen and Event Catering

see our other butter and spreads posts here

See all our food posts via the food index

Holidays

Planning to go abroad? Want to know if you can drink the water? Find out using this super cool website ” can I drink the water.”  pick the country you want and read the result. If no get yourself a steripen. You can find that and other plastic free travel aids here.

Why bother?

Plastic Pollution

Saw and photographed some dreadful instances of #plasticpollutionon my travels abroad. You can see all our dirty pictures here on our Planet Trash FB page.

Fun In The Sun

Sun protection even on cloudy days is vital. But dont listen to me, have a look at www.skincancer.org website an invaluable source that should be read by everyone. Though you might find yourself spending the rest of Summer cowering in a cellar coming out only after dark after doing so.
But educate yourself and you can enjoy the sun sensibly.

Oily Sun Tan Lotion

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 as sunburn is not only painful and aging but dangerous.
I have been mixing up sun tan lotion using zinc from home with a base oil
You can see my recipe in making your own sunblock. BUT  

Lots more information about sun protection here. Do read up before you decide to make your own.

Events

DO this

Plastic-Free, Worldwide Day

June 5 the world’s first One Plastic Free Day.Organised by international campaign group A Plastic Planet, (for which I am an ambassador)

 

May

Back Home

We are finally back in the UK in Leeds after year backpacking. Re-entry has been rather bumpy. I have a horrible stomach complaint which has meant I’ve had to stay close to home or at least close to a toilet.

Then there have been the usual teething problems. Sorting out Internet access for one. needless to say, in my absense, all of my devices have fallen out with each other and now refuse to share photos or even mailboxes. Even Facebook has got into the act and been troublesome. But shenanigans are now sorted and backpacks have been unpacked.

Long term readers will have noticed that Google ads have arrived on site. I never wanted to but I need the cash. Until now all the work done has been done in my spare time and for free. I see it as my pro bono environmental work. I will continue to do so because I believe in it.

But as the blog, and the plasticfree movement grow, it is becoming increasingly demanding. I can’t afford to spend any more time on it so I am looking for investment that will allow me to take time away from my self-employed, paid work.

So if you have any spare change and are looking for a cause to sponsor – or have found what we do useful – consider bunging a bit of it our way and buy another #plasticfree hour for the cause.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

I have also been shopping… for food. Its been a while since I had to shop and its been interesting to to see the latest plastic free products. How fantastic it is so many people are so much more plastic aware now. Though of course there is still have a very long way to go.

Waitrose

I was in Waitrose the other day. Very upset to see that they didnt do butter in paper anymore. Why Waitrose why?
But I did find some other plastic free stuff there.

Steel and wood garden tools.

And compostable plastic bags. They sell them as bin liners, I use them to buy meat. But it seems I won’t have to for much longer.
I liked the matches in boxes.
I love that they do unwrapped bread and fantastic buns.
You can see the full Waitrose review here

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.

More

see all our supermarket info HERE.
Find out more about the individual products here via the food index

Local Shops

But me, I love me my local shops and especially the fantastic Leeds Market. Spent a happy morning stocking up. Check out the album of finds here.

OMG Cocoa !!!!!

An old favourite in Leeds Market, the Nut Shop has expanded its range of loose foods and it now includes cocoa. Cocoa! I tell you. if you only knew the trouble Ive had getting cocoa.

This now means that all my hot drinks are plastic free. Check out my hot drinks index HERE

Posted a FB picture diary of some of the other products availabe at the fantatstic Nut Shop

Loose Food Shops

What Are Refill Stores?
Bulk buy or refill stores are places you can buy food loose.You take as much as you want/need from a larger container and you can usually use your own packaging.
While these shops provide bags and they are almost always plastic ones. You will need to take your own plastic-free and/or reusable bags.

Tare
The weight of the container may make a difference at checkout. Some shops  subtract the tare weight but other don’t. The tare weight is the weight of the empty container.

Don’t Live In Yorkshire?
Try the Loose Food A to Z
Find out if a shop near you sells bulk food loose. This is stuff that that normally comes plastic packaged i.e rice, pasta and salt. And yes these shops do exist in the U.K. There’s just not many of them.
Heres a list of towns with shops selling loose food.

Butter

Its getting harder to find paper wrapped butter. Both co-op and Waitrose have stoped feeling this product.see our other butter and spreads posts here

Tea Bags

Yorkshire Tea‏ @YorkshireTea

Hi again! Here’s a quick tea bag update. We started looking into plastic-free tea bags last year. We’ve now begun a second round of tests on some prototypes, and we’re about to start some larger production trials. We should have the results of those by June.
It’s embedded into the tea bag paper rather than being applied separately, which makes them much more reliable. The hope is that it can be replaced with PLA, a plant-based, biodegradable alternative made from things like cornstarch.

Read more about teabags here.

Fair Share Fabric

being back home has meant access to the scales which means I can weigh my clothes. As you may remember In 2015 I pledged to use no more than my fair global share of fibres. I was trying to determine what is a reasonable amount of clothing. After all one mans over consumption is after all another’s nothing to wear. Which means I can use 3.8 kg of natural fibres each year.

I can now tell you that last year I used 3.78 kg of natural fibres, some synthetics and a tiny amount of regeneration fibre If you’re more inInterested in the results for the project you can read more HERE

 

June

The life #plasticless needs forward planning. Get ready for….

Plastic Free June
Want to really cut your plastics? Then this  is a great campaign organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCSUK).The MSCUK is a UK charity “that cares for our seas, shores and wildlife”.
The Plastic Challenge takes place every year in the U.K. in June.It is organized by them.
The MSCUK “have a vision of a world where plastics don’t end up in our seas and on our beaches, where they persist and impact our marine life.”
So they challenge you to give up single use plastics for a month (June), and get sponsored whilst doing it. The money goes to support MSCUK projects which are many and very worthwhile.

You can read more about it here

and this is completely irrelevant but I found it useful: If you are buying glasses on line here is a very handy sizing guide from rayban

www.edel-optics.co.uk

http://www.directsight.co.uk

April

 

 

Super Supermarkets

First in is Waitrose who 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

Talking of hot drinks the The Co-op are introducing their own plastic free teabags .
For those of you who didn’t know, most teabags contain plastic. not just the packaging but actually in the bag.

Which Chain Should I Choose?

See all our supermarket posts here

 

Making Up Updates

As you might remember, this year I was going to tackle #plasticfree makeup. So I have been practising. Learning to live with makeup is hard. Is it a skill you have to be taught in childhood? And I’m only up to mascara. One word – clumps!

Makeup Remover
Given my inexperience with makeup and my ham-fisted attempts with liquid eyeliner, my first and most important find has been a #plasticfree make up remover. And once again it coconut oil. Removes all makeup easily and gently. I rub it on my eyes massage carefully, then gently wipe with a flannel. it seems to work on everything

Just add that to its many list of virtues. You can read about coconut oil and where to buy it, here

See my ongoing research into plastic free make up here.

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

Buy On Line
No.Sad face? Don’t worry. These shops sell plastic free products and send them out in plasticless packages. Find them HERE

Want to open your own?
For anyone working on opening a zero waste shop try this page – visit here

March

A welcome to our monthly round up of news and products. We update it as we go along so do check back for our latest finds. Subscribe to get our monthly updates delivered to your virtual door. There’s a subscription form at the bottom of the page.

Whats In Your Tampon

Most Tampons are made of cotton, rayon, polyester, Find organic plasticfree all cotton tampons HERE.

 

Guest Post

Sometimes when you want something plastic free you need to make it yourself. Yes we are talking knitting!
Now I’m rather new to this crafting lark, so I was delighted to have some guest posts from Jan of the Snail Of Happiness. Last month she wrote an introduction to natural yarns You can read that HERE
This month we see what she can do with British yarns.
Blimey! Take a closer look HERE.

Read up about

The Problems With Packaging

What if you need to post your products out in a plastic bag?

On supported e-commerce sites the customer can select to use RePack as the online order’s delivery packaging, the user will then receive the goods in RePack’s recyclable packaging. This packaging can be returned to RePack by dropping it to a local letter box and then can be reused, on average upto 20 times.[3]

Once the packaging has been registered as returned, the user will receive a digital voucher that can be used towards future purchases from RePack-supporting online stores.
The return rate of RePack’s products has reached 95%.
RePack is supported by online stores such as Frenn, Globe Hope, Makia, Pure Waste, Varusteleka and MUD Jeans.
Wikkipedia

Website here.
@OriginalRePack

Plastic Free…This Month

Out with the old

So #plasticfreebruary is over so I’m off to join in #plasticfreelent. Lent this year runs from Wednesday, 14 February Thursday, 29 March. The Church of England has suggested that its members might like to give up plastic. It seems that many of them have taken on the challenge. You can watch how they get on on Twitter #plasticfreelent.

Good for the C of E but lets not forget Libby who has been organising a great plastic free lent for a number of years now.

Libby’s Plastic Free Lent

Here’s some blurb “Welcome to the Lent Plastic Challenge. A group for all those who are ready to challenge themselves and take on the pesky single-use plastics that pile up in our modern life.
To support your challenge, each week we will have different theme. So you can start off in the first week with one item and build up gradually”
Hooray for them. Heres an update from this year
“Apologies for the radio silence, but as it’s the first day of lent, let’s begin giving up as much single-use plastic as is feasible! This group is a place to share your questions and ideas. I will share a suggestions sheet once a week and will be doing my challenge in the main from Bali so won’t be on facebook too much. So in the spirit of collective action and community, it will be a collective effort for everyone in the group to support other members in their journey tackling the pervasiveness of single-use plastic”

Nip over there to see how she is getting on.Visit here.

If you think this is rather short notice you might be interested to read about the other plastic free initiatives. The Marine Society organise a plastic free June in the U.K.
Plasticfree July is a world wide, hugely successful campaign.
Get planning.

Plastic Free Fridays

If you dont fancy doing a whole month or want to wait that long join Friends Of The Earth every week for a #plasticfreeFriday. Think this is self-evident but I’ll explain anyway; you go plastic free, one day a week, Friday.

Ambassador

Talking of cool campaigns I am extremely proud to be an ambassador for a plastic planets campaign for the plastic freestyle in all supermarkets. This would of course make plastic three shopping so much easier. It is an extremely valuable contribution to the debate. It would be great if you could pop over to the pop over there check out the campaign and give them your support. At a Plastic Planet.

I am currently hunting down some plasticfree Ferrero Roche’s to celebrate. Tricky. These have to be the most plasticky chocs ever. For now you will have to do with these plastic free, chocolate truffles. Find them here.
Extremely yummylicious. You spoil us ambassador!

They also make a great Mother’s Day gift.

Mothers Day

In the UK, Mother’s Day falls on Sunday March 11th this year.
Here are some excellent ideas on what to get the old dear including plastic free sweets and flowers. And if you do go down the gift route, how to wrap it up – plastic free natch.

Next Month

The life #plasticless needs forward planing

Easter
Easter Sunday will fall on April 1st – start looking for foil wrapped eggs now.

If you need some help visit the wonderfulPlastic Is Rubbish FB group a treasure trove of hints, tips, personal experience and up to date information.

And see our  guide to a #plasticfree Easter here. including reusable eggs and #plasticfree sweets

February

Plastic Free…This Month

Boycott

There’s a new hashtag in town #plasticfreebruary. Not sure who is organising it but head on over to Twitter to join in and share your plastic free tips. I will be posting everyday @plasticSrubbish. I would love to tell you more about this project would but I am away from reliable internet access. So anyone knows any thing please let me know.

If you think this is rather short notice you might be interested to read about the other plastic free initiatives. There’s also a U.K. plastic free lent and June and a worldwide plasticfree July. Get planning.

Guest Post

Of course every month is plastic free for me. Which often means getting crafty. Sometimes when you want something plastic free you need to make it yourself. Out of wool. I’m rather new to this crafting lark, so delighted to have a guest post on this most natural of fibres.

Here’s a quick reminder

Fibres

Fibres are short fine hairs that can be twisted or spun into longer thread or yarn. This may be woven or knitted into fabric.
Fibres (and then yarns and ultimately fabrics) can be can be natural, synthetic (plastic) or chemically produced hybrid called regenerated fibres. Read more about them here

You can read Jan’s post on natural yarns HERE

And you can see all our handicrafty posts here. Read how to make makeup, cleaning and personal hygiene products, to sew and cook all #plasticfree HERE

Write

If you are interested in writing a guest post you can find some guidelines HERE

Sign Up

Remove all plastic from tea bags to ensure they are fully bio-degradable/compostable.
Why is this important?
Unilever owns PG Tips, the UK’s most popular cup of tea. Let’s call on them to remove ALL plastics from tea bags – it is usually polypropylene. Teabags won’t completely biodegrade if they have plastic in them.

SIGN HERE

Over 2 million avoidable single-use plastic items were used by the Parliament in 2017.
It’s time for MPs to get their house in order.
Join our new campaign and challenge your MP to support a Plastic Free Parliament.

SIGN HERE

Get ready for

Valentines Day 14th

It’s the big one of course! Valentine’s Day approaches.  We have got plastic free candles to set the mood, flowers without the wrap, chocolates,  sweets and cards. Even a few ideas for trash free gifts.
If your plastic-free sweetie is also a minimalist, there are some nice alternative ideas!
And if all this does the trick, some plastic reduced condoms you can compost.
Too much info?
Head on over here to get loved up!

Keep well

Got the sniffles? That’s not so sexy. Try a reusable inhalers and eucalyptus oil. Breath easily and cut the trash.
Stop chapped lips with this home made lip balm. It really works! With refillable tubes or metal tins.

Pancake Day

February 28 is Shrove Tuesday and you are going to make pancakes. Check out these plastic-free cakes fried in a plastic-free non stick pan. Yum!

Garden

While it is still a bit cold to be out there, thoughts now turn to the garden and the seeds that need to be sown for the coming year.
You need to start planning ahead for plastic free seedlings.
You can buy plastic-free seeds and find instructions on how to make your own paper seedling pots here Plus other great plastic free garden related products.

Planning Next Month

The life #plasticless needs forward planing

Plastic Free Lent
Lent 2017 begins on Wednesday, March 1 and ends on Thursday, April 13
Last year some folk are took part in a plastic free Lent. I would love to tell you more about this project but I don’t know a great deal myself. It is organised by people in Bristol (I am pretty sure of that) and has run for a couple of years now. It has a great FB page.
Here’s some blurb “Welcome to the Lent Plastic Challenge. A group for all those who are ready to challenge themselves and take on the pesky single-use plastics that pile up in our modern life.
To support your challenge, each week we will have different theme. So you can start off in the first week with one item and build up gradually”
Hooray for them.

Mothers Day March 

Now the madness that is Valentines Day is out of the way you can start thinking about Mothers Day and here are some excellent ideas on what to get the old dear and how to wrap it up.

The Rest Of The Year 

Read more about our plasticfree year HERE

January

 

Happy new year dear ones. Love to all and hope this year is everything you wish it to be.

Need A Really Easy & Effective Resolution? 

I suggest that anyone in need of a new years resolution should try reducing their plastic trash by just one piece. Perhaps say no to straws in drinks, maybe buy, (and remember to use), some reusable produce bags or find a milkman with refillable glass bottles.This has to be the easiest New Years resolution ever. And so effective. Immediately you are making the world a cleaner place!  Just think if every one of Britain’s 64.1 million people did this!

Need inspiration. Try quick tips to cut your plastic trash for more ideas and of the Cut Plastic Index for alternatives to plastic products.

Go on give it a go! Just say no. And do share your plastic free finds here or on the Plastic Is Rubbish FB support group.

Loose food Online

Plasticfree pantry is a UK based online shop sells pantry staples including
flour
herbs and spices
Nuts
Dried fruit
Pasta rice and grains
baking ingredients
beans and pulses
Drinks

All loose and plastic free. Well not completely loose. Duh. They have to packaging it somehow so they reuse paper bags, glass jars and compostable plastic.
They will also use your own clean and produce bags. Read more about produce bags here HERE

The onward packaging consists of cardboard boxes and shredded paper is used to protect the goods.
Packaging tape is heavy duty paper. If you want to try, you can buy some HERE
N.B. They reuse boxes so some might come with existing plastic tape.

Visit the website HERE.

Buy On Line

Find more online products here.
These shops sell plastic free products and send them out in plasticless packages. Find them HERE

Makeup

Makeup

As for me. I am going to be looking into makeup. Not giving it up but putting it on. The purpose of this blog is to source alternatives for plastic packed products.Time to tackle cosmetics and as I always like to lead by example I need to learn how to primp and paint. I want to know what conventional makeup is like so I can compare and contrast #plasticlessproducts. But first what is conventional makeup like? I have bought some basic bits and bobs. Blimey they do like packaging don’t they? I’ve got a pencil, some liquid eyeliner, lipstick (greasy stuff) and blush. I will branch out into foundation and eyeshadow later.

Research into makeup is ongoing and I have had some great help from the lovely and lovely looking Plastic Is Rubbish FB group who came up with helpful reccomendations. They are a great source of personal experience and up to date information.

You can see them here http://plasticisrubbish.com/2015/04/10/reusables/

Handwash

I know a lot of people like a liquid hand wash. Personally I prefer soap but whatever. So this hand wash comes in soluble pods that you drop in water and refill the (plastic) bottle provided. When done you buy more via. The website. It is posted to you in plastic free packaging,  (NB according to some reviews they come with some plastic).

Now I think you are meant to buy the bottle as part of the starter kit but I see no reason why you couldn’t just buy the refills and use your own plastic free soap dispenser?

It comes from a company called

Splosh

This is an online refill service. A new way to buy your home cleaning, laundry and health & beauty essentials.
You buy the starter pack which includes a range of bottles and concentrate product. You water down the product and fill the bottles. Thereafter you buy more concentrate on line and refill your bottles as needed.

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. While the refillable plastic pouches obviously are plastic (duh) the soluble pods sound useful.

They supply a wide range of products. But  “currently the surface cleaners and hand washes come in water soluble sachets and the rest come in pouches.”

Splosh also claim that the postal packaging for the starter kit and refills is also plastic free. Though according to some reviews they come with some plastic.

Here’s their mission statement. “Plastic waste is an environmental disaster and we’re committed to reducing it to zero. For each product we’ve designed a refilling system that takes plastic out of the waste stream. For example our pouches can be sent back for refilling and, at the end of their life, we manage their reprocessing into other products”

You can read more about how it works and order products here HERE
If anyone out there has used this product please let me know.

Soap

Should be easy enough but buying soap can be an ethical minefield. Ideally you want animal fat free, palm oil free, sls free and locally made. Preferably unpackaged. You can read more about dirty soap HERE

One ethical soap that is sold loose in most health food shops is Suma soap which are
“made in the UK, vegan and do not contain parabens, triclosan or phthalates.
Our range is free from artificial preservatives, colours and fragrances (we use essential oils to scent our products) and we guarantee our products have not been the subject of animal testing by Suma or our suppliers.

Suma handmade soap is made using the traditional cold process method of soap making, which generates zero by-product. Suma soaps are poured, cut, stamped, and packed by hand – using as little energy as possible.

Suma bodycare products do not contain methylisothiazolinone or phosphates and are GMO free.”

Read more HERE

To Do…This Month 

Garden

While it is still a bit cold to be out there, thoughts now turn to the garden and the seeds that need to be sown for the coming year. You need to start planning ahead for plastic free seedlings.
You can buy plastic-free seeds and find instructions on how to make your own paper seedling pots here. Plus other great plastic free garden related products.

Keep On Kissing
Stop chapped lips with this home made lip balm. It really works! And you can use your own  refillable tubes or metal tins.

Next Month 

As ever we are planning ahead as plastic free events need some organising.
February 
You need to start preparing for Valentines Day.

And planning a plastic free Pancake Day

Working Posts

Working with fabric

One of the much touted benefits of plastic is that it reduces pressure on natural resources. Nowhere is this more ...
Read More

Elastine

I wear mostly natural fibres but occasionally have problems with elasticine. I thought this referred to elastic. So when the ...
Read More

Cork

Flexible Rubber cork Nitrile rubber is synthetic rubber. it can be used to bond cork to make a flexible sheetlike ...
Read More

Sponges

You want a sponge? You could try a natural one but please do be sure it is sustainabley harvested... like ...
Read More

MY plastic trash Plastic Free July

Doing this plastic free July while backpacking in S.E. Asia. I do have to apologise for the very tardy documentation ...
Read More

Bleaching Paper

Until the 1990s, chlorine was mostly used for bleaching paper because it does the job very efficiently. The downside is ...
Read More

Watch – wooden

Who wouldn't want a wooden time piece to mark the hours ? Buy one from WeWood in Australia and they will also ...
Read More

Burning plastic in the home

Some feel my worrying about plastic in the home is taking it too far?  Disposables? Yes, they can see I ...
Read More

Tiffin Tin

There is some fantastic street food in China but they serve it in polystyrene (styrofoam) trays. So you will need ...
Read More

Air Miles & Buying British

One of the joys of living plastic free is mooching round the shops seeing what you can source. Better still if ...
Read More

post

Our Plastic Free Year

Every month we do a round-up of news and products.  You can subscribe to get our monthly updates delivered to your virtual door. There’s a subscription form at the bottom of the page.

You can read them all here….

2018

2017

Special Days

Valentines, Easter and other special days can all be found here….

Other Projects

Local Shops

I love me my local shops and this year I am making a real effort to buy British and buy local.

Buy British Buy Local
Use your local shops Reasons why here.
Buy British and cut those air miles. Some ideas HERE

old van

Building a new van and I want it to be as environmental and as plastic free as possible. Decorating is very dirty work and needs a lot of research.

You can see all our related posts 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

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

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

2016

December

November

October

So… whats happening in plastic-free November?
My new blog theme and some new plugins
A guide to a #plasticfree festive season
How to use those leaves to make seed compost
Try trailing the plastic awareness game?
Updates on the #plasticfree compostable wardrobe
Take Action – sign the petition asking UK retailers to stop selling plastic cotton buds

Latest …..Google Verification!

And then there is Google verification. WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN?!!! for years now Google has been asking me to verify my site then refusing to accept my attempts to do so. In fact I think it was trying to add my access-code-to-my-header-page<what//the$%6&R.U.asking4> that messed up my last site and led to the recent theme change.
But because I am really STUBBORN and refuse to be beat, I installed this plugin
Google Analytics for WordPressThis Google Analytics for WordPress plugin adds and enables Google Analytics tracking code on your website.Version 1.1 | By praveenchauhan1984 | View details.
So, I am now verified with Google. Is that a good thing? I have no idea! I just add it to all the other Google mysteries that haunt me. Like why I have 2 Google ranks for the same site and how my Google stats never match my WordPress.

Other Blog Business

Another day another theme. My blog was loading so slowly. I tried everything but I think the actual theme was badly compromised – by my own ignorance. I was using Flagman – Retina Responsive News WordPress ThemeVersion: 1.01 By ZERGE. Flagman is Responsive, Retina Ready, WordPress theme.
It was great program, really easy and intuitive to use and a great introduction to fancy themes. All faults were as a result of my own cak handed incompetance.I loaded the wrong stuff, made changes, and at one point even managed to delete all my work. I generally bodged and buggered around till I damaged it in some fundamental way which of course I lacked the skills to recognise and correct. So I decided to start again with a new template. A free one from WordPress Themes. I was planning to reload and return to Flagman but actually I rather like this new look and new theme.

DiscoveryVersion: 2.3 By Template Express a highly customizable, fully responsive and Premium design WordPress Theme. With a focus on simple customization, Discovery allows you to add your own logo, header, featured areas, social media links and much more with a click of a button. This multi-purpose theme has a premium quality design that can fit the needs of any website.Blah blah…

It needed quite a lot of tweaking but the end result is a much speedier load.

However it lacked certain features I had come to enjoy in my paid for Flagman theme. One was the blog map showing all my posts. Useful for readers to navigate their way around the blog and for me to remember what I have written about.

Thanks then to this cool little plugin
WP Sitemap Page Add a sitemap on any page/post using a simple shortcake you paste in a page or post Version 1.6 | By Tony Archambeau.
You can see my site map here…

While searching I found this – a page view count that you can add to show how popular posts are. “the Page Views Count Plugin. Use the Page Views Count function to add page views to any content type or object created by your theme or plugins. Version 1.4.0 | By A3 Revolution” . So as of this month I can see how many visits each post is. Nice. The only page it doesn’t work on is this one which it says is massively popular. Much as I would like to, I really can’t believe I’ve had over 19000 veiws!

Other blog related posts are
Building My Blog – notes on how the blog has developed over time.Does Size Matter – how popular am I and does it matter?

Playing Gmes

The Auroville community in India are tackling plastic waste through education.

“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. 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. Follow the link to find out what this would entail.

Party Frock? OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Not quite but here are some shorts what I have made!

And a choir boy shirt
And a frumpy corduroy skirt
a new post on patterns! Get those ruffled shirts!

And an update on my Fair Share Wardrobe

Sign Up

Call To Action Switch The Stick Sign Up

Switch The Stick is a campaign and petition to get plastic cotton buds out of the drains and off the beaches. It has been organised by  Michelle and Natalie (both can be found in the Plastic-Free U.K. directory). They  are asking UK retailers to stop selling plastic cotton buds by the end of 2017.

cotton-buds-personal

According to Switch The Stick ” Waitrose and Johnson & Johnson announced they’d make the change to paper, and the Coop and Marks and Spencers sell paper-stem buds. Now we need to make sure the others do the same.

Tesco, Sainsburys, Boots, ASDA, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi, Superdrug and Wilko are currently reviewing their policies on cotton buds … which is why we need to show them how many of us support the switch to paper!”

They already have over 11000 signitures. If you havn’t done so already do add your name. It’s so easy to change this and millions of fish will thank you
The petition is now on 38 degrees (new link here)
lots more information about Switch The Stick, can be found here 

September
First an apology. I have moved house and my internet provider didnt move with me. Not through want of asking. So I have been on and off line. Obviously going for a social media detox albeit subconsciously. I am trying to keep abreast but there is only so much time I can spend in Costa Coffee. I dont like leatherette or chains, they get snotty about the amount of wifi I expect for one small expresso. In a china cup if you dont mind! They do! They mind a lot.

I have been trying to get by using my phone but no contract means I have very limited data. Add to that awful coverage and cut outs, posting has been a hit and miss affair. In short sorry for the late and rather scrappy update of #zerowasteweek2016 (read it here), bad spelling, insane predictaive text and missing words.

Here is the rather later September update

Sign up….

Please do support this campaign…..

Michelle and Natalie the best U.K. anti- plastic campaigners I know are running a campaign asking UK retailers to stop making plastic cotton buds by the end of 2017. These pesky sticks wash down the drains and up on the beaches. Heres a quick update

We meet with the large retailers in just 10 days to ask them to#SwitchtheStick!! We need to keep the momentum of this petition goinghttp://switchthestick.org/ Likes and shares are great, but it´s SIGNATURES we really NEED!

If you use cotton buds you can plastic free ones here….

Waste Less Live More Week

From 19-25 September, ” organizations, charities and businesses, (including ME!!!), will be hosting … events and activities which encourage people to waste less and live more. They have kindly suggested over 101 activities including having a bath together. Feel free to join me in the tub but it’s a small tub and I’m a big girl.

And after my Zero Waste Week of eating-plastic-free -but- only-buying- from – supermarkets project I would like to to focus on local shops. Activity Number 46 looks ideal. It is Buy local – Try buying local for a day. Using local businesses instead of chains is great way of supporting local jobs and investing more money back into the local economy.

So for all of WLLM week I will be posting photos of my local shops and businesses and the (plastic-free) produce I buy from them. I invite you to join me. One day in the week, when out shopping, take a photo of your favorite indie, local shop then post it up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or all of them.

If enough join in I will combine it with Activity No 17 Have a photography competition and will offer a fantastic prizes Activity Number 39 Make a puppet or sock monkey perhaps or back to Number 77 Share a bath ? – a voucher system maybe?

So Trashionistas what do you think? Will it work? Are you in?

You can read more about it here….

Zero Waste Week

The first full week in September is Zero Waste Week. Zero waste week is organized by Rae Strauss. Each year there’s a theme. This year it is food waste. My zero waste week has been a celebration of loose and unwrapped food. As bought from supermarkets! Is that even possible? Find out how I got on, here.

Free Fruit

Blackberries are ripe – lets go picking. Not a huge fan of the jam but love bramble jelly with ham or cheese!

Subscriptions

I am moving over from Jetpack and other hungry plugins which may affect your subscription to the blog. If you want to continue getting up dates by e-mail, please re-subscribe  here. Many thanks.

 

August

July

June

May

April

 

 

March

Back home from the tropics I desperately needed some new clothes, so three weeks in Leeds saw me busy sewing. However the design brief is a little more complex this year. Not only do the clothes have to be sustainable & plastic free, they have to be rather more dressy than I am used to.
This Easter we will be in Seville for the Santa Semana and the Feria. The first is a week of processions elaborately decorated floats are hauled through the streets, by teams of ‘costaleros’ (bearers) followed by hundreds of ‘nazarenos’ (penitents), many in pointy hoods looking very sinister.
Some of the drama that is Seville….

This is followed a couple of weeks later with a big party The Real de la Feria where people drink, dance and dress up. The “women wear the traditional “traje de gitano”, literally “gypsy outfits” or flamenco dresses, often in bright colors, and accessorized with matching/coordinating flower in hair, comb, jewelry, tasseled scarf/shawl and fan. The dresses are pricey, but worth investing in if you’ll be coming back again – nothing makes you feel part of an event like being dressed appropriately”

Bugger! After nearly a year backpacking, preceded by a year living in a van I can truthfully claim that while all my scarf featuredoutfits may well be representative of the modern-day gypsy none of them are fit for a party. This nomad wears khaki shorts, sludgy colored T-shirts (murky from repeated mixed washes) and the emergency muumuu for visiting Iran. Absolutely no bright colors or fringed shawls and definitely no frills.
All I have in my hair is twigs and bits of straw. I haven’t accessorized since my Jackie reading days.
But I am not investing in a dress. I can’t afford it and I would feel ridiculous. More importantly I am living within my fair share of fabric allowance which works out at 3.8 kg of natural fibres. You can read more about it here.

Any clothes I get are going to have to last me the year. They have to theatrical enough for Seville yet practical enough for the U.K. Who knows where we will be and what we will be doing when we get back to the U.K. But I can’t imagine a flamenco dress is going to come in handy.

So I need something dressy, theatrical yet practical, sustainable yet frivolous

Seville Loose Foods

We will of course be partying plastic free – here is our list of loose food products we can buy here. It includes crisps!!!!February will see the return of the wanderer and I am so looking forward to getting home and catching up with some of my zero waste chums.

I will shake the dust of deepest, darkest Borneo from my feet and embrace the grey drizzle of Yorkshire. Plus  we actually have a house to live in – hurrah! its been a long time since I have had a fixed abode. We will have no furniture so it will be an excercise in extreme minimalism! Bring it on!

Meanwhile lets get on with this months #plasticfree tasks.

Latest

Looking into making pants and I found this kit in a box. Could be a useful introduction. You can also get them at John Lewis

Jen over at Make Do & Mend got sent on a course!

Participate

First theres a petition to sign.

Introduce charges on plastic & polystyrene containers for the takeaway industry

“I would like to place a charge on every plastic and polystyrene container used by the food industries and takeaway industries like the plastic bag charges brought in. Hopefully this will push people to use the eco-friendly products that are on the market but that are over looked due to the prices.”

Sign here..(for U.K. Citizens only)..

And there’s another one here asking Dairycrest to keep milk deliveries in glass bottles.

Plastic Free Lent 10th Feb to 26th March.

For those of you who didn’t know, some folk are taking part in a plastic free Lent. Sorry for the late news and indeed I would love to tell you more about this project but I don’t know a great deal myself

. It is organised by peopel in Bristol (I am pretty sure of that) and has run for a couple of years now. It has a great FB page.

Here’s some blurb “Welcome to the Lent Plastic Challenge. A group for all those who are ready to challenge themselves and take on the pesky single-use plastics that pile up in our modern life.

To support your challenge, each week we will have different theme. So you can start off in the first week with one item and build up gradually”

Hooray for them. I would love a feature them  though I ask and ask, no information ever gets sent my way. Sigh. Would love to have them in my the Plastic-free U.K. directory.

Mothers Day March 

Now the madness that is Valentines Day is out of the way you can start thinking about Mothers Day and here are some excellent ideas on what to get the old dear and how to wrap it up.

Activites

While it is still a bit cold to be out there, thoughts now turn to the garden and the seeds that need to be sown for the coming year. You need to start planning ahead for plastic free seedlings.
You can buy plastic-free seeds from these suppliers and find instructions on how to make your own paper seedling pots here.

I am going to have to make some new clothes when I get home. Browsing through Offset Warehouse and their amazing range of fair trade fabrics that they send out plastic-free.

I will of course continue to boycott plastic and help others do the same by sourcing loads of great and sustainable alternatives. Check out the new and updated lists of plastic free products here.

Save Our Bottles

In 2015 I started a petition asking Diary Crest to reconsider their decision to phase out refillable glass bottle for doorstep deliveries. In December I received this message from Milk & More (Diary Crest)
“glass milk bottles will continue to be delivered until at least April 2017. This date may be pushed back further. Many thanks.”
Good news for now but I will continue to promote the petition. If you haven’t signed yet please consider doing so.

Fair Share Fabrics Project

If we cannot produce more (and we are rapidly running out of resources), we have to consume less. And consume more fairly. This is how the equation works for me

    • We cannot exceed current levels of production
    • We cannot expect others to want less than we have.
    • Therefore we can only consume our global share

What’s a global share? 
If all the fabric created annually was shared out equelly amongst the global population
11.74 kg per person of which 3.8 kg is natural fibres. You can check my figures here.
Last year I used 3.5 kg of natural fibres and 3.2kg of synthetics. You can see what that looks like here.

2016

This year I will be doing the same with hopefully a lot less synthetics.

Back Home

Been on the road for much of last year. I am looking forward to getting back home, ordering some fabric from Offset Warehouse and getting sewing….

Cutting The Crap

I hopefully suggest that this year everyone cuts one bit of unnecessary plastic, says no to straws perhaps, maybe use reusable produce bags or find a milkman with reusable bottles.