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Eco Fluffy Mama Blog – with a strong focus on reusable menstrual products

Hi there, my name is Tamsin and I am the creator of the blog, Eco Fluffy Mama. My blog is based on Green Living, with a strong focus on reusable menstrual products and zero waste. I also write about my life as someone with multiple chronic illnesses. I am 29 years old and live in rural Suffolk with my son and fiance.

I am extremely passionate about reusable menstrual products, and helping others understand why disposables are bad for the planet and our health.

Projects-

I really enjoy helping others, and am currently working on distributing reusable menstrual products to charities that work with homeless people, and those living below the breadline. In 2015, I created a campaign called Ditch The Disposables – I worked with the UK’s leading retailers for Reusable Menstrual Products, and between us we generated 122 brand new menstrual cups to donate between the 2 charities that the campaign has sponsored.

For 2017, I am hoping to run another campaign to help more charities give reusable menstrual products to the people they help. This will eliminate waste, and help those in need to always have something to manage their period.

Links To Social Media:
Facebook – www.facebook.com/ecofluffymama
Twitter – https://twitter.com/EcoFluffyMama
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ecofluffymama/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/Ecofluffymama
Pinterest – https://uk.pinterest.com/ecofluffymama/

Please note..

This post was written by the contributor and  is  a PfU.K. Directory submission.

And the Pf U.K. Directory is…?
…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.
The DIRECTORY is to promote their fantastic work. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

More

Find  more plastic free menstruation & tea here…

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Supermarket Feedback by Lyn Bull and the Zero Hero’s

Lyn Bull administrator for the Facebook group Zero Waste Hero’s recently posed the question

“Any suggestions for quick, easy, no cost or low-cost zero waste actions our supermarkets could take? Quick wins.”

A lively debate followed. She has collated the answers for your  edification.

Waste, litter, recycling and landfill issues are increasingly in the news. A growing number of people are seeking out independent shops in a bid to cut down their consumption of unwanted, unnecessary packaging and single use products. Our major supermarkets too can play their part in this move to take responsibility for the waste we all produce.

In March 2016 I asked our Zero Waste Week Heroes Facebook group for suggestions for ‘quick, easy, no cost or low cost zero waste actions our supermarkets could take’. Below are some of their suggestions – not an exhaustive list but more a starting point for a supermarket that is considering its place in the contemporary market place.

On entry and across the store

Display your commitment to reducing plastic and single use containers

Actually show/tell people how to reduce plastic waste through signs or labels

Stock plastic free packaged alternatives where possible

Availability of loose fresh fruit and veg 

  • Signs encouraging people to bring their own cotton bags for loose fruit and veg
  • Since lots of people seem to have supermarket branded shopping bags there could easily be a market for the supermarkets to sell reusable cotton veg and fruit bags
  • Spring onions in non-recyclable plastic film? They used to have a rubber band and a label only
  • As above for swede and cucumber!
  • Provide compostable paper bags instead of plastic or at least as an alternative. Mark bags ‘I am compostable’
  • Some weigh machines instruct you to put loose fruit and veg in a plastic bag – should be easy to change that to just ‘bag’ and provide paper bags as an alternative.
  • Provide loose fruit as an alternative to those in nets at the same price – I don’t need a net to help me count 3 lemons etc

At the Deli/Bakery/Meat/Fish counter

  • Encourage people to use deli counter, cheese counter, etc.
  • What about encouraging their delis, meat and fish counters to put the produce into customers own containers rather than bags? Ohhh…and not using a piece of plastic to weigh these items 
  • My local deli uses greaseproof paper bags for cheese which I can compost. I’d be very pleased if a supermarket deli counter could cut the cheese and not just hand over a bit already Clingfilm wrapped
  • Compostable waxed paper cartons could replace those wretched plastic clam shells

Tinned/canned/dry goods

  • Don’t wrap plastic around 4 tins of beans or toms etc. I can count and so can the person on the checkout
  • Sell items like pasta in paper bags instead of single use plastic

A bit more…

You an find lots more supermarket related posts here.

the P-f U.K. Directory

This post was written by the contributor. It has been posted in the  PfU.K. Directory.

And the P-f U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their fantastic work. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

 

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Scotland Our Green Journey Blog

Hi, my name is Charlotte Todd

It is my mission to try and find ‘green’ alternatives for our family and others, for everyday living essentials. By green, I mean things which are biodegradable, recyclable, re-usable, sustainable products that have little or no air mileage, support the local (or failing that, national) economy and generally make the world a better place to live in. The overriding thing that I look for when choosing products to help life happen, is to what extent they are plastic free.

I am an individual who is blogging to help our family and others pursue green alternatives.
To combat plastic overuse, I choose products that are plastic free, blog about viable alternatives for others to read, and make it my mission in life through social media and everyday encounters to help others realise the problems that plastic has and is causing to our beautiful planet, and what can be done about it. I have created the ‘ultimate list’ on my blog for a quick-reference guide for others to see, without having to go trawling through internet forums/social media/ web pages to find such a handy reference guide.

I live in Scotland (United Kingdom) and have an amazing husband and two wonderful small people. Apart from being chief caregiver, activities coordinator, cook, cleaner and counsellor, I teach primary aged kids and have a keen interest in living in a way that has a positive impact on the environment.

Links – http://www.ourgreenjourney.uk/

D

A bit more…

This post was written by the contributor. It is a PfU.K. Directory submission.

And the Pf U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean  anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their fantastic work. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

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Bristol & Plastic A Lot Less

Plastivist of the month is Michelle Cassar……

I started Being PALL – Plastic A Lot Less in November 2008. I had a life changing day, literally!

I´d always “recycled” but on this particular day I did my first beach clean on a deserted beach on the West Coast of Portugal where I was living. The beach was covered in plastic,  we removed as much as we could carry back up the steep cliff. We took it to the recycling bins, most I didn´t even know was plastic!  That evening I came across an article in The Surfer´s Path that simple said, “Every piece of plastic that has ever been made still exists and much of it is in our oceans.”  There was a you tube link to; A Tale of Entanglement. Which is a pretty graphic film of animals entangled in plastic. I was upset and looked around the camper… at all our plastics.  The next day I started refusing and researching.

Some people may doubt this statement. As some plastics have been burnt and there is still plenty on land, but no one can deny, our Oceans are choking in plastic.

I´m a photographer and I surf (when the conditions are small enough).  I was shooting surfschools. This meant I was spending a lot of time at the beaches, surfing or shooting.

With the Atlantic swell, it´s hard not to notice the ever-changing plastic washing up on the beach.  Especially when I was shooting, often even in small Summer swells, plastic washed up around my feet.  I was constantly reminded of the presence of plastic pollution, so I couldn´t help but do something positive about it.  Firstly be reducing my own plastic drastically and then helping other people reduce theirs.

Although I´m still coming up upon obstacles all the time, I try my best to over come the challenges as refusing plastics is a way of life for me now.  I don´t claim to be perfect, there´s always more anyone can do, but PALL-ing´s a good place to start.

I am   Photographer, Blogger, Educator on plastic pollution, Consultant to businesses, with regards to reducing their single use plastics.

I refuse single use, and many many other longer use plastics. After 3 years I´d calculated I alone had refused in the region of 10,000 SUP items, and that number has continued to grow over the years that have followed.

Over the six years I have also helped many other reduce theirs. Some things are simple but add up to incredible amounts. For example, a Surf School I worked with back in 2008 swopped single use bottled water for a water cooler and filter. Over the years they have gone on to refuse 12,000 SUP bottles and the plastic wrapping. They have also saved themselves over €1,500 and countless hours moving water bottles around.

http://being-pall.com/

https://www.facebook.com/beingpall

https://twitter.com/beingpall

A bit more…

This post was written by the contributor. It is a PfU.K. Directory submission.

And the Pf U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean  anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their fantastic work. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

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Plastic free July Bloggers U.K.

Each year a good number of British bloggers sign up for Plastic Free July.

“What” you cry “Live plastic free? for all of July?”

Not quite! It’s all about cutting one use plastic – bottles, bags that kind of thing. However definitions of one use plastic can vary.
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.

Read more about the project  and this years plastic free July, here

U.K. Bloggers

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.

2017 U.K. Participants 

First off we have Lisa at www.less-stuff.co.uk

and Sarah at www.facebook.com/rhubarbandrunnerbeans

Pip- squeaking @Pip_Squeaking of   arefugefordaffodils.wordpress.com in her second year now. <

From Bristol it’s the Cheeky Girls of Green:
Author and TV presenter @nataliefee. Read about here in thePlastic Free U.K. Directory:
And Michelle film maker, writer of the great blog Plastic A Lot Less and tweeter @beingpall.
They are the brains behind numerous campaigns, the latest being

 

Previous Years

2016

the lovely Pip- squeaking @Pip_Squeaking of   arefugefordaffodils.wordpress.com in her second year now. 

Vicky@busygreenmum I blog about homegrown and foraged food and drink, reducing waste and buying less to reduce our carbon footprint and maybe save a little money on the way. allotmentrecipes.wordpress.com

Helen McGonigal@SpotofEarth Blogger & freelance writer, literacy workshop consultant, author of Mummy Makes Milk, mum of three, wife. spotofearth.com

New Plastic-free U.K. Directory member Jerry Bottles. Read about them here. Tweet them @jerrybottles

Libby Darling – “I run a beaching cleaning group and local eco/education Charity here in Rottingdean, just outside of Brighton, I have recently led a plastic free challenge in May & June to my local schools etc and it’s on going!
It’s not easy but it’s worth every moment!”

Fiona Hancox – no details as yet but on board!

2015

Author and TV presenter @nataliefee has joined the #pfjuk campaign and is spreading the word in Bristol and beyond! She is also the latest plastivist to join thePlastic Free U.K. Directory.
Ethical Superstore  are also promoting the campaign

Bristol and its Michelle author of the great blog Plastic A Lot Less and @beingpall

 

 

2014

These British bloggers signed up for the challenge. Their blogs are fantastically useful and specially good for local info and resources:

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

 

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Croyden – plastic free Kake

I’m taking the Plastic-Free July challenge of cutting out single-use plastics during July 2014. As part of this, I’ll be building up lists of plastic-free shopping options in my local area — Croydon, South
London.
I’ll also be blogging about how I get on with the challenge.
Cutting down my own plastic use, and helping and encouraging other
people in Croydon to do the same.
Links

Links

 http://croydon.randomness.org.uk/plastic-free-july/

https://twitter.com/croydn

kake@earth.li

More

This post was written by the contributor and is  a PfU.K. Directory submission.

The Pf U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their work not mine. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

Follow us on facebook here

Scotland – Westy Writes

I’m a Scottish blogger who is about to undertake the challenge of Plastic Free July2014.  I have been ‘in training’ for the past eight months – assessing my use of disposable plastics and working out what alternatives I can use. My blog documents my busy life, full of competing priorities while focussing on the ‘inconvenience’ of trying to save the planet! I post about techniques and products that help me along the way, and there are a fair number of posts about me trying to get back on track when things haven’t quite gone to plan!

Next month is Plastic Free July! Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as difficult as it sounds – the challenge doesn’t stop you using all plastics, just those that are single-use, or disposable. But wait…take a snap shot from your day today. Did an hour go by that you didn’t use a disposable plastic?

Think of your breakfast – was there cereal in a plastic bag, or perhaps milk from a plastic carton? Was there yoghurt in a plastic pot, or a plastic carton of fresh berries? What about at work, did you use a plastic disposable pen or sellotape? At home, did you use washing-up liquid from a plastic bottle or even just blow your nose on a tissue that had plastic on top of the box?

Single-use plastics are everywhere!

For one month I am going to attempt to avoid them as much as I possibly can. The reason that I have made this crazy commitment is to reduce my damaging impact on the environment. Because plastic doesn’t naturally degrade, much of it ends up in landfill to hang around possibly forever, leaching chemicals into the land. Some plastic rubbish doesn’t even make it into the bin to start its journey to landfill. I like to think mine does, but I’ve had the occasional plastic bag that has blown out of the car boot on a windy day, and no doubt there’s been other innocent plastic littering offences that I’ve hardly registered. Who knows where that stuff ends up, but plastic waste can be found in oceans and the countryside, where it poses a danger to wildlife as they consume it or get trapped by it.

Last year I read about Plastic Free July (www.plasticfreejuly.org) and thought it was an admirable challenge – but not something I would ever attempt! How could I?! Life is busy and I have small children to look after – I cared about the environment of course but…you know…not enough to turn my life upside down for a month!!

Annoyingly though, the concept niggled away at me. I kept thinking about the impact of single-use plastics and I wrote a few blog posts on the topic. I changed a few of the easy things – I bought my veg loose rather than using small plastic bags, I swapped bottled liquid soap for bars and I stopped wrapping my homemade bread in clingfilm and bought a tin. For the first time, I opened my eyes to the plastic around me. I could see where I was failing the environment and – maybe it’s just me – but I don’t like to fail!

Back in October 2013, with 9 months to go, I announced on my blog that I’d be taking part in Plastic Free July 2014. I had no idea quite how I was going to reach the point where I could last for a month without single-use plastics, but I reckoned I had time to get myself in training!

Eight months (and several blog posts) later, I am now a matter of weeks away from the start of Plastic Free July. I’ve solved a lot of the plastic problems that I anticipate coming up against but, to be honest, I’ll be winging it with some of the others!

I’d be delighted if anyone wants to follow my progress during July and if you have any suggestions that might help, then please get in touch via my blog at

westywrites.wordpress.com or my Twitter account @Westywrites – I have a feeling I’ll need all the help I can get.

Also, why not make a pledge of your own? If you can’t face a whole month without single-use plastics, then there are so many some small and manageable changes you can make.  Here are some of my suggestions, taken from a post I wrote back in December.

1. Swap that plastic bottle of liquid soap or shower gel for a bar of soap, wrapped in paper, cardboard or unwrapped.

2. Refuse plastic carrier bags and instead, carry your own – a fold-away bag attached to your key-ring or handbag can make all the difference.

3. Take a re-usable cup out with you when buying coffee on your way to work, for example.

4. Carry a bottle of water from home with you with you instead of buying water in plastic bottles.

5. Ditch cling-film.

6. If you have a choice between products – anything from ketchup to toys to gifts- go for the one with the least plastic content.

7. Stop buying fruit &amp; veg in pre-packed plastic bags. Buy loose or take your own produce bags.

8. Ditch disposable straws.

9. Find a local veg box delivery scheme and request that your order comes plastic-free.

10. Instead of buying DVDs and CDs, sign-up to film subscriptions (eg. Love Film) and Music Apps (eg Spotify or Deezer).

If every person reading this blog post, chooses one action for July, think of all of the plastic that will be saved from landfill! We are living in an increasingly fragile planet, let’s use July to make a difference.

More

This post was written by the contributor and is  a PfU.K. Directory submission.

The Pf U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their work not mine. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

Follow us on facebook here

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Wales Plastic Free Lent

When did our lives become so plastic? Plastic chairs, plastic cups, plastic toys, plastic packaged food; where does it all go? In our little family of 5 with 3 small children, we recycle as much as we can but still, our bins heave. Looking at the contents of our waste bin, much of that is plastic food packaging. We are not alone as 60% of household waste is packaging. Our oceans swirl with billions of pounds of plastic, with sea birds and mammals being killed in abundance. Recycling is not the answer because once it is in existence, plastic never goes away and virtually every piece of plastic ever produced is still here in some shape or form. We have given up buying plastic for Lent and are really interested in how this will affect our daily lives. We will let you know how it goes!’

We will give up using plastics for lent. We plan to get an organic box, go to the butchers with our own Tupperware, use the milkman and also try to find a solution to the many other plastic dilemmas posed in a family with small children.’

 

A bit more…

This post was written by the contributor. It is a PfU.K. Directory submission.

And the Pf U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean  anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their fantastic work. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

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Devon & Sarah

My name is Sarah, I live in Devon, and I write about my adventures towards a more environmentally friendly life and how I combine this with parenting (trying to be gentle and respectful to both the planet and my children). At the start of 2017 I decided to try to achieve zero-waste to landfill. See how I am getting on at www.facebook.com/rhubarbandrunnerbeans

A bit more…

This post was written by the contributor. It is a PfU.K. Directory submission.

And the Pf U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean  anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their fantastic work. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

U.K. Plastic Free Living
Find out if a shop near you sells bulk food loose or if there’s a zero waste blogger in your town. Heres a list of plastic free places listed alphabetically..

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Modbury – The Plastic Bag Free Town.

Thanks to the efforts of Rebecca Hosking and the local traders Modbury became the first plastic bag free town in the UK in May 2007. You can find out more about the damage plastic bags do to the environment by looking at the plastic free websiteWhich sadly appears to be empty. A visit is in order?

But there is this from the Daily Mail written in 2015

Film-maker Rebecca Hosking screened a documentary – Message in the Waves – about the devastating impact of plastic waste in a marine environment to 50 local shop owners.The retailers were stunned into silence by the film and instantly pledged to stop handing out plastic bags. Modest Rebecca, 42, said all the credit for the change in the law should lie with those in the audience that evening.

Rebecca, a wildlife camerawoman, said: “I have really stepped away from it now – so the credit to this must go to the Modbury traders association.”They are the ones that have done it, and have been doing it for almost 10 years by themselves with little publicity or credit.”They are the ones that deserve the praise and I would rather leave it to them to comment about today’s changes.” Daily Mail

And I can confirm that at one of them is very praiseworthy indeed. Back at the beginning of my #plasticfree campaign, when I was looking for something to buy meat in, I spoke to the butcher in Modbury and he took the time to tell me all  about the compostable plastic bags he used. 

Rebecca Hoskings is now farming eco sheep. Love it.