Here is an ever updating list of our ongoing plastic free finds
The easiest way to find a plasticfree alternative in the huge database of products is to use the search function (#grandmothersuckeggs!). But should you wish, you can see all plastic free products by category, here.

#Plasticfreeclean2024

Because sometimes going for a refill is a bit of a faff and other washing up liquids are so plasticky, how about this? Just add water to this gel to make a bottle of washing up liquid. What a great idea from

Homethings

“The UK’s first powder-to-gel washing up liquid has had an upgrade. Powerfully formulated to cut through grease + grime, leaving your dishes sparkling.

3x washing up liquid sachets – recently reformulated to be EVEN better
Each sachet makes up a 350ml washing up liquid bottle
Choose from two divine fragrances: Wild Rhubarb, and Apple + Nashi Pear

HOW DO I RECYCLE THE SACHET?
Easy! Just pop it in the paper recycling.”

They do other stuff as well.

Cleaning Up

It’s boring but it has to be done. How to keep your house sparkling and your laundry fresh with this guide to plastic free Cleaning up.

There are times when you need a bit of added protection. These reusable cotton pants are extra lined to deal with emergency leaks. Always good to plan ahead!

No idea what the packaging is like!

Wuka
WUKA Stretch™ Cotton period pants are the world’s first full brief made from BCI certified Cotton designed to care for even the most sensitive skin, and mould to every body size for maximum period protection. Hypoallergenic and soft as cotton clouds, even kinder to skin and planet.
Key features:
Soft, Ethically Made BCI Cotton
Breathable Freshness – Up To 12hr Wear
Absorbent Gusset- Full Coverage, Perfect For Heavy Flow Days
Stretch™ Technology – 1 Pair Fits Up To 4 Sizes

TENA Washable Soft Cotton Underwear | Classic
Regular price£19.99
Super-soft & comfortable
Your new favorite washable & reusable everyday underwear made of soft cotton and stretchy elastane.

4 layers of built in protection
A soft moisture wicking layer quickly drains the surface to keep your skin dry. Double absorption layers absorb and hold liquid to keep you fresh while the liquid barrier layer keep liquid in the product.

Wear, wash, repeat
Easy to wash with the rest of your clothes at 40 degrees and reuse over and over again.

Fluxies

This company also do a good range of cotton incontinence pants and period pants.

Read more about that, here.

And cleaning electronics with isopropyl

To clean hard-to-remove smudges, you can moisten the cloth with a 70 per cent isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution. Don’t clean the screen of your display with a cleaning product that contains acetone. Use a cleaner intended for use with a screen or display. Never spray cleaner directly onto the screen.1 Jul 2024

How to clean your Apple products – Apple Support (UK)

Apple Supporthttps://support.apple.com › en-gb

,,However….

 “It’s best to avoid using any isopropyl mixture below 90% on circuit boards and other electrical bits. If you’re simply cleaning the adhesive off something metal or plastic, 70% might do in a pinch, but you’ll want to be sure not to spill it onto circuits or wires.” https://www.ifixit.com/News/36877/ask-ifixit-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-isopropyl-alcohol#:~:text=Can%20I%20Use%20It%20to,it%20onto%20circuits%20or%20wires.

Leather Watch Straps

For Garmin watches

and a metal one here

Protein Powder

Sends out in paper bag in plastic free packaging
“This performance protein blend has a natural sweet vanilla flavour and light texture; and contains no artificial flavours, colours, preservatives or sweetener. Vanilla premium protein blend can be added to smoothies and juices, or incorporated in many recipe; and is suitable for people who are avoiding lactose.
Plastic free protein powder”

Avg Quantity
per 100g 1607 kJ/384 kcal
Fat, Total
– saturated 7.1 g 0.5 g
Carbohydrates 5 g
Fibre <0.5 g Protein 75 g Salt 2.4 g

Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo, plastic free. I havent bought so I don’t know what the onward packaging is like. Please tell me if you do

From Here.

And Peace With the Wild do a whole range of stuff

Petition

Everyday Plastic have  launched a petition calling for all UK supermarkets to remove plastic packaging from five top-selling fruit & veg products so that shoppers can #ChooseLoose.

Potatoes 🥔, apples 🍏, bananas 🍌, carrots 🥕 and onions 🧅 are some of the top-selling fruit & veg products in UK households. It’s estimated that selling these five items loose would:

• Prevent an estimated 1.7 billion pieces of plastic packaging from being thrown away.
• Avoid more than 77,000 tonnes of food waste by allowing people to buy only what they need.
• Save shoppers a combined total of over £85m per year in uneaten food.

Agree that it makes total sense to #ChooseLoose? Then click the link below to join us in calling on the supermarkets to remove the plastic packaging 👇

 

Outdoor Cushions

So I’m looking for the plastic-free cushions to go on our purpose-built a pergola.

The pergola has been made out of recycled handrails and secondhand Key Klamp fittings. Never worked with these materials before so there have been a few mistakes made. On the whole though pretty happy. It’s extremely easy to put up and very easy to move around and adapt.

The seats are made with pallets we have collected from here and there.They are 80cm wide.

Now I need something to soften the blow. Most out-door cushions are made from waterproof polyester and filled with plastic foam. Obviously waterproof for outside is a good idea. But…. I don’t like synthetic fibres.

However if I go with an all natural fibres cushion than I have to move in the cushions whenever it rains. In the summer there is very little rain so for much of the year I can leave them out. But Winter is cold and wet. Which means they have to be reasonably light weight and not too bulky. We don’t have a huge amount of storage space.
They also have to be cheap.
And comfortable enough to sleep out on.
I was thinking of some kind of cotton roll-up Japanese futon.
Here are some interesting options.

Natural Fibre Mattresses

These mattresses from European store Maisons Du Monde look good. They are filled with cotton scraps look nice and firm – but at 70 cm they might be a bit narrow and at 90 they are rather wide.
Plus they look rigid and little heavy. I’m guessing I can’t roll these easily. If at all.

Children’s mattress 90×190

or Ecru Quilted Recycled Cotton Floor Mattress 70 x 190

€119.00 – 139
Dimensions (cm): Height11 x Width190 x Depth 90 or 70
Weight (kg): 13 or 15
Main Material: Cotton
Made In India
Product description
Additional information
100% cotton
Filling : 100% recycled cotton

Gaddiposh yellow cotton mattress 90×190

Much lighter – can be rolled reasonably priced at But thin. Very, very thin. the websites suggests “And stack other mattresses and cushions to provide more comfort.’ – Indeed.Dimensions (cm): Height7.5 x Width190 x Depth90
Weight (kg): 6.5 –
Main Material: Cotton
Made In India

Padding : 100% recycled cotton
Cover : 100% cotton

Futon 24

Cotton & Hemp

I am also liking the look of these. They are the right size. They are rigid and weighty so will be bulky to move but perhaps that is a price I have to pay? But at €199.00 the price is not too unreasonable. But at 141 shipping costs I would have to go to Berlin to collect them myself!

From the website

“SLEEP COMFORT:
The Vita-line Futon “Model 12” offers rather pure, firm lying feeling. The processed cotton is a traditional filling material for futons and is very resistant. Initially, the futon “Model 12” is 9 – 10 cm high. During the phase of layering, the cotton layers can lose up to 35 % (load dependency) of their initial height, but they become more firm over time and therefore, become more compact. Coconut as a latexed padding material is relatively firm, elastic and dimensionally stable. It is heat-retaining, breathable and resistant to moisture. This futon mattress offers medium-hard sleeping and sitting comfort. The cover is 100 % cotton.

FILLING MATERIAL:
1 Latexed coconut layer 1 cm
4 Cotton layers
1 Latexed coconut layer 1 cm
COVER:
100 % cotton
Non-removable
TOTAL HEIGHT:
9 – 10 cm
SPECIAL FEATURE:
The Vita-line Futon is adhesive-free.

COLOR RANGE:
From plain to colorful:
20 colors for the futon cover are available.

HAND-MADE FUTONS BY FUTON24:
The company established in 1996 Futon24 produces high-quality futons and natural mattresses. The “Model 12″ satisfies all sleepers who like it a bit firm. This futon is suitable for tatami (straight, closed supporting surface) and for bed bases and sitting base.”

More Stuff

Spanish, plastic-free, online shop here – got some useful stuff. Including powdered washing up liquid.

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

So I’m trying this – a water filter jug from Phox. 

Plus points include

• a refillable cartridge 
• designed and manufactured in Scotland. 
• the jug is made from glass and BPA-free polypropylene plastic. 
• all Phox packaging is made of recycled cardboard and biodegradable bags. 
• refill packs are built to last 45 days or 200 litres, whichever comes first. 
• packaged in recycled cardboard and biodegradable bags.
• refill packs are slim and built to fit through your letterbox.
• Choose from the following filter packs 

 Alkaline Pack: for water with lots of limescale Filtered pH 8-9, Added magnesium, helps acid reflux, great taste. 

Clean Pack: Softens water, Great for tea & coffee, removes nasties, great taste.

More

Look here for more information on all things watery and plastic-free  including

• Tap Water U.K. 

• Refill Schemes – in the U.K. 

• Carbonated Water 

• Water Abroad

I have no idea how this works under carpet because I don’t do carpet but it might be useful for those of you looking for a sustainable underlay. However I can tell you that so far it has done an excellent job of insulating our van

Insulation For A Van Conversion.

When converting our empty steel box of a van into a cosy camper home we had to line it with some form of installation. 

This stops the van from being freezing cold in winter and a baking, boiling can of sweat in the warmer weather. And, very, importantly deadens the noise from outside. 

Reading up about insulating vans and there are all kinds of concerns and worries. Many say you need to line the steel  inside with a plastic sheet to stop the water condensing on the  surface and rusting the van from the side out.

However I don’t want to use plastic. So I went for a natural carpet liner stuck straight to the metal. N.B. This is an important decision and may have long term, negative consequence. Please do your own research. 

After some research I thought I would use wool.

I tried to buy some all natural Swaledale wool but Could get it on time.

Details Here

Swaledale 50 Pure Wool Carpet Underlay

•  heavy weight pure new wool carpet underlay
• manufactured from 100% pure Swaledale wool. made with 100% Swaledale wool and has a new improved Jute scrim which is ideal for anyone wanting a totally natural product.
• Buy per square metre £5.99 +VAT

So I got this instead

MULTI RICH 56 – Recycled felt underlay made from leftover carpet fibres made locally in Yorkshire. 

This meets a lot of my shopping criteria. I’m into supporting local businesses, local production and recycled products as well as biodegradable and plastic free. So this is almost perfect.  

Two downsides…on closer inspections I saw what appeared to be some synthetic fibres in there. On asking I was told that  it was guaranteed 80% wool but some synthetics did slip in. And of course it does come packaged in plastic – sigh….

Anyway  2 years ago I glued it to the van where it still remains. It does indeed keep the van warm and or cool. So far so good.

About

Wilsons Underlays http://www.wilsons-underlays.co.uk

• Specialist manufacturer of underlay based in Dewsbury – West Yorkshire. Underlay made in the UK!
• Wool carpet underlay is made entirely from 100% recycled fibres. Leftover from carpet production. 80% pure wool 20% synthetic
• Specialist manufacturer of underlay based in Dewsbury – West Yorkshire. Underlay made in the UK!
• Website http://wilsons-underlays.co.uk
• Wilsons Underlays, Ravenswharf Road, Dewsbury

More Information

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