Our story It began in a foreign country in Western Europe. It was the summer of 2018. We made a move and later, another decision that would change our lives f o r e v e r. The city was Berlin. The year was 2017, in the … Read more...
Skip the Black Friday this year, pleaaaase!
Black Friday is here again. Millions will spend more than they can afford, buy more than they need, and create a ridiculous amount of waste!
I was about to start writing this post about Black Friday when I saw this silly little poll:
Quick Poll – Nov. 22, 2021
Have you started your Christmas shopping?
| Yes | 704 | (59 %) |
| No | 481 | (41 %) |
Total number of votes: 1185
So yes, the madness has started. More than half of the people who voted have already started their Christmas shopping. Here I am trying to get people not to buy more things. Seems like a battle lost, right? But I will still give it a try.
What is Black Friday anyway?
Black Friday is the busiest selling and shopping day of the year. Most of the big businesses are advertising their huge sales. Which is the direct encouragement of buying. A la “Biggest sale of the year”, “This is a must-have item”, “Buy three, get 4th for free” etc. They’re advertising this because they can. While at the same time small businesses can’t afford to make deep discounts, as their products are already priced fairly. Think of Black Friday as a huge bonus for big businesses, who are making most of the sales anyway. While small sellers get nothing. As usual.
Why is Black Friday bad?
Besides the already mentioned discrimination of small-scale businesses, Black Friday has many bad sides. People who work for all these large companies are oftentimes not paid well. Not only at the stores, but also at the warehouses or Amazon shipping factories.
It adds to overconsumption as people are lured in to buy much more than they need. Not even, but they are buying things they don’t even need! This happens mostly because the prices are made to sell and it is easier to overindulge yourself when you are impulse buying.
Following may be news for some. If you buy something and you do not like it, you can most of the time return it, right? But what happens to the merchandise after it has arrived back at the store. It gets trashed. In other words – sent to a landfill. (In case if some smart dumpster divers do not get to it before that!) During Black Friday the returns are usually offered for free. So there will be lots of waste: time, money, packaging, labour, etc. But the most damage is done to our mother Earth.
What can we do to make a change?
Don’t buy. Especially on Black Friday. You do not need to wake up at 4 AM to get something. Or line up in the cold and sit in the traffic. For what? Sleep in, cuddled by the warmth of your partner’s arms, and go about it like it is just another Friday.
Celebrate Buy Nothing Day. Their website has lots of good information and other tips on how to save money. So you can spend the money on something that you really need, like your rent, food or vitamins.
If you really need to buy something make sure that you really actually need it. Perhaps you can repair it, clean it or get a pre-owned version of the item. We have become very convenient, yet we are spending so much time working and getting paid little. Why not get out of that comfort zone and get busy with saving the world and money. Every sock you mend, or button you are sewing back is an item saved from the landfill. And if the sock can’t be mended anymore, you can use it as a rag in your household. We can go on forever on this đ
Support your local small-time business instead. Always choose them over the big companies. Enjoy the act of shopping. Visit the store, talk with the business owner and choose what you want using your own eyes and hands. This way you are definitely making a better decision than buying online or buying under pressure.
Have you heard of an app called Renoon? It is a new and leading app for sustainability and fashion. They connect people with a multitude of brands and platforms to simplify and enrich the experience of combining style with sustainability values. But the most important part is that Renoon is not yet another shop. Itâs an entire universe of values, untold stories about sustainability, and a cohesive place where intentions become reality. Yup, and an actual app that cares about the environment.
Conclusion
You can live without participating on Black Friday! đ
Once again this Friday is as an average Friday for us. We do not like buying, malls, plastic, and consumerism. So we fit right in. We hope that this little post made you also think about the unnecessity of Black Friday and you are happy to be not buying on that day. You will help yourself and planet Earth.
Oh, one more thing. I want to introduce you to a great resource on all things sustainable – Treehugger! I found them while researching for this article. We love people, who love the environment.
Inspiring quotes on plastic for motivation
As the last post on Plastic-Free July, we will leave you with various quotes on plastic. Learn and make a change!
We covered Plastic-Free July for the whole month and we hope that you found something useful you can apply in your life. There is always so much to do, but usually so little time. But if we find some dedication to start, then the change will happen. You just have to make a decision. Today’s post is a selection of quotes to motivate you to get up and start implementing the knowledge into action.
I was inspired by DiverBliss.com for this list. She had put together a wonderful selection of inspiring quotes. Some of them are really simple, but most of them are thought-provoking and show you the real picture. We can always do something, so this is your chance to be inspired now.
- âIf we pollute the air, water, and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us.ââ Dr. David Suzuki
2. âThere is no such thing as âawayâ. When we throw anything away, it must go somewhere.â â Annie Leonard, creator of film documentary The Story of Stuff
3. âIt cannot be right to manufacture billions of objects that are used for a matter of minutes, and then are with us for centuries.ââ Roz Savage
4. âI only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.ââ Saint Mother Teresa
5. âOne of my big pet peeves is single-use plastic bags. I think itâs one of the stupidest ideas in the world.ââ Philippe Cousteau, Jr.
6. âFor all the environmental troubles single-use shopping bags cause, the much greater impacts are in what they contain. Reducing the human footprint means addressing fundamentally unsustainable habits of food consumption, such as expecting strawberries in the depths of winter or buying of seafood that are being fished to the brink of extinction.ââ Susan Freinkel, author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story
7. âForget bottled water; tap water is just as good! Pour it into a reusable water bottle, and always have fresh water on the go without wasting plastic.ââ Ashlan Gorse Cousteau
8. âOf all the waste we generate, plastic bags are perhaps the greatest symbol of our throwaway society. They are used, then forgotten, and they leave a terrible legacy. â Zac Goldsmith
9. âWhen plastics do break down, they donât biodegrade; rather, they break into increasingly smaller pieces, many of which end up in the oceans as microplastics that harm aquatic life and birds.ââ Dr. David Suzuki
10. âWe are being choked to death by the amount of plastic that we throw away. Itâs killing our oceans. Itâs entering into our bodies in the fish we eat.ââ Kevin Bacon, actor
11. âPollution from oil and gas development, toxic runoff, and miles and miles of plastic trash foul the waters and threaten marine life.ââ Frances Beinecke, author of The World We Create: A Message of Hope for a Planet in Peril
12. âYou wouldnât think you could kill an ocean, would you? But weâll do it one day. Thatâs how negligent we are.ââ Ian Rankin, author of several crime novels
13. âI often struggle to find words that will communicate the vastness of the Pacific Ocean to people who have never been to sea. Yet as I gazed from the deck at the surface of what ought to have been a pristine ocean, I was confronted, as far as the eye could see, with the sight of plastic.ââ Captain Charles Moore, author of Plastic Ocean
14. âWaste isnât waste until we waste it.ââ Will.I.Am, musician
15. âPlastic will be the main ingredient of all our grandchildrenâs recipes.ââAnthony T. Hincks
16. âPollution is a necessary result of the inability of a man to reform and transform waste.ââ Patti Smith
17. âOutright bans on plastic bags may not be the best solution, but education and incentives to get people to stop using them are necessary.ââ Dr. David Suzuki
18. âI think, on a personal level, everybody, when you go through the checkout line after you get your groceries and they say, âPaper or plastic?â We should be saying, âNeither one.â We should have our own cloth bags.ââWoody Harrelson
19. âThe most environmentally friendly product is the one you didnât buy.ââ Joshua Becker, author of The Minimalist Home
20. âThe greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.ââ Robert Swan, explorer
Even though Plastic-Free July is over I hope you will carry the beliefs of the month into your every day. Stores are full of plastic, but also full of choices. Choose the glass jar instead of the plastic container. Choose cardboard over plastic. And choose no package over any kind of packaging.
Please read our other articles published this Plastic-Free July here:
Plastic-free July is here to make the useless plastic go away.
Plastic detox: deplastify your life.
Plastic-free beach Toronto thanks to Dora Attard.
We highly recommend checking out this wonderful website My Plastic Free Life.com. This is an awesome website with so much interesting stuff to go through. She has unfortunately stopped posting, but still, she put so much work into introducing her plastic-free life, so go ahead and take a look.
Do you have your own favourite plastic quote to share?
Cover photo by FLY:D
Plastic Free Beach Toronto thanks to Dora Attard
Be open and let the world inspire you. Dora Attard inspired us when we met her at Woodbine Beach. Please find out more about her work below.
Since there is not much left of Plastic-Free July, which we prefer to call Plastic-Free Every Day, this is high time to introduce you to a wonderful woman, Dora Attard. Have you ever met a complete stranger in your city whose work inspires you? We did, on a warmish early September day in 2020, our last beach day of the year. It was Sunday, which is why we were able to meet her in the first place.
Who is Dora Attard?
She is a Toronto resident and a garbage collector. And Dora Attard is also the founder of Plastic Free Beach Toronto. Plastic Free Beach Toronto is an organization that educates people on the amount of single-use plastic that is used and thrown away daily and encourages people to create a cleaner world for future generations.
The way we got to know Dora was so random. As we were leaving our beach day and sending our friends closer to their bus stop, we noticed her giant globe made of trash. It is made from the garbage collected on Woodbine Beach this past summer. In the artwork, water bottles make up the world’s oceans while plastics of different colours make up the continents. We approached her to find out more, and we ended up having a refreshing conversation with her and her friend.
We found out that they have been doing this activity for quite some time. Presenting the beautiful artwork, which she had to install and dismantle every day, wasn’t all she did. Dora is a passionate fighter against plastic. She is bringing awareness to the problem of plastic use, promotes a plastic-free lifestyle, suggests skipping single-use plastic, etc. Plus she organizes garbage pick-up at Woodbine Beach. Since it was the end of the day, we couldn’t participate in this activity, but had a nice chat with Dora.
Why plastic is so bad near water?
Plastic is a substance that companies create to make easy money. It may be convenient, but is it worth the huge price that our planet and its inhabitants have to pay? Plastic will outlive us, and that in of itself should shock us. It should be a universal law that species do not leave Earth worse than they found it, that we do not destroy the planet for future generations.
In Canada, just 9% of the plastics collected will be recycled. This number is so ridiculously small. This long-lasting, poisonous material will be here for a long time. Plastic poses the most risk to the waterways. How will the beaches, lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds on Earth look in 5 years’ time? 10 years? 20 years? This is why it is important to deal with plastic now; today. This is crucial so that we avoid problems associated with each time frame in our home country.
We love Dora’s work, that she saw the problem and she took matters into her own hands. What a great way to make a change in your community! She said that the pieces of garbage most commonly found on the beach are cigarette butts, lids and bottle caps, water bottles, and plastic straws. She also finds needles, which humans and animals may step on or they may be found by children. The above-mentioned quite large plastic pieces are not the main problem. “The majority of the little bits I find are washed up from lake that has been broken down in microplastics. They’re eaten by birds and fish, and if you’re not a vegetarian and you eat the fish, then the plastic ends up inside of your body.” Dora stated.
What you can do to support Plastic Free Beach Toronto?
Participate at the Beach Clean-Up Day! It takes place on Sundays from 8-10 AM on Woodbine Beach up until the beginning of Fall. Always be sure to check Dora’s Instagram account for up-to-date information. Please share her handle with your friends and urge them to join you to the clean-up-day, to help keep our beaches clean and beautiful. Dora and her team will provide reusable gloves, buckets/bags, and pickers. The meeting place is out front of the Olympic Swimming Pool.
We are really interested in participating, but since Sunday is the only real relaxing day – read: sleep-in-day – then, unfortunately, yes, this Is the situation. BUT if a miracle will happen and I find myself wide awake at 7 AM, then Dora be sure, I will be there!
More about Dora Attard
Watch a short clip about Dora Attard and her work at CBC.com and read more on the same page.
Watch a video of Dora explaining what is it exactly she is doing in this video.
Visit Dora’s Instagram account Plastic Free Beach Toronto.
Support her work and buy her plastic artwork from Etsy.
Reference
Making peace with plastic. Is it possible?
We have been consciously plastic-free for 3 years. But we still hate it, so we are curious if there is a way to make peace with plastic.
When we first started with avoiding spending money on plastic, we had really no idea that it could really stick on us. But luckily it did. I can still clearly remember the first months of being plastic-free. How I was in a panic looking for items in tin cans, glass or cardboard. It almost seemed like a fun, but still difficult game. I didn’t want plastic, and I had very negative feelings toward plastic. The same applies today, but I started thinking maybe this hatred towards the god of the materials is unnecessary. Below is what helped me to decide.
Cry in the desert?
Being plastic-free only brings peace of mind to the one who practises it. Their contribution to avoiding it doesn’t really bring much change. It does if it is possible to cut down the fee of the container waste removal. But most of the time even that is not possible. Perhaps it makes a friend or two think about plastic and its nasty ways as well. But besides all that this is, is a cry in the desert.
Perhaps that cry in the desert is what one needs. Knowing that no money has been exchanged for the very expensive packaging, gives peace of mind. The material is actually cheap while offering a temporary home for the food items we are paying money for to bring home. What makes plastic expensive is its environmental impact. Another thing is plastic is not healthy. So yes, keep using your reusable drinking or coffee cup, ditch the plastic straws, and buy into your own container if possible. If making you feel better is the only thing, then sure continue with it.
This great little table at Chariot Energy’s website is sharing the estimated decomposition of various plastic items:
| Material | Estimated Decomposition |
|---|---|
| Cigarette butts | 5 years |
| Plastic bags | 20 years |
| Plastic-lined coffee cups | 30 years |
| Plastic straws | 200 years |
| Soda can rings | 400 years |
| Plastic bottles | 450 years |
| Toothbrushes | 500 years |
| Disposable diapers | 500 years |
| Styrofoam | 500 years |
| Fishing line | 600 years |
| Glass | Unknown |
Crazy stuff, eh? No wonder it makes one feel good not to participate in that. Even though while we are voting during buying, we do not stand an option of closing down any hundreds of plastic factories in the world. What would help us making peace with plastic is hope for a novel, environmental-friendly materials. Also, more bans at the country-level definitely would help to shake the situation.
What is really happening with the plastic?
According to packaging giant Tetra Pak, here are some really frightening facts about plastic. We may think that if we sort the garbage, put recyclable items in the box, then we are good to go. As all plastic gets recycled and we have done our good deed.
- Fossil-based plastic production is growing â and only 9% of total plastic is recycled
- 32% of all plastic packaging is not collected and plastic can take hundreds of years to degrade
- Plastic production, fueled by fossil fuels, reached 359 million metric tonnes in 2018
- Packaging made from aluminum is energy intensive to produce
- Paper-based packaging is catching high industry interest
- Plant-based materials are renewable and better for the environment
Imagine that only 9% of total plastic is recycled! This completely blew my mind! If current trends continue, roughly 12 billion metric tons of plastic waste will be in landfills or the natural environment by 2050. Twelve billion metric tons is about 35,000 times as heavy as the Empire State Building. Imagine the pollution of the plastic to the groundwater, flora, and fauna, not to mention our oceans. Actually, it poses the biggest threat to the oceans.
What the world is doing to ditch plastic?
Actually, a lot is happening, though we are drowning in plastic, the world is making some direct changes towards using plastic. Governments in at least 32 countries have banned plastic bags altogether and at least 127 countries have implemented policies regulating plastic bags according to the United Nations. Many countries around the globe are implementing plastic bans and encouraging consumers to replace plastic with alternative materials including biodegradable single-use items and eco-friendly reusable products.
Forbes.com shares lots of information on the company’s promise to cut down on plastic waste. Seems like big-name brands such as Nestle, Coca-Cola, Henkel, Kimberly-Clark, Tetra Pak, and so on, are actually working hard on ditching the poisonous and annoying plastic. Why there is so much talk about packaging this year? Due to Covid-19 people got into ordering in and buying online, which probably made the plastic consumption 100 x higher than it has ever been. Results of such destroying behaviour don’t go unnoticed, hence many businesses have sustainable packaging on their agendas. 2021 is shaping up to be the year that packaging transforms from wrecking our environment with excess waste to making the planet environmentally wonderful.
One of our favourite Instagram accounts Live Kindly has put together a nice article on what the world has been doing to ban plastic. Reading this article gives hope, as more countries are banning single-use items, such as plastic bags, straws, plates, cups, etc. This gives us hope and makes us think of perhaps one day there is a way of making peace with plastic.
Conclusion
It has been relatively easy for us to ditch plastic. Being vegan, we do not buy food items, which are coming in plastic packaging. If we crave something such as cream cheese, for example, we make our own using cashews. You can get these in bulk or in no plastic container. Even though we are not giving our money for plastic, it still finds its way to our home. We are blessed to receive food donations for our volunteering gigs from many kind people. And have a good friend who is always sharing her surplus with us. So she kind of keeps our recycling box filled. While we take it out, we from now on think that only 9% of plastic gets recycled. And we get mad again. There is no making peace with plastic. Not at least in 2021!
The header photo is taken by Volodymyr Hryshchenko. We are very thankful for him sharing his creations for free with the world.
Sources:
Plastic detox: deplastify your life
We were thinking of different post ideas and came up with the quick and short way of getting the message out there. Let this plastic detox be the first!
It is the second week of plastic-free July. And more plastic has found its way to homes, forests and waterways. We are literally drowning in plastic. Wish the nature could plastic detox itself, but unfortunately that is not possible. As of 2018, approximately 380 million tons of plastic is produced worldwide each year. Our planet canât cope with this amount of plastic polluting the environment, and calls to reduce plastic pollution and consumption have increased in urgency in recent years. Seems like plastic is here to stay!
Unless we can’t find other and cheaper ways how to create plastic like materials, which would have the same properties, then plastic detox in the world will never happen. Even if we avoid it, more will come. Plastic has a sneaky way of entering our homes. So plastic-free July is the best time try to do some plastic detox.
Take a look of this great graph we found online created by Learning Fundamentals.
If this is no news for you, well done! You are already doing your part. Keep going.
If this is all new for you, then happy exploring. Please do not forget to let us know how what was the most interesting thing you learned?
Have you tried to shop plastic-free for a day or a week? How did you do?
Go on a plastic detox and share what is it you find easy and what hard.
*Article photo is taken by Marc Newberry. It is a chewing gum wall in Seattle. It will be there for many generations. Unfortunately.
Plastic-Free July is here to make the (useless?) plastic go away!
Most likely not, but July allows us to bring more attention to a (useless?) material, which is polluting our world in every field of the world.
We are literally drowning in plastic and most of it is absolutely useless. It found its way to our home as a wrapper around so many products. The main task of plastic is to offer a case in what we are bringing food home. Or something else like beauty, cleaning and household products, most of the things really. It almost seems pointless to talk about the useless plastic we are trashing daily.
What makes plastic so good?
It is a unique material with many benefits.
It is:
- cheap
- lightweight
- resistant
So all this makes plastic a valuable material for many functions. Ir provides environmental benefits, as believe it or not, it actually plays a critical role in the food industry. It helps to maintain food quality, its safety and helps to reduce food waste. Though it hurts us to see produce packed in plastic, most of the time excessive, it ables for the products to reach to the stores and our homes safely and fresh. Of course one can skip the plastic while buying local and visiting farmer’s markets. But as plastic is convenient, so is shopping at the grocery malls.
Where you can find (useless?) plastic?
Even if we consciously are thinking of bringing less plastic home, it lurks in some little-known places. You can look around in your home, and not go that wild, as Werner Boote did. He bought out all the items at his home, which were made of plastic. And he set them on his lawn. Take a look at the photo and find out about the 2009 documentary here. So these are the most common items you can find at home made of plastic.
- Most of the food packaging
- Milk and juice cartons
- Metal cans – read more about our investigation here.
- Synthetic fabrics – polyester, nylon, rayon, and acrylic yarns and fabrics are all made from plastic. These are shedding millions of microscopic plastic fibers that eventually wind up in waterways.
- Baby wipes and diapers
- Wrapping paper – is most of the time a mix of plant fibers and laminated plastic.
- Chewing gum
- Cigarette filters
- Glue
- Coffee cups – unfortunately even those that appear to be made from paper often have plastic in the lining.
We all have most of these listed items at home. Can we live without them? Sure! Though it is difficult we can make wiser choices and eliminate as much as we can.
Skip the useless plastic!
What we all can do to create less garbage, or at least bring less of it home, is to choose plastic-free items. Yes, not only products, which are wrapped with a material that is having a negative impact on our oceans and wildlife. But also products which are made of useless plastic. People tend to create more waste in high-income countries. So it should be also easier to implement the changes in such places. If you are in North America, when reading this, please do your part.
Here is a list of materials to choose over plastic:
- Stainless steel
- Glass
- Platinum silicone
- Natural fiber cloth
- Wood
- Bamboo
- Pottery
- Paper
- Cardboard
Choosing these materials over useless plastic, which is so over-produced, because it is cheap and relatively durable, you will start seeing less plastic in your home. By choosing the above-mentioned materials you are already making the world a better place. A tiny step at the time. Based on where you are located the management of plastic determines the risk of plastic entering the ocean. High-income countries have quite effective waste management systems. So only a little will end up in the oceans. Worse is the situation in middle- and low-income countries. Because they are the main sources of global plastic pollution.
Imagine all this garbage in the ocean or waterways. Even if you do not see it where you are living, it nevertheless means that this is real.
How to break the plastic habit?
There are many easy swaps on how we all can start to cut plastic pollution. This is a small, but great step to make us feel good and do our part. Start with the basic manageable swaps, which are helping cut down the plastic use.
- Single-use plastic shopping bags – start using reusable bags.
- Plastic bottles – start using a reusable cup.
- Items packed in plastic – if possible, opt for not packaged or glass or metal packaging.
- Plastic toothbrushes – Bamboo toothbrushes.
- Liquid dish soap – in the kitchen use the powder for the dishwasher and a bar for handwashing.
- Plastic sponge and scrubber – choose a natural sponge, luffa, or wooden brush.
- Plastic trash bags – put the paper bags to good use, line with newspaper.
- Laundry detergent in plastic bottles – powdered laundry detergent or soap nuts (share your experience in the comments, if you have used them)
- Clothing, bedding, towels – organic cotton, wool, bamboo, or hemp.
- ETC.
We suggest you start with the easier swaps, as listed above first and then move to the harder ones. Also, do not be afraid of reusing. This also helps to save items and helps to create less plastic. Some swaps are much easier to make than others â but you can definitely tackle the harder ones if you challenge yourself. Approach playfully and while looking for plastic-free options opt for cheaper options, so you can save more and buy other plastic-free items. Plastic-Free-July is here to provide much-needed information about (useless) plastic and how to avoid it.
Read more detailed suggestions from a wonderful article Learn Earth Easy has written and get more swap ideas.
Conclusion
We can’t help but notice as July is approaching that it is time to celebrate Plastic-Free July. We have a complicated relationship with plastic for some years. I mean we are not buying plastic things and if we want to buy something, we consider where it is made and of what it is made and then reconsider. The beginning was hard, but since we love challenges, we did it. It is the right moment to check the Plastic-Free July to-do sheet and be determined to keep your promises. Share THIS SHEET with your friends to make it more fun!
But on a more serious note, unfortunately, the trade-offs between plastic and substitutes are complex. As earlier said plastic is a good material to use in the food industry for example. As it is essential for the prevention of food losses, wastage, and contamination. Storage and packaging play a crucial role from harvest all the way through to the final consumption of the foods we eat. Even if some consider the final phase of packaging (from retail to home) to be unnecessary, it is likely it has played an important role in preserving food from the farm to the retail stage.
So, plastic may not be so useless then after all. And perhaps the main solution here is to close down plastic-producing plants. One by one. As otherwise, our best efforts seem like taping the crumbling wall with pieces of tape. Or should we do anything at all?
Reference:
Have you seen the ad of Tru Earth Laundry Eco-Strips?
After watching this video â you will know more than enough about Tru Earth laundry eco-strips and you will be sold. We definitely are!
Doing laundry is almost as essential, as using a comb, toothpaste, toothbrush, and toilet paper. I mean in some way or other, we all wash our clothing. But what is at the moment perhaps more essential than the laundry detergent, is the advertisement they are using to advertise their eco-strips!
When we lived in Germany we started exploring and experimenting more with natural household cleaners. Most exciting was when I realized that the horse chestnuts can be used for laundry! Lucky us they were in abundance in the area, where we lived.
I feel like I am falling off the subject here.
What I was going to sayâŠ
is that Tru Earth laundry eco-strips are revolutionary!
Though we are into zero waste, using less, buying less, and having fewer things, we havenât yet tried the strips ourselves. Because when we moved to Toronto, we have received many laundry detergents for free. But this all happened after we purchased a locally-made natural laundry powder. So we have a lot to go through yet, as we do not do laundry so often anyway.Â
The good things about Tru Earth Laundry Eco-Strips:
- New zero-waste compostable packaging
- No measuring & no mess
- Dissolves completely in hot or cold water.
- Works in all washing machines, including HE. Front loads or top loads.
- Helps keep 700,000,000 plastic jugs out of landfills per year
But I do not have to like Tru Earth laundry eco-strips to know that they are doing so much good. If you see their video, then you know what I am talking about. It is so smart, so fresh, so funny, a bit sexist, but again you could overlook that because what matters the most is the message. And the message is strong. Strong and bold. The video has nearly a million views in a month. A laundry detergent! Wow!
We havenât received such attention to plastic waste, recycling myths, and plastics longevity ever before in any advertisement. This is an eye-opener hopefully to many people. It is a good advertising trick as well, as people like me become easily their fans, without even trying their product.
Message of Tru Earth laundry eco-strips
The short video portrays a very manly man who starts doing laundry. He doesnât like it, but soon starts to love it because of Tru Earth laundry eco-strips! He calls out men to be more manly, explains that these eco-strips replace garbage, are eco-friendly, good to your skin, etc:
These funny looking strips I just use instead of my old laundry detergent. Why? Because this replaces this garbage. And who has time to wait 450 years for this junk to decompose? No, I’d rather be doing something manly, like pre-sorting the whites, darks, and oh, so delicates.
Maybe you’re saying, “Oh no, no, no. I put all my recyclables in the recycling bin.” I hate to ruin the mood, but 75% of the content in your recycling bin is rejected at the recycling plant, which heads straight to the landfill.
There’s just not enough need for all the junk we throw away. No! And real men say, “No,” to heavy, wasteful bottles, burning fossil fuel as they ship them all over the country. I pity the fossil fool. That’s why real men use, Tru Earth Eco-Strips. No wasteful packaging, no harmful chemicals. As sensitive to your skin as it is to our planet.
Tru Earth Eco-Strips are designed to be tough on dirt, tough on sweat, and even tougher on the hardest of stains. Simply tear off a pre-measured strip, throw it into your washing machine, and watch that little beauty dissolve completely into that, oh, so fresh smelling goodness. Now that’s hot.
Drumroll, please! Watch the TruEarth laundry eco-strips advertisement here
What are your thoughts? Would love to hear your ideas about it!
If you like to find out more about different zero waste laundry detergents, including the Tru Earth laundry eco-strips, then please tune in here:
Conclusion
Some day we will try out Tru Earth ourselves and see if we are fully sold, or we will be just huge fans of creative and environmentally friendly advertising. Whatever it is, it was a nice experience to consume an ad, which initiates men to do more at home, inspire people to think about plastic and the future of wildlife. On a day like today, we need more attention on heating subjects which appreciate nature and animals.
P.s. Though the strips are a bit pricey buying them would be the most reasonable for Canadians as it is made here, to keep down the emissions.
Don’t Buy Peanut Butter In A Plastic Container. Ever.
We do not buy much plastic, as we know about its health hazards. But this new discovery about peanut butter in plastic containers blew our minds!
It is only suitable that we address this critical subject in honour of plastic-free July. More people have to hear about plastic and its many bad sides. We are so used to it, that we do not even notice how it silently creeps into different areas of our lives: food, hygiene products, chemicals, toys, etc. come in plastic packaging.
I came across this recommendation when I was looking to find out if this particular peanut butter was in a glass or plastic container. It was very hard to figure this out, as most of the time it was simply called a jar. That could be either glass or plastic, right? Anyway, I landed on an informative website (source is at the bottom of this article), where I discovered the following:
Don’t buy any kind of peanut butter in PLASTIC containers
That includes even the organic kind. It is a recommendation also for any kind of nut or seed butter. Basically, avoid any kind of plastic containers! This knowledge is originally from a book written by Lee Hitchcox, D.C.
He states following:
- Most of the peanut butter on the grocery store shelves (even in many ânatural foodsâ stores) already contain pesticide and/or fungicide residues, tons of sugar and a host of other additives
- Peanut butter has to be heated to be able to flow through the machinery for it to be quickly, easily and consistently poured into jars (plastic jars are also often then heat-sealed. The sealing of the combination foil-type/plastic barrier that is usually found under the lid for food safety reasons.)
- The concern is that the now hot oils/fats in the peanut butter help the plasticizers (in the plastic jars and lids) leach into the food, and along with all the other chemical residue and additives, make for an incredibly toxic product.
- The plasticizers bond to the oil in the peanut butter as a result of the packaging process.
- The consumer is then eating plastic⊠which is why peanut butter in plastic is one of the most toxic foods you can purchase.*
*Direct information from the original source.
It sounds awful, doesn’t it?
Where is the peanut butter in glass jars?
We really didn’t buy much peanut butter in plastic containers. But from now on we will never do that again. We hope that one day we can also start buying, when our budget allows, the organic kind in glass jars.
If you are in North America, you should probably stop buying your nut butter from Trader’s Joe’s and Costco. Because their organic peanut butter comes only in plastic jars.
Tamara was so kind to share a list with links on her post about few safer choices of peanut butter:
- Santa Cruz Organic (in glass)
- Organic Maranatha (in glass)
- Organic Once Again (in glass)
- Fixx & Fogg (in a glass jar)
You may also keep an eye on Nuts to You butters, as they offer organic and conventional nut and seed butter since 1989. This is an original Canadian full-range nut butter manufacturer. The nuts and seeds in their butter are dry roasted or raw and do not contain added salt, sugar, or saturated oils. Nuts to You nut butter are kosher, Non-GMO and dairy, soy, wheat, and gluten-free.
But even from a regular convenience store, you can find all-natural, peanut butter such as this one.
Basically whatever you buy, try to keep in mind that the fewer ingredients they contain, the healthier the product, and if possible choose a glass container. Besides, 100% peanut butter tastes so much better anyway! But if you are more interested in what kind of results Tamara Rubin got from the testing of XRF technology, click here to see the results of this testing!
Thank you so much Tamara for opening our eyes! Our search for the plastic container free peanut butter goes on. Though recently we have started thinking of making it on our own!
Source: Tamararubin.com
The plastic lining in surprising places*
We are on our neverending path, getting to know more what things consist of. Join our adventure on finding thin plastic lining.
After we got into eliminating plastic from our lives, we started to find it from the places, we never thought plastic would be at. Of course, research is always very helpful, as from some places you would never find the thin plastic lining on your own. Or you would if you are a real detective đ
The truth about tin cans – most have plastic in them!
I know that this path we are on now is a path of never-ending discoveries and knowledge obtained. Also on a path of exploring more recipes with the somewhat limited variety of regular grocery stores offer in their produce section.
When we started this plastic-free, minimalism, less consuming adventure, we both thought: “Yayyy!, we skip the plastic containers and buy cans, glass, and paper-wrapped foods. Especially important for us were the tin cans, as we know that they are recyclable and even if left in nature they will degrade. But while the other day doing research while writing another post I came across a little Tweet: “Most of the tin cans have plastic lining!”. I was alarmed. What, I have never seen it or most likely not noticed.
Next time after that discovery, when I was cooking I opened two cans: red kidney beans and chopped tomatoes in their own juice. The latter had indeed the white coating, most likely epoxy resin. Wow, I was fooled and I was blind….but at least hopefully I can help some others now on their way of seeing things they way they are.
I think it applies mostly where you are coming from, as I think in North America tin cans are lined with plastic more than in Europe. But nevertheless where you are located at the moment, please do check your tin cans during your next cooking adventure. Tins are plastic lined either with a polymer (plastic) coating or epoxy resin (also plastic) and this applies for food, drink, and even cosmetics.
The plastic linings in drinks, food, and cosmetics
Aluminum drink cans
Aluminum drink cans have a polymer plastic lining. Itâs there to stop acids in the beverage from corroding the metal which is not good for the can or the flavor of the contents. Rust is canâs number one enemy – and a canâs only defense is an invisible epoxy shield, just microns thick. A can of Coke (who drinks that anyway?) without that shield, would corrode in three days. You really can’t see, as it is behind the colorful design of the can.
I am not going to fall deeper how you can get to expose that lining and instead I welcome you to look at Steve Sprangler showing his discovery live on a TV show. Who would have known, uh?
Tin food cans
Nearly all tin cans are plastic lined with epoxy resin. This is used because of its exceptional combination of toughness, adhesion, formability and chemical resistance. These coatings make it possible for food products to maintain their quality and taste while extending shelf life.
In tins, the liner can be white or yellow or transparent in which case it is undetectable. In most cases, it is best to assume that any cans that you get your hands on have a plastic liner. The lining prevents canned foods from becoming tainted or spoiled by bacterial contamination.
Tin cosmetic cans
Tins used to store cosmetics are also lined with epoxy resin to prevent corrosion.
So now you are probably wondering, wait, what about recycling, were you fooled all the time? But what is happening, when the can is recycled, the plastic lining is burnt off.
Where else you can find secret plastic lining?
Many every day things contain plastic lining, which we are oftentimes not even aware of. Knowing that these items are made of plastic, should also help you perhaps making a decision, whether you continue using them or putting them at the right place.
- Coffee cups – check the cup next time for a shiny plastic lining. Also, consider paper or cardboard food and drink packaging.
- Chewing gum – it is made of plastic!
- Cigarette butts – the most littered item, which finds its way to the oceans and is unfortunately publicly most accepted litter. This is why you find cigarette butts everywhere.
- Product tags – if it is really shiny, try to peel the shiny part off…
- Teabag wrappers – tear it gently and you will find most of the time thin plastic lining. Not only, but some teabags also come in plastic, too!
- Wet wipes – they may be called disposable, but really they are made of plastic.
- Clothing – clothes consisting of microfibre fleeces, polyester, acrylic, and nylons are made from plastic. Think about it next time, when buying new clothes.
Read more here about, where else you can find plastic.
Is eating foods from cans is harmful?**
What does it mean for your health then, you may ask. The lining contains Bisphenol A (BPA) a chemical building block that is used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Unfortunately, BPA is toxic and does leach from plastic liners into the food. BUT, another but, the amount does matter, as the dietary intake of BPA from can coatings are non-existent and there should be no fear to exceed the safe level of BPA, even if you would eat the contents of 10 or even 100 cans in one day.
Unfortunately, BPA does more than make plastic plastic. it interferes with hormonal biology. Biologically speaking, hormones are rare, and potent. The system that produces, stores, and secretes them – the endocrine system – controls hair growth, reproduction, cognitive performance, injury response, excretion, sensory perception, cell division, and metabolic rate. Endocrine organs – including the thyroid, pituitary, and adrenal glands – produce particular molecules that fit into particular receptors on cells, unleashing a chain of biochemical events.
Hormonal changes in infinitesimal quantities cause dramatic changes, including diabetes and hermaphrodites. Endocrine disruptors like BPA get jammed in the cells so that the real molecules canât get in there and do what they should. Others fit perfectly, triggering events the body didnât intend to initiate. Because of BPA, everybody dances around what to call the canâs internal corrosion inhibitor. The FDA calls it a resinous and polymeric coating. At Can School, Ball employees called it an organic coating, or water-based polymer. The EPA calls it a chemical pollutant. Health researchers call it an endocrine disruptor, and a chronic toxin.
**This paragraph is directly from the Wired article “The secret life of the aluminum can, a feat of engineering”
Conclusion
In the end, the choice is yours – are you boycotting all tins and cans after reading this? We are not using canned food much. We are buying only tomatoes, coconut, and beans in cans. Unfortunately, most beans do not come in a glass jar. In our case, when we are living fridge free, cooking a batch of beans for an hour is not really environmentally friendly anyway.
We are not consuming soda drinks and if we buy any drinks, then we try to buy them in a glass,
This post is an indirect reference from the wonderful plasticisrubbish.com
*Pictured is a tin can of kidney beans. The lid’s plastic lining is scratched off with a knife.