As Day 1 of Plastic Free July kicks off, the big loathing of all things plastic intensifies. Single use (cups, straws, water bottles, salad boxes and coffee spoons/stirrers are just some of the culprits and they are destroying our natural world with future problems too hideous to contemplate if we don’t sort this huge problem NOW.
The photos of ocean plastic pollution and the damage it does to marine life are shocking, but those images of children picking through gigantic plastic & waste dump sites in poorer countries make the heart feel heavy as lead.
Plastic and excessive packaging, I think, is the devil of our beauty industry (not to mention food!) We’ve got natural formulas now, we’ve got innovation, while age-targeted beauty is still slower than a tortoise and diversity in press campaigns still is negligible (seriously?!!) But packaging solutions? I’m not seeing too many.
My plastic free journey started a while back, in Dublin. I’d just arrived and went to buy food for dinner but when I got to the till, the cashier said they didn’t have plastic bags. (Wot?) Not even to buy.
At get-home-quick rush hour, with the line of customers growing longer behind me, I swore never to shop without my own bag ever again.
A young supermarket assistant noticed my facial expression and hot-footed it to the back of the store. Half a minute later I was stacking my mid week dinner items into a cardboard satsuma box, thanks to him.
I think we need an urgent plastic free summit addressing beauty packaging – to come up with real, implementable solutions. There’s recycled plastic, biodegradable sugar cane plastic and REN for example has pledged to go zero waste by 2021. That’s a heck of a pledge. I’m following their repackaging news every step of the way to see how it unfolds. But what about other brands, all those plastic tubes and tubs? What about *now*?
Organically Epic’s naturally antibacterial bamboo toothbrush – an easy, healthy switch away from plastic
There are some interesting compostable/degradable bio innovations (mainly USA) but nothing (as far as I know) that’s viable financially, quickly or realistically…yet.
So as we dive into #PlasticFreeJuly today, wearing our swimsuits made from recycled fishing nets, I’ve gathered together 9 earth-friendly flagship beauty products to celebrate the kick off.
(But there’s so much more we could and should be doing and time is not our friend).
FEATURED PRODUCTS
Lena Wild Rescue Mask (glass bottle)
Weleda’s Eco Tea Mug (reusable, biodegradable bamboo but the sleeve and lid are silicone)
NYR Mother’s Bath Oil (still in NY’s signature indigo apothecary glass bottles, since the brand’s original launch in Covent Garden many moons ago)
S’well Water Bottle (Sarah Krauss’s New York success story, stainless steel)
MAULI Himalayan Bath Salts (reusable steel canister)
Kjaer Weiss’s refillable lipsticks (and palettes)
Dr Jackson’s 02 Night Cream (amber glass bottle)
REN Clean Skincare’s recycled paper bag pouch (these have sold out on a few retailer sites), you can find this set at Bath & Unwind or the single item Rosa Centifolia Cleanser in a paper pouch at M&S online.
And lastly, Brit brand Bamford’s Geranium, Lavender & Peppermint Bath Oil (very summery).
How are you doing #PlasticFreeJuly?
Footnote:
If you’re not familiar with the queen of zero waste, Lauren Singer, you can follow her on Twitter at @Trashis4Tossers.
She *really* has nailed the plastic-free life.
An inspiration to all of us with plastic wrapped veg lurking in our fridges.
AND IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING…
**Pressure your supermarket to cut out all the plastic wrapping (so unnecessary for fruit and veg – grrr) **
