or... why I'm posting naked photos on the internet, and asking you to do the same...
When I found out that single use plastic can take OVER 400 years to degrade I felt a bit sick. This includes everything from shampoo bottles to those clear plastic sleeves greetings cards sometimes come in (which I was guilty of popping all my cards into *gulp*). Things have to change!
Since then I have joined a whole host of Indie businesses determined to ditch single use plastic. Bye bye, plastic greeting card protectors, the plastic sherbet straws I included with orders and most painfully, my signature shiny pink bubble wrap envelopes.
It's true that lots of plastics can be recycled, but all too often they end up in the bin, and isn't it better if these non-essential plastics hadn't ever been around to begin with?
Suddenly I became hyper aware of all the plastics I was consuming on a daily basis. I could no longer enjoy my meal deal salad because that useless plastic fork would haunt me, and why the hell do cucumbers come in shrink wrap anyway?! Things just got scarier and scarier!
The great thing though is that so many of my lovely customers (and people I randomly chat to Instagram) really care about this stuff too, which means if we take action we can make things a whole lot better for the planet.
My own personal mission is for my business to ditch all plastic packaging, and create sustainable plastic replacement products, like my famous rainbow metal straws.
But we can do more together, so I'm asking you to get naked on the internet for attention, wait, that sounded way better in my head.
I'm encouraging you to use the hashtag #idrathergonakedthanuseplastic on social media. Sharing photos showing plastic free products you love, use daily, or have made, will let the large companies know we care about this issue. As consumers and small businesses it's up to us to insist on a world free from shrink wrapped lettuce!
Here's whats been shared so far.
PS please only take part if you're over 18, I don't want to get in any trouble 🙂
Here are some super useful links on ditching plastic right now:
Join in Plastic Free Friday by Friends of the Earth
Find your nearest zero waste supermarket
Zero packaging bath products from Lush (think Shampoos without the bottles)
Plastic free tips from The Guardian
Are you a card designer like me and looking to ditch plastic? Check the guys at Naked Cards for some great advice.
I am in no way affiliated with any of these links, and if you know any great articles or products that should be on here please contact me.
I love what you’re doing with this and will definitely make even more of an effort in future! One note, I just learned that the plastic on cucumbers actually gives them an extra 9 days life!
Hi Sabrina,
Thanks so much for your comment, very useful to learn that about the cucumbers, perhaps if we need to wrap them there could be better biodegradable alternative? So glad you’ll be thinking more about plastic, I have so much more to do myself, first up bamboo toothbrushes! x