Recently I read a review of Liz Bonnin’s excellent Drowning in Plastic (which, if you haven’t seen yet, is definitely worth a watch). It was a decent review, but what stuck with me most was that it described stuff like the post below as ‘frantically bailing water from the Titanic with the metaphorical equivalent of a thimble’. I’m not going to lie, that documentary was heavy going. Watching the group of scientists emptying stomach after stomach-full of plastic from seabirds in one of the most remote islands on earth, it’s difficult not to despair about these things.
Thimbles though these actions may be, though, doing nothing because the actions of one person are unlikely to make a difference ignores the way in which most large-scale change actually takes place. Look at the changes in plastic straws, for example- lots of the switches to alternatives were driven by thousands of tiny thimblefuls of action.
I guess what I’m saying is this: rounds of applause start with one person clapping and others joining in. I’ve been influenced and inspired by seeing what other people are doing, and I in turn have inspired others to change. None of our actions are insular; it all counts. Onwards, then, to the next source of low-hanging plastic fruit where it’s been incredibly easy to make switches. Here are six easy steps towards a plastic-free bathroom.
(1) BAR SOAP
Bar soap is far, far cheaper than liquid soap and lasts ages. More importantly, it’s easy to get in a plastic-free form- either naked and completely without packaging, or in a recyclable cardboard box. You don’t need to go out even slightly out of your way to make this switch- I picked up this Dove soap (which just comes in a cardboard box) at a run of the mill Sainsburys. Happy indeed.
N.B. If you are can’t find completely package-free soap, it’s always worth peeking inside the cardboard box to make sure it hasn’t been sneakily coated in a layer of plastic wrap 😠.
(2) BAMBOO TOOTHBRUSH
No, they don’t go mouldy. Yes, for me they work just as well as a normal plastic toothbrush. At the minute, most bamboo toothbrush brands are fully compostable apart from the bristles, which you need to pull out using a pair of pliers once you’re done with the toothbrush and put in a regular bin. Some people may find this a bit faffy, but I genuinely find the process really satisfying. Is that weird?
Anyway, even though bamboo brushes have been around for a while, they don’t yet seem to have made the jump over to supermarkets and mainstream shops like Boots. Perversely, some also come in a wrapped in plastic (thus entirely defeating the object), so if you’re going to get them online it pays to check that they’re going to come in lovely paper or cardboard. So far I’ve got them from savesomegreen.co.uk, who make an extra effort to ensure that their packaging materials are paper based.
(3) SHAMPOO
Lush have been leading the way in naked packaging for their products for a long time. I was a bit skeptical about their shampoo bars, but am pleased to report that they lather up beautifully, and they last for a really long time. Over the last few months I’ve been touring all the different varieties; the green one in the photo is the Karma Komba, which is my favourite one yet.
*UPDATE* A reliable source has informed me that Bristol-based Wild Sage also do a lovely shampoo bar 🙂
(4) DEODORANT
Another gold star for Lush here- I bought their Aromaco deodorant (which comes as a block wrapped in paper) a few weeks ago. Like with the shampoo, I really wasn’t sure whether it would be good enough to use as an every-day deodorant – especially when I cycle into work every morning. So far, though, it’s been an absolute dream.
(5) TOILET ROLL
Finding toilet roll that wasn’t wrapped in plastic seemed like an impossible task, until I stumbled upon Who Gives A Crap. Their paper wrapped rolls come in a cardboard box, and look very instagram worthy when they’re all stacked up. They’re not the cheapest, but 50% of the company’s profits go to help build toilets in communities that need them. Social enterprises FTW.
(6) EXFOLIATOR
Completely free, no packaging footprint, leaves my skin feeling silky soft. The answer to all my plastic free exfoliating dreams is this: coffee grounds. Transfer them from the bottom of the cafetiere into a mug and take them into the shower. There’s a recipe for making a ‘proper’ exfoliant here, but personally I find the raw grounds work just fine. Trust me, you’ll never need any other exfoliator again.
N.B. None of these are affiliate links, and none of it has been sponsored. Anything that’s made it in to this post is there because I use it, pay for it, and think it’s great
Brilliant, were back on the soap next thing to change is the shampoo but i only use shampoo every third or sometimes fourth day so feel a bit better about that. We had to look up FTW (such non cool parents)
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Try Ecoleaf for toilet roll. It comes wrapped in compostable ‘plastic’ and is made from 100% recycled content from the UK recycling streams. I’ve been using it for a few years now and have no complaints.
Another brilliant post Ciara, you keep inspiring me to make small changes everyday.
I’ve been using bar soap for years now but today I used my first shampoo bar – inspired by your post! Was surprised at how well it lathered up and hair is now squeaky clean!!