In my last article, I wrote about how I ended up not consuming plastic anymore, or rather, bringing it home knowingly. But it has a funny way of sneaking in anyway, don't you think? On top of that, we are constantly surrounded by unnecessary plastic, which lives a short life. After we transport a product home and open up its packaging, we discard it and… off it goes. But to where? To the landfills, where it will stay forever. Well, for approximately 800 years or so.
If one thinks about how long a piece of plastic is around, it's disgusting. It's poisonous, and we're drowning in it. Our waterways are filled with plastic waste, and not only that. Have you heard about the Friendly Floatees spill? In a way, it's a kind of cool and interesting story, but there's nothing like that about the huge garbage patch floating in the Pacific Ocean.
What can we as consumers do? Quite a lot. First, we should think about our present, the future, and planet Earth. Based on this, we should care and make changes in our consumer behaviour. Every time we buy something, we vote. But we can say no to plastic. We are living in wonderful times – we can get many necessary items that are plastic (packaging) free. The products we use most are easy to find and made with materials other than plastic. And the best part is that most of these things are reusable. A one-time purchase will serve us for a long time.
The gallery below consists of basic everyday and household items that are very easy to come across. I am very thankful that I could include my items in this photo shoot along with items provided by the wonderful Anu Pihlak. She is a true environmentalist — she doesn't use plastic and makes conscious purchase decisions. Anu is into swapping and donating things, loves thrifting, dumpster diving, and keeps pet hens in her small town garden. There is a lot to learn from her!
Some examples of (mostly Canadian) companies that are selling plastic-free or reusable non-plastic items include:
Do you already use some reusable plastic-free items in your everyday life? If so, then please let me know about them and why you love them. You can send me an email at kerly (at) kerlyilves (dot) com.