Hi, it's Veronika here!
This website, blog and everything else here has been on my mind for a long time. If I was an English native speaker, I'd flood this space with many ideas, tips, recommendations and more as everyday I'm being inspired by great things worth sharing whilst working on my business(es) as well as in my everyday life. Unfortunately, I don't want you to read all my bad grammar so I have to have my partner to proofread every single word. Hard job. But there will be stuff coming periodically.
Starting now, finally, there's a big topic I'm being challenged with more than ever. It's the plastic life we live. It sounds idyllic, to live plastic-free(like the picture of the cottage in Italy over there may be romantically suggesting...)
But in reality, modern people don't have such idyllic options. For me, plastic is an especially pertinent topic as I have to deal with the packaging for my beach shop products I sell (and send) by myself. At this moment, whilst small scale, I cannot influence so much how my partners pack their stuff which they send on my behalf, but what am I packing and sending physically - like this amazing Rainbow Turtle or Mermaid Keyring - I can find packaging I am happy with.
Imagine I would be advocating to save our ocean, minimize plastic waste, clear up all the rubbish we've accumulated into the oceans and shores, but I wouldn't be practicing it myself - even though I can (as it's possible with my packaging)! So I looked up options and voila! It's not too difficult to find plastic-free packaging! Surprise, surprise!
These beauties are glued with vegan & eco-friendly glue and pack in recycled paper envelopes and biodegradable plant-starch based pouches!
Then, because I sell pillows - or rather pillow covers - I was unhappy with the plastic inner. When I'm going the extra mile and making it all amazingly eco-friendly, I can't stuff it with polyester, can I? NO.
What did I do? Research, of course. And I found an alternative I'm happy with (it had to be vegan/cruelty-free, so down is not an option) and currently I'm experimenting with creating my own pillow inserts =)) I'm going to be writing a post about it later here - keep an eye on it if you're curious.
But that fairly easy quest I seemed to solve smoothly pushed me into looking further at my own life, and how I could possibly avoid plastic even more than now:
Look for alternative packaging, it really is out there - kitchen rolls (made of recycled paper) made by Suma, UK - wrapped in compostable packaging
Buying bulk packs - tick
Try to avoid fresh food packed in plastic (such a waste anyway!) - tick
Buy other food in paper or glass if possible - tick
Take my own bag when shopping - tick
Re-use all plastic bags as many times as possible - tick
Pack lunches/snacks in reusable boxes rather than plastic bags - tick
Don't use plastic gloves and hat when dying my hair with henna- tick
(I simply don't use gloves at all, and as for hats I use a bin bag which can serve it's true purpose afterwards =)
Recycle as much as possible - tick
Researching plastic-free packaging (If I can provide plastic-free packaging for my products, other, bigger, more established businesses should be already, c'mon) - tick
Generally, researching more and more plastic alternatives, sometimes not always completely natural but at least recycled from the waste mankind has already done, that's better than nothing.
If it's possible, I go for recycled polyester. If it's possible, I re-use what I have already. If it's possible I use less harmful alternatives. Like my most recent discovery - instead of conventional washing up sponges, I use these funky silicone tentacly scourers. Unlike a classic sponge, it can be reused long term, easily washed and disinfected so it's just like new (until it loses too many tentacles - that's unavoidable I'd say). But it's great that every week I don't have to be throwing away one nasty dirty smelly sponge made of foamy plastic. Surely there are other alternatives, but that's just what I know for now and it's an example how I progress step by step. It's better than doing nothing.
Silicone alternative to plastic-foam sponges. Reusable and very stress-relieving... just touch it!
Just keep digging - whatever is bugging you, look for alternatives. They are out there.
This plastic free mindset is driving me crazier and crazier, especially as I have to deal with it at my beach business. That is, of course, why I'm driven to fund charities. I feel I need to do something.
My latest discovery is a company/charity called 4Ocean. They seem to do really great things, clearing up shores as well as open water and they fund themselves and their eco-activities by selling recycled bracelets. It's surely a great idea, I've seen individuals doing the same (Instagram is a great source for finding inspirational people!), this is just on a bigger scale and for me certainly, thumbs up! I will be getting in touch with them later as I want to learn more so I can give you more information here =) You can check this out for yourself - just visit 4Ocean website.
So, how about you? Do you live plastic-free (as much as it is possible)? How do you do this? Share your ideas and tips for better plastic-free future!