Alternatives to Help You Choose Safer Products for Your Home and the Planet!
In this article I’ll take a look at some of the worst products we all use at home and their negative impact on the environment, as well as some alternative options that are kinder to us and the planet!
The thing I have come to realise recently is that I thought I was a fairly eco/sustainable shopper, but I was barely standing on the tip of the iceberg. There are so many items most of us don’t even realise are causing serious irreversible damage, not just the environment but also to our own health. I’m still learning but for now, here’s a look at some of the worst household offenders that pollute our planet.
Plastic
Plastic has to be the biggest offender for me. It’s everywhere because it’s so convenient, inexpensive and it never goes away! There are so many kinds of plastic out there which generally take around 1,000 years to degrade into smaller pieces in landfills and oceans but, even then, it never fully disappears. Even those labelled as ‘biodegradable plastics’ aren’t broken down by microorganisms, therefore aren’t really biodegradable…? In fact, plastic and bioplastic that is dumped in the oceans and rivers is harmful to aquatic life either because they eat it or through the release of chemicals. The same happens when it’s dumped in landfills. The knock on effect of this is that plastic is now in our food chain as well – think fish, shellfish, chicken, fruit, vegetables, even beer.
Plastic Bags
We have all seen the damage bags do, especially in our oceans and to wildlife. Even though some countries are toughening their laws to reduce the use of plastic (some are totally banning the use of plastic materials in disposable household items, for example, microbeads), the existing one and those now produced that will take on average 1,000 years to break down into tiny particles of plastic.
Alternatives to Plastic Bags
This is an obvious one for most, but bags for life made from natural fibres are my favourite option. Even when they need to go in the bin, they won’t stay in a landfill for years, yay! I love his Heart & Design Gin bag, probably more because I often wish there was gin in my shopping but there isn’t!
GET THIS – Heart & Design ‘Probably Gin’ Cotton Shopper
Plastic Bottles
Plastic bottles are very difficult to avoid, especially in warm weather because, if you’re out and about, you need to stay hydrated. But with a bit of planning and just turning it into a habit, you can make sure you have water with you at all times and you won’t have to add to the mountain of bottles that don’t get recycled every day, which according to Greenpeace is 35 million. Each day…
Alternatives to plastic bottles
If you’re not too worried about drinking tap water, like me, you can use a simple BPA and BPS free stainless steel bottle like this one. If you don’t like the idea, you can naturally filter your water simply by popping an activated charcoal stick into your water bottle.
GET THIS – Stainless Steel Reusable Water Bottle
Plastic Wrap
Nobody thinks much about cling film, or at least I didn’t for ages! It seems so insignificant when you scrunch it into a ball and throw it away. But…. in the same way other plastic does, it contains chemicals which are harmful to us when we wrap our food in it and, much like the plastic bag, most of it ends up in landfill or in the oceans, where it stays.
Alternatives to Plastic Wrap
This is a difficult one for me because, while I do think bees wax wraps are a fantastic invention for dry food (I love these ones because I <3 anything with ferns), they can’t make food airtight and avoid leaks. So, until I can find a better alternative (please comment below if you know of one!), I use these silicone ones which I intend to have for many years, are dishwasher and spillage safe and I can see what’s in my bowls in the fridge!
GET THIS – Silicone Stretch Food Covers
Takeaway Coffee Cups
A lot of people think that because takeaway drink cups have paper or card on the outside, they can be recycled. Unfortunately this isn’t the case because they have a plastic film on the inside to keep your drink from escaping. But is a great item to replace with your own reusable one because not only is bringing your own cup to a coffee shop much better for the environment, you often get a little discount on your drink. Win-win!
Alternatives to Takeaway Cups
I love the design of these Neon Kactus glass coffee cups. The glass means that they’re reusable and, more importantly, it won’t affect the flavour of your favourite drink, and it’s BPA free!
GET THIS – Neon Kactus Reusable Coffee Cup
Single Use Plastic Straws
This is a controversial topic at the moment because while there is a huge amount of waste in plastic straws and the UK government is considering a ban, there are people who actually need them and the alternatives available just don’t work for them yet. I strongly feel that anyone who has a genuine need to use plastic straws should be able to continue to do just that until there’s a suitable greener alternative. But that doesn’t mean that everybody should. For me, it’s hard to justify the convenience you enjoy for the 10 minutes it takes to sip a drink through a single use plastic straw against the next 500 years of it left lying about somewhere the world causing damage.
Alternatives to Single Use Plastic Straws
I use bamboo straws, for water, and metal straws and both are great, plus they’re made from safe and non polluting materials. I love these FLOW rainbow straws but, if you don’t love unicorns like I do, they also have them in a more down-to-earth copper.
GET THIS – FLOW Rainbow Eco Straws
Food Packaging
If you look in a kitchen cupboard or the fridge now, you’ll see pretty much everything we buy comes in a package of some sort. Yes, a lot of them are recyclable but how many actually get recycled? And what about the ones that can’t be? According to the Royal Statistical Society, as of December 2018 we have created 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic since we started making it, except 91% of it hasn’t been recycled and is still waste… Buying food in pre-packaged amounts also means that we often buy more than we need which creates food waste.
Alternatives to Food Packaging
Until someone comes up with a greener solution to food packaging, when I can, I like to buy loose items or by weight. Zero waste shops are the best for this but sadly they’re still not that common, especially if you live out in the country like me! But I’ve found a way to buy fruit, vegetables and loose items at my local supermarket without having to use their little plastic bags to weigh stuff in. These cotton mesh reusable bags come in 3 sizes and are so useful, I can’t believe I only found out about them this week!
GET THIS – 100% Cotton Reusable Produce Bags
Cotton buds
Most of us have them at home but I hadn’t stopped to realise that the stem in a lot of cotton buds is made of plastic. It only really struck me when saw Justin Hofman’s painfully compelling photograph of a tiny seahorse gripping on to the plastic stem of a cotton bud. That’s not really something I really want to think about when I’m cleaning my ears.
There are alternatives, as several supermarkets now sell buds with paper stems, but I really like these Alyn sustainable cotton buds because they contain no plastic in their packaging and are 100% biodegradable and compostable.
GET THESE – Alyn Sustainable Bamboo Cotton Buds
Cleaning and Personal Hygiene products
Wipes
Baby wipes, ‘flushable’ toilet wipes, general home-cleaning wipes have been in the press a lot lately causing terrible problems in the sewage system. Wipes contain plastics and other non-biodegradable substances, as well as chemicals which are harmful to wildlife. They don’t break down and they’re not flushable, not even the ones that say they are. Would you flush a towel?
Alternatives to Disposable Wipes
Wipes are another difficult item because many people don’t have a choice but to rely on them. Even then, not flushing them down the toilet is a better choice than flushing them. A good alternative for cleaning instead of wipes, for example, is reusable cloths, where possible, made out of natural fibres that are compostable and not harmful to the environment. For anyone with children or simply anyone who can’t bear to give up the bathroom wipes, give these reusable Cheeky Wipes a go, complete with a travel bag, dispenser box and mesh wash bag. The planet and your local sewer workers will thank you.
GET THIS – Cheeky Wipes Reusable Wipes
Antibacterials
I used to use these every day, to wipe my kitchen surfaces, to sanitise my hands after travelling on the underground to spray the bathroom. So many of us think we’re doing the best to keep our homes clean and for our family but in reality, artificial antibacterial gels, soaps, detergents and other cleaning products harmful to the environment because of their man-made chemicals. Not only that but multiple studies have proven that our immune systems actually become weaker when we’re not exposed to germs and bacteria.
Alternatives to Antibacterials
Although we’ve established we do better without them, I myself still use natural antibacterials like Tea Tree Oil or Oregano Oil (not to be used directly on the skin). And I love this Method Rhubarb natural antibacterial spray which doesn’t harm the environment and smells wonderfully bright and fresh.
Laundry Detergents
Most fabric detergents, including the seemingly gentler ‘non-bio’ liquids contain certain surfactants and phosphates which can’t fully break down, causing long term harm to aquatic life.
Alternatives to Biological Detergents
Look for an ecological detergent that contains plant-based surfactants and phosphates which will break down naturally. At home we use this Faith in Nature detergent because it smells amazing and lasts 150 washes! You can also go to your nearest zero waste shop and refill a bottle.
GET THIS – Faith in Nature Laundry Liquid
You may think that your choices as one consumer are a drop in the ocean, that you can’t possibly influence a multinational manufacturer or retailer or that you can’t afford different products. But your individual buying decisions can carry more weight than you think if we start making even small changes ourselves and we encourage our friends and families to make more sustainable choices too. Then those drops can create ripples of change that will save our environment. In the same way we created this problem, we can fix it, but we need to start now.