Plastic Free July was the brainchild of  the Plastic Free Foundation starting in 2011. They offer the opportunity to take the plastic free challenge and learn to lessen the amount of plastic in your life.  Whether you have been taking the challenge for the past 9 years, or you just now heard of it, you can make a difference. This year, over 250 million people participated in the challenge in 177 countries (https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/) Did all 250 million of those folks avoid all plastic in July? I doubt it, but just imagine, if each of them refused a plastic straw 10 times in July, that is 2.5 BILLION fewer straws in the trash. I just checked--that's 2,204,622 pounds of plastic!  What if each of them also replaced their toothbrush with bamboo (when the current one wore out), bought their rice or noodles in a cardboard box, and chose a salad dressing in a glass bottle? What if they put their sandwich in a reusable bag or glass storage container (or even a plastic one if you already own it), carried reusable bags to the grocery store, and used a refillable water bottle instead of buying disposable? What if they replaced their pretty pink and blue plastic cotton swabs with paper stemmed ones?
We don't need a few hundred folks doing plastic free perfectly. We need billions of people making their best choices day after day. Currently, microplastics are found all through our food chain and even in our bodies (eww!)   Each time you make a plastic free choice, you are helping us move towards a better world for our children. 

How else can we reduce our plastic consumption?

Bathroom
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Use a natural bar shampoo, or refill your bottle at a refill store like Hello Bulk,  Animaila, or Gradient.

Buy toothpaste tablets from these same stores, or make your own toothpaste. If you do this be careful to choose safe ingredients, and talk to your dentist about floride. Look for our personal toothpaste recipe in a future post. 
Use a bamboo toothbrush sold in a cardboard box.

Shave with an electric razor, or a use a solid shaving bar and brush instead of shaving cream in a can.

Choose a compostable floss like our Dental Lace. Its made of tussah silk--coocoons that are collected after the moth has left, and comes in a refillable glass container. You can get vegan options, but they are plant based plastics, and my personal experience has not been positive enough to recommend them. 

Use an all natural bar soap, not liquid soap in the shower and at the sink. 

Choose paper stemmed or reusable cotton swabs instead of plastic.
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Remove makeup with a washcloth not wipes. 

Kitchen
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Shop with reusable grocery bags and produce bags. If your store is not yet allowing these, use your cart to take items to the car, and bag there.

Shop at bulk stores like HelloBulk, or bulk bins as often as you can. Many , but not all of these places allow you to bring your own containers. 

Choose items in glass jars over plastic. Glass is recycled locally in Utah.

Use a loofah instead of a plastic scrubby, and cloths instead of sponges. Try to use cotton, as microfiber sheds plastic fibers in to our water supply.

Use glass tupperware, repurposed containers or beeswax wraps and bags for food storage.

Powdered dishwasher detergent usually comes in paper boxes, and you can shop for safer brands.

Refill your dish detergent at a local refill store-- like the ones listed above, or use a solid dish bar.

Laundry

Powdered Detergents are usually in cardboard boxes. There are many DIY choices if you want to try them. Check the Environmental Working Group for safer choices.

Use an all natural stain stick instead of sprays

Skip the dryer sheet or the fabric softener. Dryer sheets are not compostable, Fabric softener comes in plastic. Try using wool dryer balls to limit static in your laundry.

Out and About
Carry a "go kit" . Tupperware for leftovers, a mug for beverages, reusable silverware and straw.

In these days of COVID, you can't get coffee in your cup, but you can order it with no lid or sleeve, and pour it in to your own cup. Its not perfect, but it will keep your favorite local coffee shop in business.
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Start your order with "no straw or plastic silverware, please. If they offer it anyway, don't touch it, or it has to be thrown away. Simply ask the server to remove it, and thank them for helping out. 

These are just a few ways you can reduce plastic at home. Share your favorite plastic tip with us!

Thanks to UNsplash for the photos. 

All Natural isn't a regulated term. So, it gets used in all sorts of ways. So, what do we mean when we tell you our soap is "all natural. We mean we start with fresh, nourishing oils and butters. Olive, Coconut, Castor, Avocado, and Rice Bran Oil.  Shea Butter, and Cocoa Butter.  In our shampoos we add Walnut or Jojoba Oil. Each of these oils and butters brings its own unique characteristic to our soaps, resulting in the skin feel you love. 
Then we add lye, or sodium hydroxide sourced from a reputable dealer so that we know we are not adding any impurites to your bar.  But did you know, there is no lye in your soap when you receive it? All of the lye has interacted with oil molecules to create soap, in a process called saponification.  We always add lots of extra oils to soothe and condition your skin. 
Next, we scent your soap, with essential oils sourced from reputable suppliers who assay each batch and provide us with the assay reports. As essential oils are natural products, there are always going to be folks who cannot tolerate some of them. Thus, we ensure we have a clearly identified product, added at skinsafe levels as determined by IFRA, and list it on the label for you. 

​And finally, we color your soap. You may have noticed that all ours soaps are earthy, botanical colors. There is a shortage of bright tones. This is because we seldom use micas in our soaps. (when we do, we choose micas colored with minerals.) Most of our colors are derived from a selection of carefully sourced clays, or from botanical products. The root of himalayan rhubarb, for instance, gives a lovely bright pink. Many plants; basil, neem, alfalfa, spirulina, for instance, give tones of green. Indigo and woad make beautiful blues. Paprika, saffon and turmeric provide yellows and oranges. Cocoa makes browns, and activated charcoal gives us the greys and blacks. These botanicals are added as oil infusions, teas, or powders, to give different shades and textures. 
The last step is pouring the now colored and scented soap batter. This is where we get to play and be artistic. Shall we go for layers? swirls? Wisps of one color in a base of another? Maybe an In the Pot Swirl, combined with layering? Shall we try the new technique we learned in the latest cool soap video? 
Whatever we do, a couple days later, your soaps are carefully cut and placed on the rack to cure for a month, ensuring that your receive a gentle, longlasting bar to start or end your day just right!

​Good Morning! I hope that you have been finding safe and healthy ways to enjoy the outdoors in this time of Covid. We have been learning to camp and boat while social distancing.  The first step has been to choose a community that will help this happen. If you don't have the support and agreement of the people you are with, everything is much more difficult.
Good social support also makes living an eco conscious life easier.

I walked down the laundry isle in the store last week, and it didn't take much to realize that most people are still using the 60% of detergents that get a D or F on the Environment Working Group's website.  I think only one or two of the 152 products that receive an A got any shelf space at all. No wonder its so easy to feel alone and helpless when you embark on your eco-journey. So today, I want to introduce you to some great folks and resources that can help you feel part of a great eco-community. 
One great place I love is the Facebook group SLC Zero Waste. The moderators are wonderful young women with a real heart for living an eco-friendly life. Don't let the Zero Waste moniker scare you away. The group is happy to support everyone in their waste reduction journey, and they are a great resource for local information and resources.  
Many neighborhoods in Salt Lake have local Buy Nothing Groups to help you avoid buying and to share things you don't need any more. See if your neighborhood has one. 
We also are fortunate to have several bulk store in Salt Lake! Hello!Bulk Markets offers bulk foods, as well as cleaning and personal care products. They have done an amazing job continuing to provide bulk goods in this time of Covid-19 restrictions.  animailia is a gift and personal care shop  with a whole supply chain emphasis. One wonderful service they offer is the ability to bring your personal food waste to their shop to be delivered to the local digester, diverting it from the landfill! Check out their website for more details. lever Octopus is another local business that is helping divert waste from the landfill. They take donations of many craft and other items, and help you turn them in to new and fun crafts. They offer (in normal times) classes in their own facilities, schools, libraries, and other places. They have been involved in  implementing our local Fix-it clinics with the Utah Recycling Alliance. They help bring art to kids, adults and underserved communities. Their shop is a wonderful place to spend time with your crafty kid or your crafty grandma. Check them out!
These are a few places where you can find community in your Eco-Journey.   Where do you find community and support? Share with us on our Instagram and Facebook pages!