To be bothered by how much we consume as a society...

[Cakelesswonder]

Don't get me wrong I love a retail therapy session but today just felt utterly gluttonous in the amount of ads for Black Friday, the 'deals, I couldn't move for emails offering me 20% off lots of things I don't need. I'm not suggesting everyone knits their own yogurt and lives like Mormons but I really feel we don't have the resources on Earth to keep consuming, throwing and consuming like we do. Everything is disposable, straws, clothes, we buy water in bottles then throw them away polluting the oceans and planet for ourselves and future generations. I have no idea what the overall solution is but it really got to me today .

Lots of jars can look as glass but are plastic.

Also, I was happy with my decision to use soap but now I realised most soap has oalm oil in.

It's a minefield.

Dr Organic have facial moisturiser in vitamin E, argan oil, cocoa butter, dead sea mineral, rose otto, aloe, coconut oil, olive oil, pomegranate, not sure if there are anymore. Glass pots

If I buy chocolates for someone I buy from the counter and they put them in a nice cardboard box with no lining in it. It's dusted in icing sugar or cocoa powder depending on your preference.

This is in America in the supermarket. The chocolates are made in the bakery section. Surely others can do the same. It's really not hard.

Vitalogy, yes, Dr Organic do the snail stuff too. It blows my mind that we can't even leave blooming snails to live in peace!

Want2B - I don't know of any supermarkets who do that here but I'm rubbish at knowing about shopping.

re palm oil, yes, the only answer is to consume less of everything. I have just been looking at some council plans to build a massive shopping centre in our area - so depressing, plenty of shops already.

It blows my mind that we can't even leave blooming snails to live in peace! That's it, they do a royal jelly one too which I didn't mention, I was half and half if you were vegan, may have missed you mentioning it.
I was reading about the silk worms after a post on here on silk pillow cases being good for the hair. If it's not organic silk, they kill the worms.

What is so annoying is that 70 or 80 years ago it was very easy to buy many things without any packaging. When my mum was young (she was born in 1920) things like chocolates would mostly have been sold loose, or else just in a cardboard box. Biscuits were sold loose at the grocers, everyone took their own bags shopping, because none were provided. The only reason we've gone backwards is because plastic is both cheap and convenient.

Plastic is the scourge of the planet. Wonder if it ever crosses the minds of the scientists when they invent these things I'm talking to you
atomic bomb/energy inventor

Vitalogy, I actually remember a girl at school going on about how incredibly important plastic was for the advancement of science. In fairness, 30 years ago, she wasn't imagining the society we have now, I'm sure. But I remember being a bit puzzled how important it could be - I mean yes in medical applications, but other than that, I was a bit confused by her excitement.

To be fair, I also think that no one imagined this level of overpopulation. It's a bit "this is why we can't have nice things". I don't begrudge the xmas cards per se, but when we have so many problems stacking up you end up needing to address so many problems.

Fresh hell in Morrisons...

Yes, you can imagine what an amazing invention it must have seemed. It's also hard to imagine how we actually managed without plastic, it seems to be in most things these days, but we did. That's the thing, when the blinkers are on and the whole picture is forgotten we mess up. I mean, what the heck did they think they were going to do with all the nuclear waste! So harmful to every living thing that you can basically, never get rid of Madness.

There was that stuff Bakelite, just looked it up, an early plastic, contained formaldehyde, carcinogenic.

Throw away plastic fruit bowl, they'e taking the p*ss now,

I wonder how many pieces there are in that plastic bowl - they are just banking on time-short people grabbing it because it saves picking out, what, five pieces of fruit?

That Morrison's product is appalling.

I'm coming to the conclusion that they needed somewhere to put all the waste from oil, so they made plastic. I knew that plastic was from oil but before this thread I didn't realise it was from the waste deposits/process of oil.

I decided to flip this and look at it the other way

might be some good ideas here on reducing plastic use
www.plasticsmakeitpossible.com/whats-new-cool/fashion/

sorry if I am asking a silly question

all these takeaway services there are now (we don't do takeaway)

They must be a big factor now? I mean, more people ordering a lasagne, it will come in a plastic box with plastic utensils etc?

Just heard on the news the supermarkets Iceland and the Co op are going to start a plastic bottle return scheme. Iceland is also stopping the sale of plastic straws.

Good for coop and iceland. The big supermarkets said a return scheme was too difficult and costly. On the deposit return bottle scheme idea something like 85% of consumers wanted it but supermarkets were dead against it. So lets all write to them and tell them its a great idea. We need a template mumsnet letter to remind supermarkets we dont want tonnes of excess packaging - most of which is a mix of types of plastic and not all of it can be recycled. We do want a deposit scheme.
I think its Finland has one and they have a 98% recycling rate of on plastic bottles.

I will definitely be checking out shampoo bars- any recommendations? I am also going to unsubscribe to all the companies that sent me emails. I am poor and tight so only buy things on offer but I end buying more than I would as its a good deal iyswim - where as if I didnt see it on offer I would probably happily live without it.

There is a facebook vid doing the rounds, its called the 10 bits of plastic you can give up today. I cant link as on my phone but its very good.

chardonnays the soap I get is olive oil bar from The Little Soap company, my local Waitrose sell it, it's packaged in paper and it doesn't have palm oil in it

@User5trillion thanks for that, I've shared it. All stuff I do but hopefully sharing it will make some of my mates think

Oh good lord. I've just seen an advert for a cheese toasty subscription service on my FB feed - as in they'll send you out toasty kits with 2 slices of bread, some cheese and the like, all packaged up in cardboard and plastic

I had a paperstraw in a restaurant the other day (delivered to the table, not asked for) I told them well done! They breakdown in 45-60 days as opposed to 100s yrs. There is a town nr us that are trying to go plastic straw free, supporting the marine conservation society campaign. The ave household in our area produces 445kg a year of rubbish.

Thanks Juan, I'll look it up.

There was something on a another thread, I don't want to link or mention because of the TAAT rule, about glittery reindeer food.

For the love of God, just why?

In some good news there is a big name and shame article about excessive plastic packaging of fruit and veg, it the Mail, granted, but still, good work.

£5.49 for a couple of slices of bread and a bit of cheese. Unbelievable.