Plastic alternatives

[knittedthrow]

Can we have a thread of plastic free alternatives for things we use in every day life. With brand name if possible for ease of amazon ordering

We want to make a real effort to cut out plastic in our house but the stuffs just everywhere and it's hard to easily find alternatives. I guess there's other families that feel the same.

Getting rid of wipes will be a big one for me. We no longer use wipes for sticky hands and faces (use a face cloth now), we also don't use kitchen and bathroom wipes anymore (re usable cloth with antibacterial spray).

I do use baby-wipes for DS bum though. I don't like the idea of washing pooey cloths tbh.

So for the first suggestion can anyone suggest plastic free wipes that are completely biodegradable? Do they exist?

Is cotton wool completely plastic free?

@myself2020 ok so you use a damp cloth too then.

Just doing my order of splosh cleaning products, reusable shampoo & conditioner pumps, shampoo & conditioner refills, a reusable takeaway tea cup, 12 new face cloths, a wet bag, eucalyptus oil (for home made baby wipes) and grape seed oil to remove make up.
Excited to get my new stuff.

@knittedthrow just make sure you don't throw away anything you currently have. Use up everything before you start on the zero waste alternative. Otherwise it's unnecessary waste

@cakesandphotos yes, I'm only replacing things as they run out. Replacing anything single use plastic with a better alternative. I just happen to be running out of lots of things at once.

Oo apparently eucalyptus isnt safe for under 2s. Ds is 2 but if we have another (soon hopefully!) I wouldn't use it on them. I'll choose a different oil to be on the safe side.

Does anybody know if the main coffee shops use any reusable cup? I don't get coffee that often but if I have a Starbucks coffee cup for example, can I use it at Costa and vice versa?

1. Splosh for cleaning products if you still want traditional type ones - vinegar and bicarb if you don’t
2. Lush for toiletries - they do bar shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath etc (milk bottle is gentle enough for babies)
3. Cheeky wipes instead of wet wipes (and cloth nappies - I like close pop ins
4. Flannels in the bathroom
5. Cut up old towels for cleaning house of bathroom and if there particularly disgusting bin, otherwise wash at 60 once a week (I keep dirties in a lidded bucket)
6. Menstural cup and cloth towels (me Luna do a short cup if you struggle with moo cup)
7. Bulk buy dry produce from a zero waste shop
8. Take own containers to deli, butcher etc for cheese and meat
9. Take a cloth bag to baker for a loaf of bread

10. Milk and more for milk and juice ( or an independent dairy if there is one near you) 11. Greengrocer for veg and fruit - just put them all in the same bag and clean and sort when you get home 12.wax wraps and Tupperware for pack lunches (don’t buy new until the old plastic stuff is broken) 13. Guppy bag or Cora ball for washing machine to stop plastic from clothes (don’t use with nappies) and try to only buy second hand natural fibers 14. Reusable coffee cup and water bottle 15. Silicone straw - really useful to carry with the toddler as she finds it hard to drink from adult glasses without one 15. Folded reuseable carrier bag in evey handbag and the car boot That’s all I can think of right now

Close bamboo wipes are fab! I've been using them for everything (excluding poo!) For months now and we've saved a fortune as well as helping the environment. We have also started using Close pop in nappies during the day and have had no leaks in the 2 months we have been using them.

@Imnotmad do you have a Cora ball? Is it any good? I was considering one but it had really bad reviews.....

@owlbert I love the close bamboo wipes! I bought a stash of them second hand from Ebay and use for mucky hands and faces.

@theneverendinglaundry I don’t have the ball, it’s on my birthday list! I have the guppy bag but that requires the husband to put laundry in it. Hoping the ball can just live in the machine. Easiest actually was just to remove all non natural fabrics from our wardrobes other than when we need them for performance reasons such as sports wear and then I know these clothes need to be washed in the guppy bag

Also make up from zao (refillable) it colouer caramel as it’s mainly in card

*or not it

@theneverendinglaundry they are fab aren't they! I didn't realise how many wipes we actually used until I switched!

I realised today how many plastic writing implements we have, as well as general stationary drawing and colouring items. Its ridiculous.

Have decided to use pencils in the house to write with instead of disposable pens. Inundated with pencils also, some of which belonged to my granny who died ten years ago!

I've ordered washable sanitary pads today. Looking at getting some shampoo bars too. And I've decided to give up all disposable wipes

Body shop give you £5 credit if you bring them 5 empty pots/ bottles.
Brown paper and string or ribbons (to be reused by the recipient hopefully) looks quite chic under the Christmas tree I think.
I always reuse gift bags... There are a few which have been exchanged several times between my mum, brother and I which is a bit of a long running joke. We're seeing how long they last.
Lucy and Yak dungarees are sent out in a lovely fabric bag which is reusable, I'd definitely wrap a present in one of those.

I think just trying to buy less stuff in general is a good start. Most of us buy too many clothes (I'm very guilty!), too much food, too many toys for the children, accessories for our houses etc when we don't need them. Most of this involves plastic either in the item itself or packaging. Having less stuff is my aim.

I was never a fan of wipes, so that wasn't much of a sacrifice for me, but if you must use them, make sure they are made of celulose, ie flushable is clearly written on the pack.

Toothbrushes went out for bamboo ones, got a reusable celulose handle razor, using glass roll on from nivea. Tried swapping to bar soap, but I've got a very sensitive skin, so I'm still using the liquid shower gel, for both my skin and hair (made my hair look a lot better, don't even require conditioner any more as the shower liquid doesn't strip so much oil off the cuticle AND I got rid of the back acne). 100% cotton and paper q tips, celulose net instead of sponges, mooncup, etc.

Love Zoflora, so I got a glass dispenser from Amazon. Replaced most of my cleaning stuff with it, even the fabric softener. Dishwasher tablets MUST have celulose wrapping (the kind you leave on) before I even consider buying them. Compostable bin liners, of course and bags for life. Swapped the plastic mixing bowl with glass IKEA ones and the Tupperware is going down the same route ASAP. Glass/metal water bottles, metal reusable coffee cup, swapped any plastic utensils for wooden or metal ones and plastic boxes for baskets. Even my cats bowls got replaced. Terracotta pots instead those awful plastic ones.

And now something that really threw me off, as a big candle fan: the paraffin in them is horrendous for the environment. Swapped for beeswax ones, they smell better. Yes, they are more expensive, but I appreciate them all the more when they are lit.

Stop ordering from bloody amazon as a start! They treat their workers appallingly, owned by the richest man on the planet who has shown little interest in alleviating any of the most serious issues facing the population, and on a more basic level they tend to massively overpackage.

@knittedthrow i don’t always use a damp cloth, only it loo paper doesn’t get everything off which happens maybe once a week.

I used mansize tissues and a little bit of baby lotion as an alternative to baby wipes for nappy changing.

Love this thread. I use baby flannels from the pound shop to wipe DS face / hands - much cheaper than resuseable wipes, I got 2 packs and just rinse them off and chuck them in with my normal washing. I'm also going to ask for some reuseable nappies for his birthday as he really doesn't need anything and the initial cost is what always put me off. We use biodegradable wipes. Also use reuseable pouches for soup / smoothies. I follow zerowastemum on Instagram, she has some great ideas.

There is no need to replace plastic items if they are still being used. That, in itself, is being wasteful and sending them to landfill unnecessarily. Tupperware will last forever - which is best? In your kitchen being used or in landfill. All replacing it does is make your kitchen look trendy. It is the single use plastic that needs addressing.

I agree, if your plastic utensils/ Tupperware/ bowls are still in working order it's better to keep using them. No need to replace until they break.