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?

Placemarking

I wouldn't throw usable bowls and tubs away but the takeaway containers I've been reusing tend to crack quite easily. I know the old style tupperware was really good quality. Looking at reusable wraps to go around sandwiches.

stroopwafelgirl

I work for Amazon. I’m well paid (£13 ph) and I’m most certainly not treated appallingly. They’ve come a long way. The packaging can be a lot sometimes but we’d rather the item got there in one piece. Sending another item out would do more damage to the environment, surely.

When it comes to Tupperware and stuff, just like you release plastic every time you do a laundry load, same thing happens in a dishwasher. Anybody seen a Cora ball for a dishwasher?

When it comes to Tupperware and stuff, just like you release plastic every time you do a laundry load, same thing happens in a dishwasher. Anybody seen a Cora ball for a dishwasher?
Would it be any better if it went straight to landfill, though? It already exists.

When my DF died two years ago he had a cupboards full of clingfilm and plastic bags - I could have sent it straight to landfill but I decided to use it first and still have a couple of years' worth left. Was I wrong to use it first? I won't buy any more when it runs out.

Chilly’s bottles for water- should last for years plus your water stays cold.
We have some steel straws and some plastic ones from sturdy cups we re use. Have to be careful not to leave the steel ones in a bar on holiday though!!
I bought a bunch of cheap dishcloths and use them for most things house wise. Wash at 60, no one’s died yet.
Trying to buy quality clothes that last or second hand now. I do have a shoe habit though
Splosh for household stuff - the shower gel is nice and I don’t like bar soap really.
No make up wipes- muslins are better and wash up well.
Yet to find a nice bar shampoo for thick curly/frizzy hair.

I knit my own dish cloths and floor cloths using craft cotton. The floor cloth, in regular use, has lasted a couple of years now. I like a bit of mindless knitting while I watch TV and can practice new stitches. The floor cloth is blackberry stitch which has a good texture for cleaning.

I also make my own clothes, often remaking an old item into something else.

I've just got a bamboo face cloth for removing make up.

I've got some metal straws but haven't used them much because I don't usually use straws anyway.

Why buy plastic bottles of water rather than reuse previous bottles, bring own tap water? That baffles me.

DC won the battle on single serving crisp and other snack bags on days out; I'd like to just have family packs, but DC moaned too much. Food packaging is probably still our main problem area.

Today DS wants to buy writing pens: will I find some loose rather in a plastic pack? Of course not. Pens he likes are plastic, too, irk.

Yesterday I gave away about 100 paper plates we had hanging around for yrs. We never used them. We have a lot of (reusable) plastic picnic plates people gave us to use, if I did need plates when out & about.

We use rags (cut up worn out clothes we can't even send to charity shop) for a lot of things OP mentioned, like wipes or cleaning clothes. The cotton ones may be compostible, otherwise washed or binned depending on how mucky they are.

Love the tips on here, well done for starting it OP. I like the idea of splosh but have so much stuff to use up first but I will certainly give it a try! I do want to try the shampoo and conditioner bar so will do when I've used everything I have in first.
I was shocked to learn that wipes have plastic in so will certainly be changing to plastic free asap.

-To the PP who asked about using branded coffee cups that n different stores...I'd be very surprised if they turned away your business! Alternatively, why not get a non-store branded one? Keep Cup are good

• For shampoo and conditioner I'm fortunate to have a ln eco shop nearby that does refills. Suma is the one I get.

These are great ideas - thank you!

I've been using Georganics toothpaste which comes in a glass jar and silk dental floss - more expensive but you only need to use a little. Also I use oil-cleansing method with oil mix I make up myself so again no plastic and I use flannels (you can use recycle your muslins for this purpose too).

We've found a supplier who sells yogurt in glass jars - they are called Kappacasein if you are London-based.

I use Wrights coal tar soap which is cheap as chips and a nice orange colour which complements my bathroom!

I make my own kitchen spray from white vinegar, bicarb, essential oil, a dash of washing up liquid and water. It is much more effecive than shop-bought ones and I use a refillable bottle. It also works very well as a floor cleaner. In fact I bulk buy cardboard boxes of bicarbonate of soda from Amazon and I use it neat as an abrasive cleaner to do the bath and even wash my hair with it.

I make the same cleaner dotdot Use it for everything. No more strong fragrance and cheap!

Yes, thedevilinablackdress.No more of that awful Flash smell. I use bergamot in mine so it smells like earl grey tea!

If I cut up old towels to make cloths will they unravel?

Possibly gotmychocolate. If you've a sewing machine, go round the edges with a zigzag stitch. If not, give it a go anyway, they might be fine.

Rose the pencils and pens - so many.

I use reusable make up remover pads, reusable cups and beeswax sandwich wraps. I get them from www.letsgoplasticfree.co.uk and I also get my beeswax wraps from www.beegreenwraps.co.uk I've found them all pretty long lasting...