Basically it boils down to I don't want items that come in plastic or are over packaged. Paper bags and boxes / containers are fine. Any fruit and veg I buy I use my own reusable ( string mainly ) bags. I try to buy whole items like pumpkin so no need for glad wrap across a cut. Best I like to pick straight from our own vegetable or herb garden Meat from the butcher's shop is okay but not supermarket trays with plastic covers.
We make and freeze a lot of our own spreads like pesto and capsicum dip so those are in small glass jars which get reused. We do however like cream cheese and frozen peas etc they come in plastic. When we freeze our own surplus veges we tend to put them in plastic bags or containers( sometimes glass jars )( glass jars in a freezer can become very slippery and heavy )
I use a small amount of milk and cream mainly for baking/ cooking but can't find that in glass. ( we don't have milk in our tea or coffee)( but sometimes need it for guests ) Maybe milk suppliers could go back to glass bottles that get recleaned and reused, ( I know glass breaks and therefore can be dangerous )
Looking into the pantry cupboard in my picture I see glass jars, tins, al cans , paper containers but I also see large plastic containers that are in constant use - those I don't mind as I am reusing and reusing. ( for flour, sugar, baking needs and home baked goods . At the bottom are containers to reuse.
Looking elsewhere. Should I stop using biros and instead only pencils. Should I stop buying sewing thread on plastic reels - they used to be wood. I use cotton or wool or bamboo batting in my quilts.
I use bankcards that are made of strong plastic, some are renewed every 2 years. The ones I think we could do without are pressy cards and plastic loyalty cards ( lots are cardboard so that's better )
It seems to me I keep thinking we need to go back to a time before things were packaged this way.
Next post I will start on about clothing, footwear, cars.
* Thanks for your comments I did find shampoo in a cake. Haven't tried it yet. Any other good ideas Ladies?
4 comments:
A large chain store called Lush makes and does mail order on solid shampoo, soaps, underarm, perfumes and other products.
Everything is as ethical as they can make it and last time I ordered I received my items in a cardboard box with popcorn packaging. Real popcorn, not the polystyrene stuff.
i'm not thinking as extreme as you but I do get frustrated at the packaging of some items I but........
Wow real popcorn in Lou's parcel......waste of food unless you have chooks........they would love it...:)
It js hard to cut back on plastics ,like you I use string bags for veges, in fact I bought them at a Countdown supermarket in Tauranga a few years ago. Is Binn In still going? Mum used to take containers and buy in bulk there. There was a similar shop near where I used to go for Guild, I would take my own containers and but flour,cereal, nuts dried fruit,pasta that kind of thing. Sadly we have moved halls and I don't go that way any more.
My daughter sent me a pakage of goodies from Lush for Christmas. They were sustainably packed and the name Lush is not an exaggeration!
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