What is Plastic Free July®?
We get asked this every year so we thought we'd do a little post about it....
PFJ is an annual challenge, designed to address the increasing problem of plastic pollution that is happening in our oceans and in our communities. The vision is to eliminate single use plastic and it all starts with us, looking at how much we use in our day to day lives. Once you delve in, it’s surprising how much it all adds up.
The campaign encourages you to make a commitment during the month of July to swap some of your single use items for sustainable alternatives.
Since its inception in 2011, it has now become a global movement with over 100+ million participants in 190 countries (PFJ). They hope by making small changes for a month you will be inspired to adopt them long-term.
Check out their website, it’s packed with resources to help you make the changes; everything from packaged lunches to household waste and of course swapping to soaps. Visit them here:
Examples Of Swaps:
Shower gel - Soap
Bottled shampoo - Solid bars
Plastic shower puff - Natural loofah sponge
Plastic sanitary products - Reusable wear
Sellotape – Eco-friendly packing tape
Cling film – Wax wraps or re-usable covers
Packaged foods and liquids – Refill options
Plastic sponges – Cellulose sponge
Plastic bin liners – Compostable or no bin liners
Plastic wrapped fruit & Veg - Local farm shop
Tip: It can sometimes be overwhelming trying to do everything, I’ve definitely felt it over the years, so cut yourself some slack and choose 1 thing to start with and go from there.
Our commitment to Plastic Free July 2022
This year we’re going to be focusing on food packaging & salad bags, something we always end up buying at this time of year. It’s not going to be easy as it’s very difficult to find salad in plastic free packaging. We plan to grow our own and also order through a local farm shop, The Paddock, who supply plastic free, organic produce delivered to our local refill shop Buy The Kilo.
It's worth researching your local area to find out where you can source local, plastic free produce...and you'll be supporting your local farmers.
Good luck if you're taking part this year.
Andrea x
