7 Brands That Want to Help You Reduce Your Plastic Waste
Did you know that only around 9% of plastic ever made has been recycled? Plastic has been found in 100% of marine turtles, 59% of whales, 36% of seals and 40% of seabird species examined. 90% of the water we drink and 33% of the fish we eat contains microplastics, and it’s leading to serious health problems. Something has to be done about this. Upfront Cosmetics promises to always use plastic-free packaging and shipping materials, and we’re not the only brand out there concerned about humanity’s plastic usage. Here are 7 more awesome brands with a focus on plastic reduction!
Stojo
Drinking enough water is hard enough without worrying about all the plastic bottles you might waste. And I know personally, I can go through at least 10 disposable coffee cups in a week. Looking for a plastic-free solution? Started by 3 dads, Stojo is a line of collapsable travel mugs and water bottles. Every year, one stojo can save 16 lbs solid waste, 23 lbs of greenhouse gas emissions, and 281 gallons of water. They donate 1% of their yearly profits towards environmentally focused nonprofits, currently Lonely Whale.
Pela
You may have seen these in your Facebook ads. These compostable phone cases are made of 45% plant-based materials. The company, based in Kelowna BC, offsets all the carbon it produces making it completely carbon neutral. You can even trade in your old case when you buy a Pela case, which stops 1lb plastic from entering landfills, by recycling old cases into new ones. That's fantastic, because 1.5 billion plastic phone cases are thrown out annually. Pela have already prevented 313,528 lbs of plastic being produced! Five percent of their sales go towards nonprofits, including Save the Waves, Surfrider Foundation, and Oceana.
Purrfect Play
There's no reason our plastic-reduced lifestyle can't include our pets! Purrfect Play offers organic, plastic-free toys and supplies for dogs and cats. They promise their products to be synthetic free, plastic free, and dye free, and use recycled materials whenever possible. Five percent of every sale goes to local animal rescue organizations, and they have the Green America Seal of Approval.
Avasol
Choosing a sunscreen can be tricky for the eco-minded. Not only do we have to consider the container it comes in, but it's also becoming common knowledge that many ingredients in traditional sunscreen are very harmful to our oceans. Avasol is a natural sunscreen, ethically sourced & sustainably produced with bio-based ingredients (with a very detailed ingredients list available on their website!)
It even comes in both stick and lotion form! The lotion comes in refillable aluminum bottles, while the stick comes in a cardboard tube. This is as ocean-safe as sunscreen can get!
Skoy
Paper towels sure can be handy to have around, but they're so wasteful! If you're looking to make the switch to reusable cloths, Skoy has your covered! Not only do they have something to replace paper towels, they also sell dish towels and scrubbies. The cloths are compostable, made from natural cotton and wood-based cellulose pulp. Each one replaces 15 rolls of paper towel, and has 15x the absorption rate! Plus, not only are they washable, but they can also be sanitized in the dishwasher or microwave.
Blueland
One type of plastic bottle we might not consider in our everyday lives are those our cleaning product come in. Blueland offers 3 non-toxic household cleaners: multi-surface cleaner, a glass & window cleaner, and a tub & tile cleaner. But how does that reduce plastic waste? Here's how it works: your kit comes with 3 spray bottles and one hand soap dispenser, and 4 cleaning tablets. The tablets dissolve in water. Once you buy their "forever bottles", you'll always have them, and when you've used up all the cleaning solution, you only need to reorder the cleaning tablets, which only cost 2$ per refill! Blueland's cleaning system is EPA Safer Choice and Leaping Bunny certified.
4Ocean
Reducing our plastic usage is an important part of the picture, but what about the plastic already polluting our oceans? 4Ocean seeks to solve both problems at once. They've created a line of recycled plastic products, starting with their famous bracelets, and now including reusable shopping bags & coffee mugs. Each sale promises 1lb of plastic pulled directly from the ocean. And every single dollar of profit goes toward funding cleanup teams of boat captains & crew in Bali, Florida, Guatemala & Haiti. Not only are they pulling plastics directly from the ocean, they also invest in research & new tech such as harbour skimmers. Since 2017, they've donated over 450,000$ to ocean charities, and pulled over 8 million pounds of plastic from the ocean!
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