Zero Plastic Week is a World Wide event to raise awareness through conscious effort to avoid adding any new plastic to our lives, and to avoid buying anything new made from or packaged in plastic. This week is about finding creative solutions to avoid the use of plastic and to get people to think outside of their usual box.
For today's challenge, I take on the bathroom.
With a guest coming, I needed a new shower curtain today. Rather than buy a vinyl one, or a cloth one packaged in plastic, I took a pretty cotton sheet I already had in the house and hung that instead.
Today I want to talk about personal hygiene products.
I can only speak from my own experience, which is kind of minimal when it comes to modern products. I'm more a fan of DIY. Fifteen years ago, I began phasing out hair care products, soaps, lotions, and make up for a number of reasons.
It began with the animal testing issue, and continued with the discovery that what goes on your skin, finds its way into your organs. I didn't want it going into the ground or water either. And I didn't like all the plastic packaging. (Now we even have products with plastic microbeads...whoever came up with that bright idea?)
So after trying unsuccessfully for a while to find products that lived up to my standards, I ended up dropping whatever I didn't want to make myself.
My shampoo recipe: Raw local honey and water. I use it once a week. The rest of the week I just scrub my scalp with water in the shower. My hair stays even more clean and healthy now that I've abandoned store bought shampoo.
But there is a lot of DIY shampoo substitutes on line. Make sure to explore any possible side effects before you settle on one. For instance, Baking Soda seems harmless, but I ran into some info about it damaging hair, so just do some research.
Same thing with soap. See what DIY soap recipes you can find on line. I've used all sorts of things...food based products like yoghurt, chick pea flour, egg white. Just think it through first. You don't want to stop up the drain. Explore and have fun.
Your skin has its own flora just as your intestines do. And your skin is the largest organ in the body. It is also a huge part of your immune system.
Anthony Komaroff, MD calls skin a formidable barrier to infection. And goes on to say "Not only does the skin function as an impressive physical obstacle, but like the walls of a castle, it's also an unfriendly environment for many microbes..." He also refers to the flora which calls your skin "Home" as good soldiers which effectively hang out a "No Trespassing" sign to invaders. You can find that short article here.
Clever substitutes for Toilet paper and Feminine Hygene during menses. These are for the truly hard core, dedicated Earth activist. And ranks right up there with using cloth diapers.
There are tons of DIY make up and skin care recipes on line too.
Natural deodorant? I use coconut oil with some essential oil in it when I need to. But again there are lots of ideas on line.
Toothpaste? I use baking soda, with a little peppermint oil on my brush.
Toothbrush? I use a brand called eco-dent. The head is replaceable, so less plastic wasted. I have recently seen wood toothbrushes with natural bristles too. And if you really want to go natural, you can use a birch twig if you have access to any birch trees that you know won't be sprayed with anything. It does work, and was used in times long past--or so folk lore tells us.
Any product you buy prepackaged, is a product you can reasonably substitute by making yourself. It just requires a little effort and creativity.
Yes, it takes a little extra effort, and even a paradigm shift to break the spell of marketing allure. And it's not for everybody. I know women who would no more give up beauty products than they would give up eating. Because it makes them feel good.
And I would not dream of trying to make them feel guilty over it. It is my choice to live as I do. But I cannot expect others who aren't ready, to make this their cause even if I think we all have a very good reason to get serious about the issue of disposable plastic.
As more of us get involved in taking this situation seriously, we will gently and lovingly educate other people about why we think this is important. And we will do that by our actions. Eventually we will reach critical mass, and the consciousness around this issue will shift. Then solutions will be found.
Don't give up because it seems inconvenient. Don't give up because it seems hard. Don't give up because it seems like you're the only one doing anything about it. Your contributions to shifting the world consciousness are huge when added to what others are doing too.
And really what choice do you have. You do it because your Spirit tells you to. There is no joy in going against that higher Self.
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