Natural alternatives to plastic products. Become more sustainable!
Plastic has become a big part of our lives. It’s in practically everything now. However, there are ways to remove it from your life. Alternatives to plastic products are available everywhere – they just aren’t the obvious choice anymore, which is quite sad. In this blog, we’ll share some completely natural, biodegradable alternatives to plastic products. Let’s rid our homes of plastic!
1. Loofah sponge
You can buy a luffa – that’s a loofah, except it’s a plant product. It actually grows on a plant as a fruit, and once it’s dried, you get a wonderful little loofah that you can use while showering and cleaning. Sea sponges and washcloths are also some options, but the luffa is our favorite.
2. Disposable leaf plates
Plastic and styrofoam plates are very convenient, but they hurt our beautiful planet. Paper plates sound good, but they usually come with a plastic coating on top to make them waterproof and usable. If you can find paper plates with a wax coating, those are okay to use. We also recommend banana and other leaf plates. They’re made using leaves, so once you throw them out, they’ll decompose and enrich the soil.
3. Cloth or jute bags
Plastic bags have been banned in a lot of places, but if they’re still allowed in your city, do your part by voluntarily boycotting their use. Cloth or jute bags are perfectly natural, washable, and reusable. They’re strong, they come in attractive patterns and colors, and they last years. You’ll reduce the amount of waste you create, and prevent some poor marine animal from suffocating to death.
4. Hardwood flooring
Instead of vinyl or other synthetic flooring materials, buy hardwood floors to make your home more eco-friendly. Make sure it’s locally-sourced, fast-growing hardwood, so your carbon footprint is minimal. Hardwood flooring will last much longer than vinyl, look incomparably better, and wood from fast-growing varieties is quite sustainable, so you won’t be hurting our forests either!
5. Bamboo toothbrushes
This is one of the more interesting alternatives to plastic products. You need to change out your toothbrushes every few months depending on the brand, and that’s a lot of plastic going to the landfill. Bamboo toothbrushes with replaceable bristles are a wonderful alternative. You need to just buy it once, because when the bristles start looking worn you can just pop the brush open and change them out.
6. Cloth or paper containers for organization
If you’re organizing your wardrobe or work desk, use cloth or paper ‘boxes’ to do the job instead of buying plastic containers. There are other options like bamboo, wood and woven baskets, but cloth and paper are generally a lot more affordable.
7. Cloth nappies for babies
A cloth nappy is reusable – you simply wash it, dry it, and then use it again. These can’t completely replace disposable diapers, but they can reduce their use by a large amount. Disposable diapers are bulky and have a lot of plastic, so they create more waste and are more harmful than, say, a disposable fork. You’ll need to buy (or make) a couple nappies at once, and then you can keep reusing them for years.
8. A real plant (instead of a fake one)
If you want to add some color and interest to a room, there’s nothing better than a plant – a real, breathing plant, mind you, not a fake one! Fake plants are plastic from top to bottom, and do nothing for your space. Real plants, on the other hand, add oxygen, purify the air, deter pests, flower, and provide lots of other benefits. All you need to do is water them every week or so.
So these were some natural alternatives to plastic products. There are numerous other ways to avoid using plastic – some of which we’ll share with you in the future. The key is to think outside the box – which is exactly what we did with our edible straws. If you want to cut down on your use of plastic straws, check out our product!
