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July 02, 2021
We applaud the Plastic Free July initiative in bringing awareness and action to this important issue. It’s a great way to be more present with our plastic consumption.
That said, we want to say out loud that change is hard! Especially this change. Culturally, in the US anyway, plastic permeates everything in our lives. AND ITS USE IN & AROUND PRODUCTS IS GROWING, NOT DECREASING! So don’t beat yourself up, you won’t be perfect. But what you will do is become more aware in your daily life regarding plastic. Remember, it’s just like the idea of voting with our dollars: the more you refuse plastic products, the more we collectively amplify our voices to BOTH manufacturers and business owners that we don’t support the use of plastic in their products and packaging.
Here’s what What's Good is doing in support:
What can you do?
Easy to sign up. Harder to execute.
Even for us. Yesterday was Day 1 of the challenge, and I’ve already messed up. I was wrapping up a lunch date with a friend when the waitress brought over two plastic to-go containers. Without thinking, I loaded up my leftover lunch, closed the container and then upon immediately realizing my mistake, I confessed it to my friend and the waitress. I didn’t want to waste my food (that’s a thing, too) but what to do? To my delight, the waitress shared that thanks to Covid, customers have been bringing in their own containers and suggested we start doing it, too. Yay! Another Covid positive.
And then again on Day 2… I ordered 15 bags of top soil to mix in before I reseed a bald patch with clover. As I opened the bags, I realized they were… bags. Uh oh. It didn’t occur to me until it was too late that I should have ordered bulk soil. Sure it would have required a wheel barrow and muscle. But isn’t that a small price to pay to avoid more plastic? Rest assured, I cleaned the bags as much as possible and put them in our grocery store recycling bin for soft plastics. Still. If not for plasticfreejuly.org, I may not have noticed.
As the founder of What’s Good, I’m sharing my fails to say, none of us is perfectly perfect, event this eco-store owner. There’s always work to do, always more to learn, and more ways to be greener. The important things is that we all get on board. We’ll get there… one green step at a time.
Now, let’s dig in a bit more. Why should we give up plastic?
It's a challenge in today’s landscape to be totally plastic free. That’s not to say we shouldn’t strive for and commit to not using plastic. We’re just saying, we know it’s hard to live in an all or nothing world. We want to remind you that any steps you take in this direction is good. There are tons of plastic alternatives. Don’t give up. You can be more plastic-free this month. Let us know how we can help.
xo Jennifer
P.S.
Be sure to download this science-based report:
Plastic & Health: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet
P.S.S.
About PlasticFreeJuly.org
This year marks the 10th annual Plastic Free July. Behind it is The Plastic Free Foundation, a not-for-profit working hard to help millions of people become part of the solution to plastic pollution, so we can have healthier and cleaner streets, oceans, and communities.
P.S.S.S.
A few of our sources:
Human Consumption of Microplastics – Kieran D. Cox, Garth A. Covernton, Hailey L. Davies, John F. Dower, Francis Juanes and Sarah E. Dudas. American Chemical Society, 2019.
No Plastic in Nature: Assessing Plastic Ingestion from Nature to People – commissioned by WWF and carried out by University of Newcastle, 2019
Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta – Antonio Ragusa, Alessandro Svelato, Criselda Santacroce, Piera Catalano, Valentina Notarstefano, Oliana Carnevali, Fabrizio Papa, Mauro Ciro Antonio Rongioletti, Federico Baiocco, Simonetta Draghi, Elisabetta D’Amore, Denise Rinaldo Maria Matta, Elisabetta Giorgini. 2020
Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made – Roland Geyer, Jenna R Jambeck and Kara Lavender Law. Science Advances, vol. 3, no. 7, 2017, e1700782, advances.
The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics, World Economic Forum and The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Isle of Wight, UK: Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016.
The threat of plastic pollution to seabirds is global, pervasive and increasing – Chris Wilcox, Erik van Sebille and Britta Denise Hardesty, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, August 2015, 112(38), pp.11899–11904
Economic incentives reduce plastic inputs to the ocean – Qamar Schuyler, Britta Denise Hardesty, TJ Lawson, Kimberley Opie, Chris Wilcox, ScienceDirect, 2018.
Plastic and Human Health: A Lifecycle Approach to Plastic Pollution — Center for International Environmental Law; https://www.ciel.org/plasticandhealth/
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