Hello natural beauties, today is World Earth Day 2018, and the theme this year is one that is very important, and one that i'm very passionate about: End Plastic Pollution.
Plastic pollution is a massive global problem. Micro plastics are swamping our oceans and scientists estimate that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. A very scary statistic!
I first realised how bad the situation was after watching A Plastic Ocean documentary on Netflix last year, it's a must watch if you haven't seen it. You can watch the trailer here. Researchers found a vast layer of plastic debris floating at the surface of the ocean in one of the most remote areas of the planet. Our once pristine, clear blue oceans were now spoiled by tonnes and tonnes of plastic that has made its way from landfill and litter into our waterways and finally been deposited into our oceans.
Plastic pollution is extremely damaging to marine mammals, birds and fish as they accidentally digest it. Just a few weeks ago, an autopsy of a dead sperm whale that washed up on the shores of Southern Spain, revealed it's stomach was filled with over 64 pounds of plastic and other debris. From the documentary, a poor baby chick, only 90 days old was discovered to have ingested 276 pieces of plastic in its very short life span.
Plastic in the ocean can very easily gets into the food chain. Fish and shellfish are very likely to be contaminated with plastic particles. This might make you think twice about eating too much seafood especially shelfish that are eaten whole such as mussels. For more information, have a read of this article published by The Gardian, Feb 2017 - From Sea To Plate: How Plastic Got Into Our Fish
The change starts with us. There is plenty we can do ourselves to minimise plastic pollution. Head over to the Earth Day website and make a pledge to reduce the amount of plastic you consume each year. There are resources to help individuals, organisations and educators to learn about plastic pollution and ways you can act to reduce it. There are downloads, a petition, toolkits, a plastic pollution footprint calculator and much more to help you prepare, learn, plan and act.
Since starting The Natural Beauty Box last year, I have partnered with lots and lots of fantastic ethical brands that are already doing their part to end plastic pollution.
Here are four brands who are going that little step further to end plastic pollution...
Featuring in our very first box was Earth Conscious with their Citrus Natural Deodorant. Their brand name says it all. They are an extremely eco-friendly brand. Their deodorants either come in a round tin or cardboard tube. They only use natural ingredients that do not cause any harm to the environment and never use any plastic packaging. They do not compromise on this at all which is what I love about the brand. They support The Marine Conservation Society with 10p for every deodorant sold going to them. More recently they have introduced a range of zero waste products to their website to help you on your plastic free journey, an excellent idea.
Next up is Buff Natural Body Care, who featured in January's Clarity box. Again, all of their products are made with fully recyclable packaging, and no plastic in sight. They have a gorgeous collection of candles, massage oils, bath oils, bath soaks and body scrubs which come in 5 different blends. I included their Buff Up Massage Oil which was a morning blend to awake your senses after your morning shower. They also support The Marine Conservation Society by donating 2% of their profits to them. They have a section on their website too with ideas on how you can reuse their glass jars once you have finished the products which is great idea.
Third up is Heavenly Organic Skincare who featured in March's Almost Good Enough To Eat Box. Ethics are extremely important to Heavenly Organics. All the products are vegan, organic and natural and they are on an ongoing mission to ensure minimal impact to the planet, right down the the recycled paper tape used to package their parcels. We featured their gorgeous peppermint foot balm which comes in a lovely round tin and even better, they offer refills of their foot and hand balms at a cheaper price, sent in a compostable bag so you can pop into your tin. Another fantastic idea to minimise waste.
Last up is a new brand who have recently launched, The Ethical Box. Lizz, their founder has supported The Natural Beauty Box since it's launch, so I couldn't wait to buy one of her starter boxes which just arrived this week. It contains 4 items to help you get started on your journey to reduce your plastic waste and be a more #consciousconsumer. It includes a gorgeous, stylish, reusable travel cup for your beverage of choice; a 100% biodegradable bamboo toothbrush; a 100% organic and fair trade cotton tote bag with the slogan #consciousconsumer printed on it and a pack of stainless steel straws and straw cleaner in a drawstring jute bag.
Disposable drinks cups, toothbrushes, plastic bags and straws are some of the biggest problems items along with plastic bottles so this box is a great way to help you get started in reducing plastic waste.
I do hope you check out these fantastic brands that are doing their bit for our planet and helping us reduce our plastic consumption. Now it's up to us to also play our part so please go and check out Earth Day's website for further information.
Further to Earth Day, we also have Plastic Free July coming up where we can join in the challenge to refuse to use single use plastics for the whole month. Visit the website to sign up to the challenge. There are also lots of resources for plastic free living including cleaning, cooking, storage, gardening, meals on the go and much more. I can reveal I will be curating a plastic free box for #plasticfreejuly so keep your eyes open for that one!
What other brands do you use who are helping to reduce plastic waste? What are you doing yourself? Let me know in the comments or on social media. Why not join our facebook group: Natural Beauty UK and join in the discussion on there.
Have a lovely day, Emma xx