Well, there we go - one week. Not so bad. Pretty darn good actually. And I didn't starve. I found that I could go without a printer cartridge, wash my cell phone and still use it (and someday replace it with a recycled plastic phone), get tacos to go in my own reusable container, buy fish in a paper wrapper, make yummy cheeses at home, save money on groceries by getting them unpackaged, shop at the Wednesday farmers market next to my work, get a university to have online forms rather than printable ones, and make friends in the process. All good motivators to make permanent lifestyle changes.
Some thoughts this idea has brought up for me - what will I do when I need new shoes or a new shower curtain? Vinyl shower curtains are shown to emit over 100 toxic chemicals in the first few days after purchase. Whoa. I started researching vinyl, because it's one of the few substances to which I don't get an allergic reaction. I personally am allergic to latex. So, even though latex is organic and comes from natural sources, my body can't handle it. Crazy. It emits dioxins and chlorine gases. The vinyl industry says it has those things under control and has made vinyl totally sustainable, non-toxic, recyclable and enviro-safe. Apparently, they've removed the cancer-causing substances they used to use in it, which is good, but as the second most used plastic, there is some cause for caution. Also, they claim it's only 50% petrolelum-based and 50% salt. Hmmm...
My daughter sent me this awesome site for a shoe company that uses all natural, organic and recycled materials to make eco-friendly and vegan shoes. The funny thing is that my totally synthetic shoes I have to wear to keep my feet from getting rashy are vegan. They just aren't natural in any way. In any case, simpleshoes.com uses bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, cork, recycled plastics, recycled carpet padding, recycled paper and recycled tires in their shoes. Very cool. They also have some shoes with silk and eco-certified leather, so they sell both vegan and non-vegan shoes. Their latex is sustainably harvested straight from trees, which is lovely for the trees and totally evil for my feet. So, I guess I'll wear the heck out of my synthetic shoes and keep researching sustainable footwear that doesn't give me hives. As for the shower curtains, I'll have to keep looking into that.
So, one week down, an unknown number to go. Living without plastic is possible, interesting, challenging, inexpensive, and a worthwhile goal.
Oops - there's an editing error. Latex doesn't emit dioxins and chlorine. Vinyl does. I couldn't figure out how to get back into my post to edit this.
ReplyDeleteShower curtain - heavy canvas. Not perfect but not plastic either. ;)
ReplyDeleteShoes - try Okabashi, I love them (also have severe latex allergy (type 1 and 4) and these don't bother me). Ok, they don't fit your non-plastic criteria, but they will accept old shoes back and actually cut them up and make new ones with them, so that's a plus. Also they make their shoes at low temps so they don't emit fumes, they are made in the USA so you do have some carbon-shipping savings there. AND they use no glues to hold them together. Now they only have sandal/flip-flop types but still, for those, these are great. Still plastic, yes, but better plastic maybe? http://www.okabashi.com/
Loving the no plastic experiment, Wendy!
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