Plastic-Free July - 4 Tips to Get You Going!

It's Plastic-Free July! We know it's been challenging just getting through a pandemic the past few years, so we refrained from putting out a Plastic-Free Challenge. But we think it's high time we get back to it!

Before we dive into our tips to get you going, we just want to share a bit about why we think this is so important and how we operate at Local Refillery.

We compare plastic use to an overflowing bathtub. While recycling can be helpful, it's kind of equivalent to trying to scoop up a bit of water on the floor instead of turning off the tap (which is still gushing). And with about 380 million metric tons of plastic being produced annually around the world, and only 7% of that being recycled, the sooner we can shut that tap off, the better!

But how do we do it?

We think it comes down to all of us (combined with some government regulation, of course). For many corporations, the dollar is the bottom line; they often don't actually care about what they produce, as long as it makes money. Consumer demand dictates what they produce, so if we're done with single use plastics, they'll give us alternatives. You can already see it starting to happen, bit by little bit. And that's thanks to people like you!

We also want to acknowledge as we go into this challenge, that at Local Refillery, we are not completely plastic-free. We say this because we always want to be transparent about how we do things, but also because we want to take that pressure off you. We have the utmost admiration for those who produce only a mason jar of garbage per year, but we also know it's not the reality for most - and we don't want anyone giving up before they start! We really do believe that we need millions of people doing this imperfectly, instead of a handful doing it perfectly. 

What that means for us as a store in this plastic-laden world, is that we have to make many decisions about which plastics we will accept because they serve many purposes vs. which will be used once and end up in recycling or the landfill. We also ask vendors if they will consider going package free. Often they say no... several times! But our CEO and founder, Ginette, is a very passionate individual, driven by the desire to leave the world a better place for her kids. She has been able to turn many a "no" to "yes", so we're incredibly grateful for her and all the vendors willing to take a chance.

Ginette has also lived in many cities where there were no options to reduce single-use plastics, so her goal when she started this store was to create a space that made it easy for people to make healthier choices - for the planet and themselves. And every time someone refills a shampoo, deodorant, or dish soap from one of our fabulous vendors, that's motivation for other companies to do the same.

So, now that we've shared a bit about us and what it means to be "plastic-free", on to Plastic-Free July! Are you feeling inspired? Ready to make some changes? Scroll through for some tips to get you started!