According to Greenpeace, 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the 1950s – the weight of a billion elephants or 47 million blue whales. Only 9% of it has been recycled and the rest has been burned, dumped in landfill, or it's floating around in the ocean.
#plasticfreejuly is all about raising awareness of the issue, and making an effort to clean it up. With the equivalent of one truckload of plastic being dumped in the ocean each minute, the war against plastic waste is as pressing as ever.
Going completely plastic-free might sound impossible in 2019, but #plasticfreejuly is about trying to - for just 31 days - and then continuing those habits year-round. Easing into a plastic-free life can be a smooth transition too, and the smallest everyday items can have the biggest of impacts.
We’ve teamed up with some of our favourite reusable brands on an incredible pack of sustainable goodies, and it includes everything you need to get started on your #plasticfreejuly journey.
WIN...
A reusable organic hemp tote bag and sustainably-printed limited edition magazine from The Fashion Advocate valued at $89.00.
A Starter Set of reusable organic cotton pads including a drying kit and wet bag from Hannahpad valued at $180. Hannahpad is paving the way for safer, healthier and sustainable periods. They've engineered a super cute sanitary pad made from natural and organic cotton, and considering half the world’s population (nearly four billion of us) are women, Hannahpad's pads are a more responsible way to menstruate. On average women use over 9000 pads or tampons in their lifetime, and disposable pads are made with up to 90% plastic, taking upwards of 400 years to decompose - if they ever do at all. Hannahpad’s re-usable pads are fighting back against period waste by providing a super cute and safe alternative.
A plastic-free Starter Bundle from Leaf Shave including a reusable razor, solid metal stand, blades and a blade disposer valued at $160. Two billion plastic razors are thrown away every year, and we know that 91% of single-use plastic isn't recycled, so where are they going? If we continue manufacturing and consuming plastic the way we currently do, by 2050, there will be 12 billion metric tonnes of plastic in landfills around the world. To put it into perspective, that's 35000 times as heavy as the Empire State Building. The team at Leaf shave have developed a beautiful, rose-gold reusable razor with a multiple-blade pivoting head for convenience and speed, and customisable options to suit tough hair or sensitive skin. Leaf Shave razors are the better alternative to single-use throw-aways, and they eliminate plastic from shaving completely.
A natural Clean and Green Home Kit including an Organic Cleaning Spray in a glass reusable bottle, 1L refill and Organic Laundry Detergent from the goddesses at Second Nature Botanicals valued at $100. Simple, safe, sustainable - exactly what home cleaning products should be. Second Nature Botanicals are made with simple plant and mineral-based ingredients, pure essential oils, and none of the nasty stuff. They’re pet safe, kid-safe, and planet safe, and they’re made in refillable glass bottles too, perfect for #plasticfreejuly if you’re trying to decrease single-use plastic around the house.
A Coco Combo from Coconut Bowls with two sustainably sourced coconut bowls and reusable coconut cutlery valued at $40. Coconut Bowls is a brand and movement advocating for healthy living and conscious thinking, for both people and the planet. They’re the perfect plastic-free picnic alternative and are 100% Instagram-worthy. Coconut water consumption has increased by 60% over the last decade and global demand for coconut oil has soared, but 99% of harvested coconut shells are discarded and burned. In the process, the shells release harmful carbon dioxide and methane gasses, and they’re burning in the millions. Coconut Bowls took one look at this and decided that it was time to make a change, so they created a business in which they could turn production waste into a sustainable, everyday product.
A Frank Green reusable coffee cup from the new ceramic range valued at $42. Australians use one billion disposable coffee cups every year, and if they were all lined up, they’d circle the earth - twice. While some paper coffee cups are recyclable, many of them are lined with a plastic film, and all of them have plastic lids. It’s not easy understanding what’s recyclable and what’s not when all Australian states do things differently, but taking responsibility for your own impact is the easiest place to start. Yay for having a positive impact!
NITTY GRITTIES...
Competition opens 9pm on 10 July 2019 AEST and closes 12pm on 31 July 2019. Entrants must be following all accounts listed above on Instagram at close of competition for a valid entry. Winner must be located in Australia. Winner will be announced at 12pm on 31 July 2019.
TO ENTER...
1. Head to Instagram and like this post.
2. Comment and tag a friend who cares about the environment.
3. Follow @thefashionadvocate and the five sustainable brands listed in our Instagram post.
Head to The Fashion Advocate's Instagram post here to enter our in #plasticfreejuly giveaway and start small to have a big impact.
The Fashion Advocate x
