Wren | Actions

Impact

Small impact

Cost

Affordable

Time

Immediate

Now don’t get us wrong, we’re not saying we can buy our way out of the problem. A core tenet of zero-waste or low waste lifestyles is to reduce and reuse not buy more. So let’s do just that — instead of buying something right now, plan to replace an existing product you buy regularly with a lower impact alternative.

From your kitchen, to your laundry room, to your bathroom, find an item that’s almost empty. Then, research an alternative that either offers opportunities to reduce on packaging or more opportunities for reuse. Here are some ideas:

In the kitchen:

• Replace your sponge with a reusable dishcloth
• Use dishcloths and cloth napkins instead of paper towels
• Swap plastic baggies for paper, silicone, or cloth produce bags
• Replace plastic cling film with beeswax wraps or use tupperware instead

In the laundry room:

• Swap plastic pods with concentrate
• Swap out dryer sheets for dryer balls

Wren member @ravens adds:

"Starting to use laundry detergent sheets to decrease plastic use. I needed to easily carry laundry detergent sheets for travel, and decided to never switch back. They do the same as liquid detergent but aren't packaged in plastic containers."

In the bathroom:

• Instead of plastic soap bottles, use bar soap
• Try a shampoo and conditioner bar or concentrate
• Buy a bamboo toothbrush instead of a plastic one
• Try toothpaste tablets

Wren member @hannahbrown adds:

"Try replacing dental floss with silk versions or avoid buying anything plastic."

• Replace plastic dental floss with bamboo floss
• Find a cleaning product that offers plastic-free refills or concentrates

Sometimes an item you already own can double to replace the use of another! Dishcloths are very versatile. Or vinegar can make a passable homemade cleaner for some uses.

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