We applaud the Plastic Free July challenge and we want you to take the challenge with us as well!

So what is Plastic Free July exactly?

Plastic Free July is a global yearly challenge where millions of people give up single use plastic during the month of July. It aims to raise awareness of the amount of single use disposable plastic items in our lives and challenges people to do something about it. This year, Plastic Free July will see millions of people around the world pledge to be more aware of their plastic use and choose to refuse!

Go Plastic Free!

Going completely plastic free can seem quite daunting at the start as plastic has become an everyday staple in most of our lives. We use it without even thinking about it. Even the humble takeaway coffee cup has plastic lining in it! Our food is wrapped it in, a bottle of milk comes in it and even our toilet paper comes wrapped in it!  The supermarkets even provide plastic containers and bags in the fruit and vege section and deli for us. Convenient yes. Sustainable no! When you look around shops, and even the items in your home, you’ll find single use plastic is seemingly limitless.

But by now, we all know the dangers of using plastic. Virtually every piece of plastic ever manufactured still exists in some form today. It hangs around without biodegrading for centuries, it’s clogging the stomachs of birds and marine life and polluting our waterways and beautiful land.

So, what do we do? We’ve put together some tips and tricks to show you just how easy it can be to get involved today on this wonderful zero waste initiative.

I’m sure you know by now that Soulfull Tribe are viben everything that is sustainable and if you care about our children or even your own future this is something you need to start taking seriously too! So get on board today!

Before you start…

Gather your tribe

We're not going to lie, for anyone that is new to living a more sustainable way of life, this challenge won't be easy. So, rally your friends and family around you to give you support and maybe even recruit them to give up plastic with you! Let’s help spread the conscious message and raise awareness to shed light on the problem of plastic consumption. The more of you there are, the easier it will be to kick the plastic habit.

The most important thing to remember is not to be too hard on yourself. Some things are literally unavoidable! Even if you slip a little, don't give up and know that there are others out there doing the hard yards alongside you and collectively we are all making a difference!

“Small changes. Big difference”

Commit to a few things at a time

So you don’t get completely overwhelmed, we suggest simply committing to remove one bit of plastic from your life at a time.

If you try and go completely cold turkey and zero waste all at once, you might find yourself stressed and feeling like a failure and give up completely. Which is exactly what we don’t want! So, take the journey slow and commit to the thing you're most excited about switching out and start there.

Try a few of our simple ideas this July:

• First things first, ditch disposable straws and single-use plastic bags ASAP! These items just aren’t even in our vocabulary. How about you? Get yourself a stainless steel straw or check out the cool reusable bamboo straws available now. You can pick up easy cleaners for them for only a couple of bucks!
  

• Take your own reusable cup for a takeaway coffee. Disposable coffee cups are environmental devils, with a thin film of plastic on the inside. There are such funky eco options available for reusable takeaway cups now so not only will you be saving the Environment you will also feel extra stylish drinking from your gorgeous cup! If you can’t afford a reusable cup and you must have coffee, drink it inside, or bring your own mug and ask for it to be filled just enough so you can walk with it. Or don’t have a coffee.

• Pack your lunch box using reusable containers or use beeswax wraps instead of plastic wrap.

• Avoid buying fruit and veggies pre-packaged in plastic. Boycott these items in the supermarket and let’s send these big retailers a message that this is just unnecessary waste!

• Keep your reusable bags in the car so you never forget them!

• Ditch takeaway unless they offer a plastic free container alternative. Ask them for their options. Even bringing up the subject can cause a domino affect and encourage them to look into eco friendly alternatives!

• Take a stainless steel water bottle to fill from the tap wherever you go instead of buying bottled plastic water. Even if you can’t justify the expense of a good stainless steel bottle, re-use the plastic bottles you have and keep a record of how much money you save by refilling your bottle and taking it with you! Soon you can afford a lavish reusable one in no time!

• Look for plastic-free packaging for goods at the supermarket. Seriously is there anything better than making things with love at home? We are so spoilt for choice these days with healthy recipe books and an abundance of recipes available at our fingertips thanks to the internet and apps. Get creative and experiment in the kitchen and experience how good soul food feels in your belly! Once you ditch packaged and processed stuff you will develop a whole new standard for eating trust me!

• Bulk buy food where possible and take packaging back to be refilled where possible.

• Stop eating junk food. Not only will your body thank you but so will the Environment! Processed foods are just fake foods wrapped in fake packaging! Think every single chocolate bar and packet of chips you’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen any made from recyclable packaging! You only have to take a look along your local highway or beach to see the dangers of these throw-away wrappers. Your wallet, health and the Environment will thank you when you turf junk food all together trust me!

• Carry your own cutlery with you in your handbag. This saves us having to use disposable plastic knives, forks and spoons which are just going to be thrown out after their extremely short lifespan of approximately 10 minutes!

• Hunt through your cupboards and gather all your old jars and containers. This will stop you having to buy a heap of new eco friendly alternatives and eliminate the need to use glad wrap to wrap your leftovers in!

• Use leftovers in the kitchen. Make soups or broths with all your old vege cut offs if you don’t have a compost or chooks. This is all helping by not contributing further to food waste that just gets dumped in landfill rotting in between the plastics that can’t break down.

We hope you found these little tips useful and remember to check the Plastic Free July website for plenty more achievable ideas. 

You can do it! We all can do it!