5 Ethical Products that reduce plastic & give back

As they say Rome wasn't built in a day and unless you have been living under a rock this past year you will have seen and heard the urgency there is for us to make changes, especially when it comes to our over-use of plastic through disposable items as well as other high-impact goods. The thing is we all have to get up and go to work, do school runs, feed our families and we are simply not all in the position to get rid of everything we own and live in a solar-powered yurt (which I would love to do by the way!). We do all have to make changes but as we know in general most people are hard to change so the best way forward is to find more sustainable and ethical replacements for items we use daily.

Keep Cup

The Keep Cup is one of the best Barista standard reusable cups on the market and whether you opt for the robust glass model or their non-toxic lightweight plastic model by using one of these instead of plastic coated disposable cups you are saving on average around 3kg in plastic a year. This one simple change will have a big impact especially as disposable coffee cups are hard to recycle due to the polyethene lining.

Luckily even when your Keep Cup comes to the end of its life it too is completely recyclable and they have also teamed up with some charities such as the Unseen Keep cup which donates £5 each cup towards Unseen's work with survivors of modern Slavery or you could opt for the Sea Shepherd cups which donate 15% towards their vessel patrols that are on the front line of ocean conversation.

Who Gives A Crap

I love this creative, cool and very charitable company that produces toilet roll that really gives back. They donate 50% of their profits towards building toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world and to date have donated more than 1.1 million dollars and they are just getting started. Also the toilet roll is made with either sustainable bamboo fibre or 100% recycled forest friendly paper. Such an easy sustainable change to make and costs around the same price as your normal roll except you buy in larger sizes.

The Pearly White Club 

Last month I had the chance to review The Pearly White Club, the UK's first environmentally friendly bamboo toothbrush subscription and I was really impressed and won over. It's just such a simple change that can make an impact on what you send to the landfill with no compromise on quality. These toothbrushes are naturally biodegradable meaning even when it comes to replacing them they decompose over a short amount of time. The Pearly White Club has also teamed up with New Hope, a homeless charity and a donation is made with every subscription.

Bees Wax Wraps

One of the most sustainable things we can do is buy as local as possible and I am loving this small reusable food packing company from the Cotswolds. They hand make their food wraps in Stroud using 100% cotton and locally sourced bees wax. These food wraps can be used in the same was as clingfilm and keep your food fresh and clean as they are naturally antibacterial and have antifungal properties and can be washed in cold water with a little soap and then used again. They are also biodegradable and each wrap should last up to a year.

Reusable Straws

Plastic bottles aside another product that is proving detrimental to the environment is straws and while I don't use them personally I do have children and as we all know children love straws so instead of buying a cheap box of 100 why not invest in some long-lasting easy to clean reusable ones like these from the British Brand Seraphina's Kitchen and is stocked by Buy Me Once a fantastic online store with a strong ethos on encouraging people to invest in things that are long lasting, can be reused and reduce waste.

I have not been sponsored or asked to do this post - these are all products I genuinely love and use.