When I began the Plastic Free July Challenge, I did not realize that I was going to connect with so many people who are also interested in going plastic-free and zero-waste living. I’m happy to be a part of such a growing community that believes in the power of personal action.
One of my inspirations during the Challenge was fillgood.co Founder and Chief Zero Waste Officer, Stéphanie Regni. I had the opportunity to chat with Stéphanie the other day to learn more about her company and am excited to partner with her on a Reusable Produce Carry Sac giveaway during the month of August (details below.)
What is on fillgood.co?
Fillgood mission is to help people reduce single use plastics at home. Recycling is not a sustainable solution for plastics. We need to adopt plastic-free alternatives that won't pollute our environment forever. That's what inspired me to start Fillgood. I've selected all natural and safe home and body products, in a reusable or compostable packaging. You can also find the basic zero waste items like reusable utensils, straws, produce bags... And finally, what makes us unique, a local refill service: just like the milk man used to deliver milk in american homes and collect empty bottles, we deliver laundry detergent, dish soap, skincare products and more. The empty bottles are cleaned, sanitized and refilled. So far, thanks to our zero waste customers, we have avoided 1084 lbs of plastic packaging!
What inspired you do to the July Plastic Free Challenge?
When I started reducing waste at home for my family of 4, I changed the products I was using since they were all packaged in plastic. For example, I stopped purchasing liquid shampoo because 552 million plastic bottles of shampoo are discarded every ear in the US! Instead, my family uses shampoo bars: that's easy to use and avoids so much plastic waste.
A Plastic Free July Challenge was a great opportunity to learn what we can all do and be inspired, so I shared almost everything I know in these 31 blog posts, co-written with Zero Waste California.
In this journey in the zero waste community, I realized there are so many little changes we can make everyday, easy changes that make a real difference for our environment. In addition, changing our lifestyle to be respectful of our beautiful planet is also a way to be happier everyday. It's impossible to change everything at once but as I say all the time, start somewhere, pick one thing from the challenge and when you've found your plastic-free alternative, start another one. It's a step by step process.
What are three things you learned from the Plastic Free Challenge?
I spent hours of research each week to write my Plastic Free July Challenge blog posts. This helped me a lot in getting new plastic-free habits:
- I learned how to organize a birthday party without plastic and with sustainable goodie bags
- My daughters are too old for diapers but I learned a lot about cloth diapers. Although it's a big challenge, it's less complicated than I thought. And this was an opportunity to make my own diaper change lotion, which is actually an excellent makeup and face painting remover!
- When it comes to shaving, the main zero waste solution people talk about is razors. Personally I prefer waxing, so I found an all natural sugar wax recipe and it's awesome!
What are three things you will continue to do?
Purchase plastic free makeup products: I've just found great brands online, now I'm in the testing phase, but I won't go back to plastic packaging.
Bring my own containers for food leftovers: each time I'm going to a restaurant, I'm trying to remember to bring a stainless steel container. I hate to waste food and I don't want to get stuck with another plastic to go box. It's a work in progress. Same when I order on the go: hot food in a plastic container is very unhealthy, toxic plastic additives leach into the food. A good old mason jar will perfectly do the job!
Refuse single use plastics more and more, especially all these little plastic things we receive as "gifts": samples, little toys, balloons... these can never be recycled, they are pilling up in our environment. Refusing is the most efficient solution to stop the plastic pollution crisis.
I hope the lessons that Stéphanie shared from Plastic Free July help you reduce the amount of plastic you use. A
Every week until August 30th we will give away one these beautiful Reusable Cotton Produce Sacs.
The rules:
- Place an order or sign up to our newsletter here → https://mailchi.mp/fillgood.co/bemindfulgiveaway
- Follow us and fillgood.co on Instagram or Facebook: @fillgood.co and @bemindfultruckee
We’ll draw a winner every Thursday of August: the 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th!
Orders and newsletter signups considered are the ones placed the week before. For example, on Thursday 9th, we’ll take into account the orders and signups placed between August 2nd and 8th.
Entrants must have a US shipping address. A winner will be randomly selected, must not be affiliated with Instagram or Facebook. Giveaway closes on Wednesday August 29th at midnight.
The best way to reduce plastic pollution is to refuse, rethink, and reduce what we consume. Check out fillgood.co for your Zero Waste shopping needs and follow on instagram!