Plastic Free July

This month, for Plastic Free July, I am joining in with the #setmeplasticfree challenge by @rainbeauadventures and @earth_punk_mama on Instagram. You can find me at @littlepackofvegans.

Today's prompt is "first eco swap" and I actually can't remember exactly what our first change was. When J and I first moved into our own place in early 2017,  we had a phase of devouring documentaries about the environment and agriculture - A Plastic Ocean, The True Cost, Cowspiracy, Forks Over Knives, to name a few. It spiralled a fast change for us - transitioning to veganism and making multiple changes in our home.  I stopped buying disposable wipes having never given them a second thought (if you make one change for Plastic Free July, PLEASE stop buying disposable wipes), bought some CSP, a mooncup, reusable makeup pads, stopped impulse buying fast fashion, and switched to more eco cleaning products. I think it just triggered a mindset where every item of single use plastic became a conscious decision. Opening my eyes to the uncomfortable facts was hard but now I feel aware and enlightened that every single day I can choose to do better or to add to the problem. Some quick figures:

🌊 A truck load of plastic enters the ocean every single minute.
🌊 Plastics make up 60-90% of marine debris studied.
🌊 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1 million sea birds are killed by marine plastic pollution annually.
🌊 There is estimated to be 5.25 trillion macro and microplastic pieces in the ocean, weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.

Now, being a mama and realising that we are polluting the earth future generations are inheriting, makes me more passionate than ever that we need to make a change and fast. It's why we use reusable nappies, reusable wipes, buy secondhand. There's so much that we can do and I look forward to being inspired and learning from others this month! What changes will you be making for Plastic Free July?