At Earth Animal, we’re all about making the planet a sustainable, healthy place to live. That’s why the Earth Animal team is taking the Plastic-Free July® challenge, and you can do it too!
While sustainability has become a business imperative today, it has been at the heart of our company since the very beginning. Today, more than 50% of our packaging is made from recycled materials. But we know we need to go further. That’s why we are committed to making 100% of our packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.
It’s time to kick our plastic habit, as a business and as individuals. But let’s start with a few basic facts.
Why Should You Care About Plastic Pollution?
Here is the ugly truth about all those so-called convenient plastic items we use every day. The real truth is that pollution isn’t convenient for anyone, but here are some key facts from National Geographic you should know about plastic pollution.
1. 50% of All Plastics Ever Made Were Made in the Last 20 Years
You read that correctly. We think of plastic as something that has been around for a long time, but it’s just not true. Our manufacture of plastics has exponentially increased from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to a whopping 8.3 billion tons, and most of that production has happened in the last 20 years. What’s more, the production of plastic is expected to double by 2050. That’s not good news for Mother Earth.
2. Each Year, 8 Million Tons of Plastic Gets into the Ocean
You’ve seen the images of plastic floating in what are otherwise beautiful ocean environments where it is wreaking havoc on ocean life. You’ve also undoubtedly heard about microplastics that are being found in the food chain. In fact, microplastics have been found in human blood and lungs! That’s not going to end well.
3. It Takes At Least 400 Years for Some Plastics to Break Down
That’s right, 400 years. Many plastics contain additives that are designed to make them more durable. That’s not so great when they become litter.
While plastic was once hailed as a marvelous new invention, we have to recognize that it’s become more of a Frankenstein’s monster. It’s time to tame our plastic habit. That’s what Plastic-Free July is all about!
What is Plastic-Free July®?
Plastic-Free July® is all about kicking your plastic habit, and the Plastic-Free Foundation wants to help you do just that. The idea is to reduce your plastic waste, preferably to zero, in the month of July.
Plastic Free July® is a worldwide movement that wants to involve everyone as part of our plastic pollution solution. The challenge is for you to refuse to use any single-use plastics in the month of July. They’re betting, and Earth Animal agrees, that once you see how easy it is to stop using single-use plastics, you’ll kick the habit forever.
Don’t Know How Much Plastic You Use? Take the Quiz!
The first step in the challenge is to take the Plastic-Free July® quiz. This quiz will help you understand how much plastic you’re currently using. It also helps the Plastic-Free Foundation track the use of plastic worldwide.
It’s helpful to understand the trends so that experts can see where alternative solutions can help reduce the use of plastic. It also lets you see where you might be using plastics that you didn’t even realize, and it lets you measure your success after the Plastic-Free July challenge.
Don’t worry, the quiz is anonymous, so you won’t get a visit from the plastic police. It’s just that knowledge is power, and if you’re going to work toward a solution, you first have to know how bad the problem is.
How Can You Reduce Your Plastic Use?
That’s a good question, and the Plastic-Free Foundation has some great answers. There are several things you might already have thought about. For example, you might already take your reusable grocery bags to the store instead of using plastic bags.
You might also have heard about using reusable or paper straws instead of plastic straws. If you haven’t heard of those suggestions, it’s a great place to start, but there’s more you can do.
For example, you can shop for food in bulk or buy loose food to put in your own reusable containers. For women, there are alternatives to using single-use menstrual pads and tampons. For men, you can avoid single-use razors, and everyone can use bar soap instead of liquid soap in a plastic container.
You can also bring a reusable coffee cup to your favorite cafe. You can even choose a toothbrush with a replaceable head so that you can cut down on the need to buy a new plastic toothbrush every few months.
Why Is It Important to Go Plastic-Free?
First of all, nature never intended plastic to be a part of the human body or any other animal’s body. There is likely to be a significant impact on human health from those so-called nano-plastics that have already been found in our tissue.
We already know that some of the chemicals found in certain plastics – phthalates and bisphenols – can negatively affect your health, particularly for pregnant women and young children.
It’s also clear that plastic pollution is having a devastating effect on our environment. It’s threatening wildlife as well as our beautiful natural habitats around the world. That’s a good reason to go plastic-free!
Final Thoughts
We’ve only got one planet to live on, and if we don’t take care of it, it won’t only be the animals that are affected. But you can do something to help make the world a better place for everyone. Join the Plastic-Free July® challenge and kick the single-use plastic habit. We’ve lived without plastic before and we can do it again – for our environment, our planet, and our own health.
Check out some inspirational stories of people who have managed to kick the habit here! Then you can add your own inspirational story! At Earth Animal, we’re dedicated to making the world a better place. Check out our website for all-natural, sustainable pet products so that your best friends can be plastic-free too!
