There is a rising awareness of plastic pollution and more of us are reconsidering our everyday choices. A lot of articles, tv programmes and famous people are discussing the topic of plastic mountains at our landfill sites and plastic islands in our oceans. But plastic pollution can be sometimes almost invisible and in this blogpost we would like to focus on these tiny bits and on how can we beat them.
Microplastics
Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic. They can be less than five millimeters long and are often too small to see with the naked eye. Microplastic pollution can be very harmful to our ocean and aquatic life. There are trillions of pieces of microplastic in our oceans affecting the wildlife and humans too.
They come from a variety of sources. Over time things like bottles, carrier bags, clothing and toys break down into smaller pieces.
Microbeads
Another source of plastic pollution are microbeads. They are often used in cosmetics and body care products, like toothpaste, soaps, shower gels or face scrubs. The big trouble with these seemingly useful little beads is that they are small enough to slip through filters and get into the oceans. Microscopic plankton can eat them, while plankton can serve as food for crabs and fish, this is one of the ways the microbeads can make their way up through the food chain to our plate.
There is good news, Microbeads were banned from a number of everyday products manufactured in the UK since January 2018.
Fortunately, there are many alternatives of natural products to choose from and by now many of us know how to avoid using skincare and cosmetic products with plastic microbeads.
Still many mainstream cosmetic products (waterproof lipstick, mascara, even sunscreen products) contain plastic ingredients, like polyacrylate, polyurethane or styrene acrylates copolymer which work as thickeners etc.
But how can you avoid them? Look for the zero logo.
Look for the Zero
We at Magical Tree are worried about nature. We grew up in a world where glass bottles and jars were brought back to shops to be recycled, natural materials were used for making furniture and people weren’t throwing away litter while walking on the street. Our grandparents reused everything they could.
We implement tiny tricks into our everyday life to make it more eco friendly both in the household and in personal care.
We are strictly against using microplastics in cosmetics and skincare products. Therefore we decided to never use them in our products. We stand for the complete banning of microplastics in all countries and therefore support the Beat the Microbead campaign. We are proud to say that from August 2018 all of our products bear the Zero plastic inside logo. This guarantees that our products are 100% free of microplastic ingredients. You can find us listed on the Beat the Microbead website.
Recyclable product packaging
We are not only against using microplastics in our products but we try to use as little plastic as possible in our packaging. We use eco friendly, recycled and recyclable materials whenever we can and permitted by regulations.
This is the reason behind our choosing for our packaging. We decided to go for glass; it is more durable; easy to sterilise and it can be recycled indefinitely. As an added bonus it will not react with the natural oils in our products, compared to plastic.
We are using tin lids with EPE lining for the pots to comply with the cosmetic regulations. While our bottles have a lid with pipette, made of rubber, plastic and glass. Nevertheless these bits and bobs are all recyclable.
No unnecessary extra packaging
Most cosmetic products these days come in a neatly designed cardboard box. They might be pleasing for the eyes but have almost no use at all. We believe this is totally unnecessary as it produces more waste, needs printing, which in most cases is not environmentally friendly and is eventually landing in the bin right after purchase. Therefore our products do not have any extra cardboard packaging.
The only paper we use in our packaging is the one we are shipping the products in: cardboard box and filling, made of recycled materials which of course can recycled by our customers after they have received our products.
Make a difference
It is easy to say “Use less plastic” while there is an abundance of plastic around us and we can’t escape from it, the lid of the takeaway coffee to our toothbrush at home but there are still some ways to find non-plastic solutions for our everyday life:
- Carry a reusable bottle with you; Invest in a refillable bottle made out of glass or stainless steel. We usually reuse glass bottles of cordials and mineral waters we bought once. The only important thing you need to take extra care of is to clean these bottles once a day thoroughly to get rid of any germs.
- Ban plastic straws; Next time you order at the bar, think about whether you really need a straw with your drink. If you don’t need it just simply say no to having a plastic straw before you get your drink (or ask for a paper one).
- Switch to textile and eco bags; You can never have enough bags when doing the big weekend shop. It is always handy to have some nicely folded eco or textile bags in the boot of your car, in the basket of your bike or in your handbag.
- Have lunch from a bamboo food box; Many of them are not only practical and good alternatives for plastic, but they are often well designed and look very trendy.
- Say no to plastic toothbrushes; There is always the option of bamboo or wood handled brushes with BPA free plastic bristles. Although it is not entirely plastic free but it is halfway between eco-friendliness and hygenic dental care.
- Take your own cup when you buy a takeaway coffee. There are billions of takeaway coffee; lids; stirrers; cups etc, landing in the bin in the UK alone, most of which are not recycled or recyclable at all. Why don’t you make a difference and have your own bespoke cup you can reuse again and again.
- Look for eco clothing or for clothes made of natural textiles. Choose leather shoes; blouses and shirts made of cotton; wool coats and jumpers. If you are vegan it might be a bit more difficult, but there are always alternatives.
Although none of us can avoid plastic entirely we all can do a lot for reducing the usage of plastic in our everyday life.
We at Magical Tree can promise one thing for sure: We will never use plastic based ingredients in our product formulations.
Emmy & Laz
