Soaper Heroes!

Reducing the amount of plastic packaging is a first step in being more eco conscious. Plastic was first invented in the early 1900’s and has some really important uses. In the 1950’s with the introduction of polymer film it was being used widely for food packaging given its great properties of being hygienic, flexible, transparent and low cost to produce, although at the time little regard with given to the impact on the environment of mass producing plastic.

Humankind’s desire for convenience has inconvenienced the planet.

Its become a big problem with plastic ending up in the oceans making the planet and eco system become more unhealthy.

Some types of plastic can be recycled but it’s a difficult balance as the cost of the raw materials often means that virgin plastic is less expensive to produce that all the energy that goes into the recycling process and then the limited uses of the recycled polymer. This means that more virgin plastic is being produced than is being recycled and reused and there isn’t the economic argument to do it.

It is better in my opinion just to not use plastic at all where possible and actively choose sustainable alternatives. In looking at ways to reduce plastic on the home, the bathroom is a good place to start. From my days working at Boots Head Office on the toiletries department, soaps were never the fashion, they always come at the bottom of the sales reports and often the lines that were marked to be discontinued. With the issues of plastic in oceans becoming more prevalent in the media, times are changing and I think soap sales will be trending up.

I sourced this friendly soap bar for the Father’s Day pop up stall at school from a local heath food shop. I’d never really thought of using the shop before, partly because I didn’t know it existed and I was misunderstood about what they sold. I often thought of them being really expensive and slightly alternative vitamins etc but to my surprise there are some really good reasons to use these shops. You can buy in bulk, ‘free from’ ranges and reduce plastic with buying by weight (staples like pasta and rice) and they often offer to deliver locally too. They gave me a deal on the soaps to cost them in for my £2 budget which was great!

These friendly soaps came in a card box and are free from all parabens, vegan and palm oil fee (palm oil is another green issue at the moment for another post). I am a big convert to this soap, not only does it reduce the need for lots of plastic bottles on the side of the bath but it is a body wash, shampoo and shaving bar and laundry soap all in one. I use it for shaving, it also gets my son’s hair cleaner than anything else I’ve tried and he doesn’t mind the gentle fragrance. One bar lasts for a lot longer than the equivalent bottles of wash. I even took it away with us and successfully used it as a laundry soap on holiday for the few things we needed.

Yes this friendly little soap really is the super hero of the bathroom and if more people gave it a try it could bring back the days of soaps. We could see some really exciting green innovations with good old fashioned soap and water.