our top four tips to help you prep for Plastic Free July

 

Have you heard of the Plastic Free July challenge? If you haven’t, the good news is...it’s essentially exactly what it sounds like.

It’s no secret that our planet faces massive issues regarding plastic waste, some of which include:

• Humans produce 380 million tons of plastic every year.
• 10 million of those tons end up in our oceans every year.
• Roughly 560 million pounds of that plastic comes from the 1.5 billion toothpaste tubes that get tossed every year.
• Because of its composition, every piece of plastic made still exists on this planet today.

This may seem overwhelming, but the Plastic Free Foundation...and all of us here at Davids...are here to remind you that raising awareness about the issue and tackling it as a community can work wonders. That’s the whole idea behind Plastic Free July!

As a natural and sustainable toothpaste brand that’s always working on ways to sustain the planet, Plastic Free July is a very exciting initiative for us. We’re extremely proud to be one of the only brands to offer a plastic free recyclable toothpaste tube (although, we hope the other brands out there catch on!), making Davids an amazing option for Plastic Free July.

To get you started, we’re sharing our top tips for preparing for the challenge. So you can feel confident fighting plastic pollution one step (and one toothpaste tube) at a time.

 

1: take inventory

The best way to get started with the Plastic Free July challenge is to understand how much plastic you use on a regular basis.

You can start by “keeping score” of the plastic you use throughout your day. For example, you may start your day by entering your bathroom to do your morning hygiene routine. As you do this, make note of any plastic soap bottles, toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, and other products that you use, and add these to your list. Then, try to estimate how often you toss+replace these products.

This online plastic footprint calculator is another useful tool to help you estimate your current plastic use….and your biggest areas for improvement. You might be surprised at the fact that a few simple swaps...like Davids plastic free toothpaste...can really reduce this footprint!

Note: We recommend revisiting this practice after Plastic Free July, too! That way, you can continue making sustainable+effective swaps. Consider keeping a Google Sheet to track your plastic-free swap goals over time. You can access it and add to it whenever you feel inspired, plus you can track your progress.

 

2: master your mindset

Here’s the thing to remember: Plastic Free July is a challenge, and challenges are…...well, challenging. That being said, we don’t want it to be totally overwhelming, just like we don’t want you to be overwhelmed by the topic of sustainability.

It’s important to always remember that small, gradual changes are sustainable for both the planet and you. In other words, don’t try to change everything all at once!

Practicing mindfulness can go a long way in promoting sustainability and self-care. Plastic Free July is the perfect opportunity to “turn off” autopilot, think about the products you use every day, and celebrate the positive impact you make when you swap these products for sustainable alternatives. When you’re intentionally making these small changes, they gradually compound over time.

 

3: commit to your swaps for the month

Now that you’ve taken inventory and tuned into your mindfulness, it’s time to commit to your plastic-free swaps for the month of July.

This challenge tracker lists common food and drink-related swaps. Consider using it as a guide to creating the same type of list for other areas of consumption. Of course, we love to use the bathroom as an example. Use the framework of the tracker to create a new list for your bathroom. Write down all of the plastic products you see...and while it’s not totally necessary...feel free to do a little research on how much plastic waste each product creates globally. (You can follow this same process to identify and commit to swaps in your kitchen and bedroom, too.)

By switching to Davids, you can eliminate your personal contribution to the 1.5 billion plastic tubes that end up in landfills every year. When you enter ***REMOVE CAP*** on line 2 of your address field at checkout, you have a completely plastic free toothpaste option.

To learn more about our sustainable packaging and why aluminum makes for the best recyclable toothpaste tube!), visit our post on sustainable packaging. For pro tips on recycling your Davids toothpaste tube, check out this video.

 

4: find resources to keep the momentum going

To keep the momentum going, find your favorite sustainable and/or plastic-free resources. Our friends at Zero Waste Cartel, Package Free Shop, and EarthHero offer amazing products and advice that will help you on your plastic-reducing journey. Not only are they passionate about plastic-free living, they’re committed to making it as simple+easy as possible...something we’re totally on board with!

Consider following brands like these (and Davids!) on Instagram to get sustainable and plastic-free inspiration during your daily scroll. This is an easy way to keep sustainability at the forefront of your mind. 

you can do it! 

To leave you with some lingering inspiration, the Plastic Free July 2020 impact report reveals that, throughout the year, their community of 326 million people successfully saved 1.9 billion pounds of plastic waste. We can’t wait to see your impact on those statistics in 2021!

The best+easiest way to kickstart your journey? Avoid contributing to the 1.5 billion plastic toothpaste tubes that go to landfills every year with our natural, plastic free toothpaste.

 

buy Davids plastic free toothpaste now.