More than just a pledge to reduce plastic waste for a month, Plastic Free July is one of the biggest environmental movements of our time. Rebecca Prince-Ruiz (founder of the Plastic Free Foundation) and a small team in Australia started Plastic Free July in 2011, and in just over a decade, it has grown from a simple inspiring initiative to a full-blown global movement.

While a 100% plastic-free month might sound daunting, the core purpose of Plastic Free July is to increase awareness around plastic consumption and empower you to make simple swaps you can continue for months and years to come. Trust us, once you start making these mindful swaps (like switching from conventional toothpaste to our zero waste toothpaste), they can quickly become second nature.

To spark some inspiration, let’s start by unwrapping some of the extraordinary positive impacts of Plastic Free July.

the incredible impacts of Plastic Free July

In just five years, Plastic Free July participants have saved 1.4 billion kgs of plastic and a whopping 10 billion kgs of total waste. In 2023 alone…

• 89 million people in over 190 countries participated in Plastic Free July.
• In their households, participants avoided:
• 900 million kg of non-recoverable waste.
• 700 million kg of recyclable waste.
• 240 million kg of plastic waste.
• The movement reached 29% of consumers.
• 87% of challenge participants maintained at least one lasting change.

The top six participating countries included China, India, the US, South Korea, Italy, and Brazil. Let’s keep it up this year! You can take the challenge and explore resources to get you started on your journey. We’re sharing some of our top tips below!

our top tips to get you started

As the ancient proverb goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

1. master mindfulness. Whether you’re mindful of it or not, you’re going to encounter plastics every single day…probably everywhere you go! By taking your brain out of autopilot and shifting into mindfulness, you can start to take note of all the unnecessary plastics in your life. We encourage you to pause, take a deep breath, and scan your body and your surroundings throughout your day. You might be surprised how much this helps with your Plastic Free July journey!
2. start small. Before Plastic Free July rolls around, try to take inventory of some single-use plastic products you run into daily/weekly. Maybe it’s plastic produce bags at the grocery store or the lid on your take-out coffee cup. Start there!
3. keep a list. Identify plastic products room by room in your home/workplace. In the bathroom, you might find items like shampoo and conditioner bottles, plastic toothpaste tubes, or deodorant. In your kitchen, think of things like cleaning products, dish soap, and paper towels (which usually come packaged in plastic). Keep a list of these, so that when you run out of your current items, you can replace them with plastic-free alternatives even after Plastic Free July!
4. ask for (or bring) alternatives when you go out. Dining out is a huge culprit when it comes to single-use plastic waste. When getting started on Plastic Free July, be prepared for common plastics when you go out: skip the straw, bring your own cutlery, ask for paper to-go boxes, and skip the plastic bag. This is a great way to make an impact and spread the word to your friends (and restaurant staff) throughout Plastic Free July!

Check out the Getting Started page on the Plastic Free July website to explore their tips for avoiding plastic produce bags, coffee cups, plastic bags, meat packaging, and so much more.

simple plastic-free swaps from Davids

More and more people are catching on to the fact that the conventional oral care world has some pretty dirty plastic secrets, and we’re so proud to bring you premium plastic-free products that challenge the status quo. Here are a few of our favorite Davids oral care swaps to kickstart your Plastic Free July.

1. refillable floss: if we assume that every person in the US purchases three floss containers per year, that’s over 700 million plastic containers thrown away annually in the US alone. Note that this is only an estimate, as many people don’t floss (which is a tragedy in itself). Our refillable floss solves this plastic waste problem…you never have to throw it away! Simply grab a refill to put in your existing container, so you can easily start reducing this shocking 700 million number.
2. zero waste toothpaste: you’ve probably heard us say this before, but it’s estimated that close to one billion plastic toothpaste tubes make their way into landfills and pollute natural ecosystems every year in the US. Our zero waste toothpaste comes packaged in an infinitely recyclable aluminum tube, so you can avoid contributing to this pile of tubes. Not to mention, you can enter the following message on Line 2 of your address field at checkout to truly make it a zero waste toothpaste!  ***REMOVE TUBE KEY/CAP/BOX***
3. bamboo toothbrush: just like toothpaste tubes, Americans throw away over one billion plastic toothbrushes per year. You can avoid contributing to this issue by swapping to a bamboo toothbrush, which can decompose in as little as a few weeks when you send it to a commercial composter in your area. Not to mention, bamboo is naturally antibacterial, and bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. It’s the perfect material for a household item that must be replaced every three months!
4. stainless steel tongue scraper: some tongue scrapers out there are made with plastic grips (or made completely out of plastic). Our stainless steel tongue scraper is exactly that…100% stainless steel. It’s durable, effective, easy to use (preferred by dental professionals), and dishwasher safe, so you can use it safely for the rest of your life. Consider it the perfect addition to your long-term, plastic-free oral care routine!

The best part? These simple swaps can easily lead to long-lasting changes, nurturing your health and the health of the planet far beyond Plastic Free July!

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