Plastic Free July is in full swing!

Celebrating a journey of obstacles and success.

Sometimes we take on challenges without realising the list of difficulties that come with such decisions. Maybe we have an idea, but once the journey begins, reality can certainly challenge us. I didn’t expect to find it so many obstacles on my first day of plastic-free July this year.

It started off fine enough. My family set off for the day, each with our own keep cups and stainless steel water bottles and cutlery. I even brought my carry bags for a last-minute dinner shop.

Committing to a plastic-free July would also be changing the entire meal structures I had intended for my family. Only remembering this once I was standing in the grocery store, analysing still limited options to avoid the dreaded stuff! It really is everywhere! This meant no tortillas, no frozen berries, no pasta, or hamburger buns, and the list goes on. Then the disappointment slowly lingers in!

At the butcher…

I needed raw pet mince for our dog Koya. “Can you please just put that in a double paper bag”. I’ll be home soon enough I thought, as she grabbed the meat with a plastic bag. I was committed now… Uggh!

On the way out, a lady in a giant panda suit offered my daughter and me, a sample of some lovely Korean chicken. She offered a complimentary dish if we download their app of course. We decided to give it a go. After all, they had compostable boxes, so it seemed. We were given a paper takeaway box of a pork dish, but we try not to eat pork. We politely requested something different, if possible. The chicken perhaps? But they had run out. She returned with a plastic container of potatoes and corn. Insert a long sigh! It did look delicious.

The damage is done I thought. How annoying would it be for us to refuse this? The plastic will end up somewhere. In someone else’s hands who may be less responsible with its disposal or re-use attempts. We took the gift, said thank you, and continued home.

What’s my point with all of this?

Is plastic free July actually making a difference? Are we just making temporary edits to our daily actions for a month?

I think it is. 30 days of repetitive thought and action can help us learn and re-engrain sustainable habits into our daily lives. Those little steps always look much bigger over time.

Baby steps have led me to 4 years of carrying a reusable coffee cup every day. To a habit of being mindful. I’ve now become familiar with leaving the house with my own takeaway food containers when I need them. My stainless steel water bottle and cutlery are almost always with me nowadays.

It seems to me, the victory is found In the little inconveniences on our journeys. The challenges that thrust us into action to do something extraordinary, and change our behaviour. As those collective implementations are realised, we bring more clarity to the great strides we are making, and that is cause for celebration. We should all be proud of ourselves.

No one is perfect. Stumbling through obstacles means we are trying, and that’s fantastic! We want to encourage you on your imperfect journeys towards sustainability with a special offer. That’s why we are giving you $10 off any value pack through Plastic-free July this year. It’s these imperfect moments that become the catalyst for the beautiful changes we create for our future. We think you’re doing a great job, and we really are grateful.

Thank you so much for your support.