Plastic-Free Shopping – It’s That Easy!
The zero-waste movement is in full swing, and plastic-free shopping is getting easier. Either online or offline. Either without plastic packaging or completely plastic-free. The possibilities for our plastic-free purchases are many! It seems that our society is slowly getting enough artificial plastic and consuming it more consciously. Half a century after the meteoric rise of plastic, the time has come! The change in consumption is the reason why more and more stores without packaging and online stores for plastic-free shopping are emerging.
Today I will show you in detail how you can shop without plastic in the spirit of the Zero Waste movement. You will discover things for your plastic-free shopping, unpacked stores, online stores, and an application to avoid microplastics in cosmetics and Co.
Before we begin, here is a short table of contents for you:
- 10 Ideas That Make Plastic – Free Shopping Easier
- Unpacked Stores, Where You Can Shop Without Packaging
- Online Stores Where You Can Buy Your Product Plastic Free Online
- Application Tip for Rapid Detection of Microplastics in Consumer Goods
10 IDEAS THAT MAKE SHOPPING WITHOUT PLASTIC EASIER
You don’t necessarily have to be in the store without packaging if you want to shop without plastic. If you are careful, you can also buy plastic-free at Edeka, Lidl, and other supermarkets. I will show you how you can improve your quality of life if you don’t use plastic. Next, I will show you 5 items for your plastic-free purchases, and I will give you 5 tips to avoid plastic products.
5 ITEMS FOR PLASTIC-FREE SHOPPING
There are some things that you should always carry with you when you want to shop without plastic. See also the Zero Waste Basic Kit article. These little helpers will help you avoid plastic containers and bags. Next, I would like to present my 5 most important things to buy without plastic:
BAGS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
So that you can also buy apples, mushrooms, broccoli, and company without plastic, without them flying from one place to another, and are individually shredded, fruit and vegetable nets or bags are wonderful support. Each of us should automatically take the reusable mosquito nets every time we buy since they allow us to buy without plastic, even in the well-known large supermarkets. Goodbye to plastic bags.
JUTE BAGS
Must become the standard before each purchase. Because with the jute bag, plastic-free purchases can be transported very well in and out of the market as well as on the way home. Alternatively, of course, the good old backpack and shopping on the spot with the shopping cart are also possible. You can find permanently reusable jute bags at all supermarkets.
DRINK BOTTLE
For me, “plastic-free shopping” also includes regular Coffe2Go or water in plastic bottles. Because that makes plastic waste endless, and that can be prevented by bringing a cup or bottle to drink. Switch to tap water – it’s healthier, cheaper, plastic-free, and saves you from having to carry heavy transport home. You can also use the water bottle that you brought and fill it with the refill program in many cafes.
LUNCHBOXES
With stainless steel lunch boxes, you can shop without plastic at the sausage and cheese counter. It still doesn’t work everywhere, but once you’ve figured out where to go, you can always take your lunch box with you. Stainless steel cans are great for all unpackaged stores too! Here you can have the cans weighed in advance and only pay for what you actually bought.
MASON GLAS
Like the lunch box, the screw-on jars can also be beautifully filled in the store without packaging. Just weigh it beforehand, and you only pay by the weight of the food you buy. It doesn’t matter if pasta, nuts, or whatever. Canning jars with clips or screw caps are also perfect for kitchen storage. And they look great too!
5 TIPS FOR SHOPPING WITHOUT PLASTIC
You already know the items to buy without plastic. With these 5 tips, you can avoid plastic items directly in the supermarket.
THINK AHEAD
For you to truly shop without plastic, a little preliminary planning is necessary. So don’t forget the above things before you leave your apartment for the grocery store. Because without a backpack, jute bag, fruit and vegetable net, or glass jar, it is difficult to buy food without plastic. I promise you this will be real meat and bone no later than after your third purchase.
GLASS INSTEAD OF PLASTIC
Everything that is also available in glass as an alternative to plastic makes it much more flexible in plastic-free purchases. For example, replace the sauces in the plastic tubes with sauces in a glass or the yogurt in the plastic container with yogurt in a glass. Think what you want, but I think you can also tell the difference.
PAPER INSTEAD OF PLASTIC
Many things like pasta, rice, and co. are generally sold in cartons without plastic bags or plastic windows. So you can buy your usual groceries at the grocery store and still go plastic-free. Little disappointment: sometimes a small plastic window on the package in a normal supermarket cannot be avoided.
COOK YOURSELF INSTEAD OF FINISHED MEALS
Pre-cooking, or “Meal Prep” as it has been called recently, also helps you shop without plastic. As the? By making the foods you buy your own without plastic, you can avoid unhealthy, plastic-wrapped convenience foods. Find out here on the DIY blog what else you can do yourself.
AVOIDING MICROPLASTIC PRODUCTS
I still miss a topic because it is not seen directly, and it hides behind many technical terms on the product packaging: Microplastics! Microplastics in cosmetics are used for economical stretching and enter our waters directly through the drain. With the Code Check app, you can check any product in seconds. I’ll introduce them to you in a moment.
Unpacked stores are the measure of all things because they make plastic-free shopping easier than ever. Here you can bring your reusable packaging or buy it on the spot and just fill up the groceries. That springs from the ground in a very short time through crowdfunding (financial support for those interested).
PLASTIC-FREE SHOPPING AS A FUTURE CONCEPT
Plastic-free shopping without packaging. Supermarkets like Original Unpacked, as I said, do without packaging, and goods are usually offered openly. In addition to food such as pasta, rice, nuts, and the like, you can also get detergents, soap, hairbrushes, and dish brushes without plastic in plastic-free supermarkets. You can easily fill the food yourself from dispensers, depending on the desired amount. You can spoon herbs from large glasses and oil from the canister. The prices are good.
The basic concept of all unpacked stores is the same. And it’s great. Because unpackaged stores create new opportunities that shake up our society and save energy and limited resources (oil). Often advertised to regional farmers, from producer to consumer, plastic-free shopping is a complete affair. Since everyone gets the desired amount per gram, food waste is also limited. Unpackaged stores are pioneers in the zero waste movement and have made it clear that consumer culture is slowly changing. Less plastic waste, more conscious consumption.
Intelligent minds have already changed; all others will follow. Before the introduction of plastic (more on this in the article
What is plastic?) People were consuming naturally in a more natural way. Plastic has brought many benefits that have overwhelmed us. We see the downsides today. Too late, but we see her. And now something is finally moving. And plastic-free shopping in unwrapped stores is representative of this movement.
In addition to the many great unpackaged stores, you can also shop online without plastic. Because now some numerous online stores or suppliers ship their products without plastic. So now you can consume plastic-free online without littering. I would like to introduce you to 3 alternatives that you can use to buy plastic for free online. I am currently expanding one of them to facilitate plastic-free shopping.
CAREELITE PLASTIC-FREE STORE
I am expanding CareElite`s plastic-free store for plastic-free products every day. Even with your help. Here you can buy plastic-free products made by other suppliers or by me. The items are divided into categories that make it easy for you to shop without plastic. With every purchase, you promote our beach cleaning around the world and our on-site awareness work.
MONOMER ONLINE SHOP
I am a true fan of Monomeer. Here you can buy plastic-free, also in every conceivable category, products are shipped without plastic, and great importance is attached to sustainability. Just take a look!
LAGUNA ONLINE STORE
The Laguna online store also offers you the option of buying online without plastic. The items are 100% plastic-free and available free of charge for orders of € 59 or more. I like the wide range of Laguna Shop, and that here too special attention is paid to sustainability, conscientious production, and longevity of the products.
The now wide selection of plastic-free online stores and variety of items set the stage for plastic-free online shopping. In addition to the many online stores, there are also a large number of suppliers that are gradually converting their plastic packaged products to plastic-free products. The tremendous growth of the zero waste movement will have some astute entrepreneurs rethinking their approach in the coming months. So it is desirable.
PLASTIC-FREE SHOPPING WITHOUT MICROPLASTICS (APPLICATION TIP)
Shopping without plastic does not only mean buying without packaging but also buying products without microplastics. Because, as already mentioned earlier in the article, there is not a single problem with plastic packaging waste. Many items also contain plastic. That is, microplastics, plastic less than 5 mm. Small pearls are added to many care products for stretching. That is why we have a huge problem with microplastics in all cosmetics around the world. The problem: the globules are so small that they reach our waters directly through our drains since they cannot yet be filtered in the wastewater treatment plants. That is why the current motto here is: The consumer has to take care of it himself! I will show you the easiest way to do this now.
THE CODECHECK APP AS A HELP
“How can I know now if a product contains microplastics? Nobody understands all the technical terms on the back! “This is exactly the question that the founders of CodeCheck faced. The application helps many people today to identify microplastics and other ingredients that are harmful to health and the environment (such as palm oil) in consumer goods. And that’s how easy it is to shop 100% plastic-free with the CodeCheck app:
- Download App (Google Playstore or Appstore)
- Scan the barcode on the back of the product
- See which ingredients are questionable
Very easy, right? No? The scan takes about 3 seconds and gives you certainty about the ingredients of the consumer goods. Test it.
It doesn’t matter if you buy plastic-free online or offline. It is important that you understand the basic problem with plastic waste in the environment and consume it more consciously. You are a role model for many, many people on our planet.
