The images of a plastic soup in the sea, are still clearly burned into my retinas. And to think that 100,000 marine animals die every year as a result. Approximately one garbage truck of plastic waste enters the sea every minute. Why are there so many companies that continue to use disposable plastic and only 90% of the plastic is recycled? This you can hardly imagine, but what can I do as a mother of a 4-month-old son, to ensure that later, when he is about 18 years old, it is not much worse? That in the coming years the world will be destroyed piece by piece? Can I bring about change on my own? What could we change within our family, our household, to do our bit for the welfare of mankind, the environment and the economy? Soon, I ended up at King Bamboo. They do not use plastic, but alternatives, including bamboo. This is where I became interested and decided to test and use some daily products.
Bamboo Toothbrush
For years I have had a problem with my toothbrush. Yes, you read it right. Within 2 days, I manage to have the bristles of my toothbrush already completely apart. I brush too hard, that's right. This did make me curious about what this would be like with the bamboo toothbrush. At the time of writing, I have been using it for 2 weeks now. To my surprise, the soft and BPA-free bristles are still like new. Lucky me, that's double win. I am helping our nature and still have a soft brush, whose bristles are still in tact. How come? No idea. The toothbrush fits comfortably in the hand and is narrow, so I automatically press less hard and my toothbrush lasts longer. The toothbrush also looks cool in the toothbrush holder and matches our natural stone-look bathroom.
Bamboo swabs
I use cotton swabs every day, previously just the ones from the supermarket. I use them to remove mascara or eye pencil under my eyes and of course to clean my ears. I didn't like using most cotton swabs. They are not sturdy and you have to hold them very tightly to keep them from bending and shooting further into your ear. So I thought it would be a good idea to replace them with bamboo swabs. You can already guess... they are firm and easy to hold. Very nice and also good for the environment. The other day I saw an ad for a cotton bud that you can wash and reuse over and over again. Not quite my thing and I find it an unhygienic idea. So how do you use it for your eyes? Then you can still buy other cotton swabs. Bamboo is naturally antibacterial and the fastest growing plant on earth, that seems like a bigger win-win to me. So I will definitely keep using these to do my part anyway. And honestly, these look super cool again and may even be shown off as far as I'm concerned.
Bamboo straw
A straw... another plastic product that is massively used and certainly not reused. In households it is also fun, especially for kids or at a party. These too can now be replaced for a bamboo straw. My first thoughts were, "cool look, does it drink pleasantly?" and most importantly to me, how do you keep this clean?". I went to test it out with a nice version of smoothie. It drinks pleasantly and you can take big sips with it if you want. After this I was in a big hurry to clean it. Because does it get clean after drinking my purple looking smoothie? (With blueberries!) With the straw comes a brush, which I used to brush the straw, including the inside, thoroughly clean within 10 seconds. There was nothing left of my smoothie, and that without dish soap. Then I thought, "now it will take at least an hour for it to dry." Again, this was not true and was able to use it again after only 5 minutes. So the straw is definitely a keeper for our little family.
What next? I think it's a good and fun start to the new developments in our household. The idea behind these products has made me enthusiastic and I would like to change more things within our household with regard to sustainability. My preference is really for bamboo products, because they are also sturdy, pleasant to use and I think they look cool. What will my next step be? A new food bowl for our dog, kitchen accessories or maybe something towards clothing? If we are going to change something again and try it out, we will definitely come back with a blog!
Are you going to make changes in your household? Every little bit helps, only together we ensure change, both for the future of perhaps your own child, the animals in the sea and not forgetting OUR planet.
Written by: Loraine Penning - de Jong