The Zero Waste Movement is in full swing and plastic free shopping becomes easier with each passing day. Whether online or offline. Whether without plastic packaging or completely plastic-free. There are many ways to shop without plastic! It seems that our society has slowly had enough of artificial plastic and is consuming more consciously. Half a century after the meteoric rise of plastic, it really is about time! The change in consumption is the reason why more and more unpackaged stores and online stores for plastic-free shopping are springing up.
Today I'm going to show you in detail how you can shop plastic-free in line with the Zero Waste movement. You will learn things for your plastic-free shopping, unpackaged stores, online stores and an app to avoid plastic waste. Microplastics in cosmetics& Co.
Before we get started, here is a short Table of contents for you:
- 10 ideasthat make plastic-free shopping easier
- Unpackaged storeswhere you can shop packaging free
- Online storeswhere you can get your product online plastic free
- App Tipto quickly detect microplastics in consumer goods
10 ideas that make plastic-free shopping easier
It doesn't necessarily have to be the unpackaged store if you want to shop plastic-free. If you pay a little attention, you can also shop plastic-free at Edeka, Lidl and other supermarkets. I'll show you how you can improve your quality of life by avoiding plastic. Below I will show you 5 items for your plastic-free shopping and give you 5 tips on how to avoid plastic products.
5 items to be able to shop plastic-free
There are a few things you should always have with you if you want to shop plastic-free. See also the article Zero Waste Basic Equipment. These little helpers will help you avoid packaging and plastic bags. Below I present my 5 most important things for shopping without plastic:
Fruit and vegetable bags
So that you can also buy apples, mushrooms, broccoli & co. plastic-free without them flying around and being crushed individually, there are Fruit and vegetable nets or bags are a wonderful support. Each of us should automatically take the reusable nets with us every time we go shopping, because they make shopping without plastic possible even in the well-known large supermarkets. Goodbye plastic bag.
Jute bag
should become standard before every purchase. Because with the Jute bag plastic-free shopping can be transported very easily both at the market and on the way home. Alternatively, the good old rucksack and a shopping basket will do just as well. You can actually get eternally reusable jute bags at any supermarket checkout or via the following link.
Drinking bottle
For me, "plastic-free shopping" also includes regular Coffe2Go or water in plastic bottles. Because this creates plastic waste without end and this can be prevented by bringing your own cup or drinking bottle. Switch to tap water, it's healthier, cheaper, plastic-free and saves you the hassle of lugging it to your home. Also use your water bottle to bring with you and refill them with the refill program at many cafes in Germany.
Lunch boxes
With Stainless steel lunch boxes you can shop plastic-free at the sausage and cheese counter. This is not yet possible everywhere, but once you have found out where you can, you can always take your lunchbox with you. The stainless steel cans are also ideal for all unpackaged stores! Here you can have the cans weighed beforehand and only pay for what you have actually bought.
Preserving jars
Just like the lunch box, screw-top jars can also be filled up wonderfully in the unpacked food store. Simply weigh them out beforehand and you only pay for the weight of the food you buy. No matter whether it's pasta, nuts or whatever. For storage in the kitchen, the Preserving jars with swing top or screw cap are also perfect. And they look really good too!
5 tips for your plastic-free shopping
You have now learned about plastic-free shopping. With these 5 tips, you can avoid plastic items directly at the supermarket.
Thinking ahead
A little pre-planning is necessary so that you can really shop completely plastic-free. So don't forget the things mentioned above before you leave your home to go to the grocery store. Because without a rucksack, jute bag, fruit and vegetable net or preserving jar, it's difficult to shop for groceries completely plastic-free. I promise you, this will become second nature after the third purchase at the latest.
Glass instead of plastic
Anything that is available in glass as an alternative to plastic makes you much more flexible when it comes to plastic-free shopping. For example, replace sauces from plastic tubes with sauces in a jar or yogurt from plastic packaging with yogurt in a jar. Think what you want, but I think you can taste the difference.
Paper instead of plastic
Many things such as pasta, rice, etc. are usually sold in cardboard packaging without plastic bags or plastic windows. So you can buy your usual food in the supermarket and still stay plastic-free. A small drawback: Sometimes you can't get around a small plastic window in the package in a normal supermarket.
Cooking yourself instead of ready meals
Pre-cooking or "meal prepping", as it is now called, also helps you to shop plastic-free. How does that work? By making your own meals from the food you buy without plastic, you can avoid unhealthy ready meals packaged in plastic. Learn here in the Do It Yourself Blogwhat things you can still do yourself!
Avoid microplastic products
One topic that I still miss out on because it's not directly visible and it's hidden behind a lot of technical terms on product packaging: microplastics! Microplastics in cosmetics is used for cheap stretching and goes directly through the drain into our waters. With the App CodeCheck you can check every product in a few seconds. I'll introduce you to them in more detail in a moment.
Unpackaged stores are the measure of all things, as they make plastic-free shopping easier than ever before. Here you can bring your own reusable packaging or buy it on site and simply have your food filled. Almost every day, another unpackaged store pops up in Germany, sprouting up within a very short space of time thanks to crowdfunding (financial support from interested people).
Original Unverpackt from Berlin as origin
I don't know whether Milena deliberately chose the name "Original Unverpackt" when she set up her own packaging-free supermarket to mark the fact that she was the first person in Germany to set up a store of this kind. It certainly fits. Because with the great interest shown by many Berliners, Milena Grabowski has laid the foundation for many more unpackaged stores in Germany, which ensure that people can shop plastic-free.
Plastic-free shopping as a concept for the future
Plastic-free shopping without any packaging. Supermarkets such as Original Unverpackt manage without packaging and goods are usually sold open. In addition to foods such as pasta, rice, nuts etc., plastic-free supermarkets also sell plastic-free washing powder, soap, hairbrushes and dishwashing brushes. You can easily fill the food yourself from dispensers, depending on the desired quantity. Herbs can be spooned out of large jars and oil is available from a canister. The prices are good.
Here you will find a continuous list of unpackaged stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The basic concept of all unpackaged stores is the same. And it's great. Because the unpackaged stores create new opportunities that shake up our society and save energy and limited resources (oil).Regional farmersplastic-free shopping is a well-rounded concept, from the producer to the consumer. As everyone gets the exact amount they want down to the gram, food waste is also limited. Unpackaged stores are pioneers of the zero waste movement and have made it clear that consumer culture is slowly changing. Less plastic waste, more conscious consumption.
Smart minds have already made the switch, everyone else will follow. Before the introduction of plastic (more on this in the articleWhat is plastic?) was logically consumed more naturally. Plastic brought with it many advantages that overwhelmed us. We see the disadvantages today. Very late, but we see them. And now something is finally moving. And plastic-free shopping in unpackaged stores is representative of this movement.
In addition to the many great unpackaged stores, you can also shop plastic-free online. This is because there are now numerous online stores or providers that also ship their plastic-free products without plastic material. So now you can also consume plastic-free on the internet without creating waste. I would like to introduce you to 3 alternatives that allow you to shop plastic-free online. I am currently expanding one of them myself to make plastic-free shopping easier.
CAREELITE PLASTIC FREE STORE
I extend the Plastic free store from CareElite for plastic-free products every day. Also with your help. Here you can buy plastic-free products that are either produced by myself or by other suppliers. The items are divided into categories to make plastic-free shopping easier for you. With every purchase you support our worldwide Beach CleanUps and the educational work on site.
MONOMEER ONLINE STORE
I am a real fan of Monomeer. Here you can shop plastic-free, also in all imaginable categories. The online store without plastic was founded by Susan Rößner and was one of the first plastic-free online stores in Germany. The products are shipped plastic-free and great attention is paid to sustainability Just take a look!
LAGUNA ONLINE STORE
The online store of Laguna also gives you the opportunity to shop plastic-free online. The items are shipped 100% without plastic material and are available free of shipping costs from an order value of €59. I like the wide range of products in the Laguna store and that special attention is paid to sustainability, conscientious production and the longevity of the products.
The now large selection of online stores without plastic and the variety of articles provide the basis for being able to shop plastic-free online. In addition to the many online stores, there are also many suppliers who are slowly converting their products, which were previously still packaged in plastic, to plastic-free. The enormous growth of the zero waste movement will cause some smart entrepreneurs to rethink in the coming months. That's what we want.
PLASTIC-FREE SHOPPING EVEN WITHOUT MICROPLASTICS (APP TIP)
Shopping plastic-free means not only shopping without packaging, but also buying products without microplastics. Because as already mentioned in the article above, there is not only a problem with plastic packaging waste. Many items also contain plastic. Namely microplastics, plastic that is smaller than 5mm. Small beads that are added to many care products to stretch them. That's why we also have a big problem worldwide with Microplastics in cosmetics. The problem is that the beads are so small that they get directly into our waterways through our drains, as they cannot yet be filtered in sewage treatment plants. That's why it's up to the consumer to take care of it themselves! I will now show you the easiest way to do this.
THE APP CODECHECK AS A HELP
"How do I find out whether a product contains microplastics? Nobody understands all the technical terms on the back!" - The founders of CodeCheck were faced with precisely this question. Today, the app helps many people to identify microplastics and other ingredients that are harmful to health and the environment (such as palm oil) in consumer goods. And 100% plastic-free shopping is so easy with the CodeCheck app:
- Download App (Google Playstore or Appstore)
- Scan the barcode on the back of the product
- See which ingredients are of concern
Pretty straightforward, isn't it? Scanning takes about 3 seconds and gives you certainty about the ingredients of consumer goods. Just give it a try.
No matter whether you buy plastic-free online or offline. The important thing is that you solve the basic problem with thePlastic waste in the environmentand consume more consciously. This makes you a role model for many, many people on our planet.
I hope that my tips will help you to shop plastic-free even more easily in the future. I look forward to your questions, suggestions and experiences in the comments below this post. Have fun with the implementation!
Stay clean,
PS: You can shop plastic-free now. In the articleLiving plastic-free - tips & tricksI'll show you where else you can save plastic waste!
