Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in paid partnership with icebreaker. All photos have been provided by icebreaker.
A bit about icebreaker
icebreaker integrates natural solutions to technical apparel for women, men, and kids. The founder of icebreaker, Jeremy Moon, created the brand to bring the brilliance and power of nature from merino wool into our closets and active lifestyles. icebreaker is proud of the meaningful relationships they’ve built with their partners and growers, thriving on respect, honesty and transparency.
icebreaker is committed to using natural alternatives to synthetic materials (i.e. plastics) in their clothing, knowing that nature has the solutions to creating better performance and building a more sustainable future for people and our planet. icebreaker believes that people should know exactly what they are putting next to their skin and how their clothes are made, including full traceability.
Looking for a life with less plastic? icebreaker is the perfect sustainable and ethical apparel option to bring nature right into any wardrobe.
A bit about The Vortex Swim
icebreaker recently supported Ben Lecomte's swim through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (The Vortex Swim) from Hawaii to San Francisco to draw attention to the impact of our plastic waste. During their journey across the Pacific Ocean, they found all types of discarded plastics: microplastics, big pieces of plastics like hard hats and laundry baskets, and ghost nets that had become little ecosystems of their own for ocean life.
Since their swim, they’ve focused on spreading the word about the plastic waste they found and have raised awareness about reducing our plastic consumption. You can watch some of their panel discussions and videos here. Their discussions focus on the issues of plastic waste, and finding ways to reduce our consumption, to be conscious consumers, to buy less but better.
While the swim is over, their journey is worth sharing again and again. Each purchase we make has the potential to impact our oceans. What's the takeaway here? Consume less plastic and be conscious of our impacts to nature.
5 Ways to Live Plastic Free
1. Choose to Reuse
Turning off the tap to additional plastics is one of the best ways we can reduce plastic waste and live plastic free. But how do we do that? As consumers we get a big say. The more we consume single-use plastics that are used once then trashed, we can choose to reuse instead. Invest in a zero waste kit of: reusable water bottle, travel coffee mug, food container, reusable cutlery set, napkin and handkerchief for your daily activities out and about to reduce your plastic disposables.
2. Find Plastic Free Alternatives
Beyond the zero waste kit, there are still plenty of plastics that we consume. From shampoo and conditioner bottles to deodorants and other packaging, we consume products that come in plastic containers all the time. Start getting creative and find plastic free options for the products you tend to buy in plastic.
Can you use solid shampoo and conditioner bars instead of buying those products bottled? How about a bar of soap instead of bottled body wash? Perhaps you can make your own laundry detergent, or get the powder version in cardboard, instead of buying a jug of detergent. The options are endless, just start looking! Also look for natural and durable materials in other products, like wood, metal, ceramic, etc.
3. Reduce Plastic in your Closet
Every time we wash our synthetic clothing, hundreds of thousands of plastic microfibers enter our waterways. To reduce this impact, we can purchase clothing made from natural materials. We can make an effort to buy natural materials like icebreaker’s merino wool knitwear, to reduce our consumption of synthetics.
4. Participate in Plastic Cleanups
While this doesn’t solve the problem of plastics entering our ocean, we can still take the opportunity to clean up the existing mess. Get your community together or simply go out with some family and friends to clean up the plastic waste and litter on our beaches, or in your neighbourhood. Keep in mind that litter from inland sources still makes its way to our oceans from rivers and lakes, so cleaning up wherever you live is always critical!
5. Spread the Word
Part of this lifestyle is sharing it with others. The key word here is sharing, and not imposing. No one wants to be told what to do, but as we live a low waste and less plastic lifestyle, we have the opportunity to share our knowledge with others. Just like the crew from The Vortex Swim sharing their stories and experience going through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, we can do that too. Share your knowledge of the plastics issue and spread the word about ways we can all reduce our plastic footprint and become conscious consumers.
Want to Move to Natural? icebreaker has 2-Day FREE SHIPPING! In Canada click here. In the USA click here. Expires December 15, 2019. International Shipping is also Available.
For more tips on going zero waste, read the book and head to zero waste 101!
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