Five Things We Can All Do!

1. Don’t Wash Your Hands with Plastic!

<-- Behold pure evil

Many hand washes and bath gels contain tiny plastic beads to exfoliate the skin. When I first read about this, I was absolutely dumbfounded. These little plastic beads wash right down the drain and into our water supply. How can such a thing even be legal? Lately, I’ve been finding out that many outrageously polluting products are legal. The biggest purveyor of water polluting, plastic hand wash is Bath and Body Works. Sure Bath and Body Works may look pretty, and the candy colored products are oh-so enticing, but the Deep Cleansing Hand Wash is pure evil! Bath and Body Works, sadly, is not the only plastic laced product. Look for the ingredient polyethylene as an indicator that your soap or scrub is polluted with plastic. Bath and Body Works prefers not to list their ingredients on the side of the bottle. Now I know why! If you are as outraged as I am, see below to send Bath and Body Works a message. As an industry leader, maybe if Bath and Body Works changes their ingredients, other companies will follow suit.

2 Give Up Bottled Water

Sorry, but even if you recycle the bottle, bottled water is still an ecological nightmare. First, something I recently learned – plastic does not recycle indefinitely. Plastic loses its structural integrity each time it is recycled. Eventually it is no longer useful and must be landfilled. Furthermore, recycled plastics are melted down and formed into plastic pellets, or nurdles. If there’s one thing our world doesn’t need more of, it’s nurdles! I discussed how catastrophic nurdles are in my previous post, so please take a look. Finally, please consider the most compelling argument. We live in a world where clean water is growing increasingly precious. Do we really want Nestle and Coca-Cola pumping out our water and reselling it to us at an enormous mark up? Personally, I don’t like the idea of our best water sources in the hands of private corporations.

3. Say No To Plastic Bags

Everyone has one in their house, a drawer or cabinet stuffed with dozens of plastic bags. There are also more plastic bag recycling bins available than ever before. Do the recycling bins negate the damage done by taking home dozens of new plastic bags each week? I’m afraid not. Plastic bag recycling is plagued with the same troubles as any other plastic recycling. Plus the lightweight bags are notorious escapees from recycling trucks and recycling centers. If you absolutely must have plastic bags for chores around the house, please consider bringing home the absolute minimum. I have given up plastic bags as trash can liners, and I have not noticed a decrease in my quality of life. One thing I have recently learned is that in just using up things I have had around my house from before I decided to deplasticize, I wound up with dozens of bread bags, tortilla bags, etc. to use for general purposes. Most people would end up with ample plastic bags to use, even if they never brought home another grocery bag.

4. Go Back to the Bar

Thinking about plastic pollution would make anyone want to go to the bar for a stiff drink. Just contemplating the plastic bits I washed down the drain when using up a container of Bath and Body Works hand soap has me hankering for a shot of tequila. What I’m really talking about, though, is bar soap. I remember a time before a hundred different bath gels were available for purchase. Now, nearly every shower in America has a plastic jug of fruit punch scented bath gel. The showers in my new built home didn’t even come with soap trays built in! There are dozens of great smelling, fancy soaps that are packaged in simple, paper sleeves. Switching to bar soap is one simple change we can all make.

5. Think Twice Before Buying Plastic Gadgets and Other Unnecessary Plastic Crap

I have been using my time off over the holidays to clean out my kitchen cabinets (I know, will the excitement never end?). As I do so, my husband frequently hears me scream out, “why did I even buy this useless piece of crap?” I have bought things that I never use and don’t have room to keep. I have bought things that can’t even recycle and will forever sit in a landfill:

The plastic veggie chopper—I couldn’t just use a knife?

The plastic apple slicer—As if this will make me eat more fruit?

The plastic garlic crusher thingy—Didn’t work; probably got carpal tunnel syndrome trying to use it

And, I am only halfway through the cabinets…

There we have it. These five things are so simple that everyone can do them. I guarantee that just questioning the amount of plastic in your life will make you more mindful about the amount you use.

Consider taking a moment to send Bath and Body Works a letter expressing your concern over the use of polyethylene beads in their products. Feel free to copy and paste the form letter below.

To Whom It May Concern, Bath and Body Works:

I am writing because I am deeply concerned about the use of polyethylene beads in your Deep Cleansing Hand Wash. Polyethylene is a plastic and will never biodegrade once it is washed down the drain. Water is the most precious resource on Earth, and polyethylene does not belong in rivers and streams where it will eventually become a public health hazard.

Bath and Body Works promotes its products as healthful and natural. This ingredient is a violation of the public trust as most consumers would never suspect that such an ecologically damaging ingredient is present in hand soap. Bath and Body Works needs to take responsibility for the ingredients in its products, and until the products ingredients are ecologically sound, I will no longer purchase from your store.

Sincerely,


Customer Service Bath and Body Works