News — Plastic Free

"What would happen if 10,000 people decided to reduce their trash impact for one month? We could reduce the trash on Earth by over 1 million pounds." 

If you are looking for a way to reduce your plastic consumption our Maine seaweed rich shampoo bars are the way to go. Our shampoo bars are a natural way to clean and condition your hair.  

Both Carly and I have super curly, easy to frizz hair. In the past, we were hair product junkies. A large bottle of conditioner might last a week. I shampooed everyday due to my tendency to look like a deranged cartoon character with severe bed head.

I also suffered from itchy scalp. I’ve battled flakey head since high school. At one point, it got really bad. I hoped my hairdresser wouldn’t notice- fat chance. He thought it was “unusual”. I dreaded my next appointment. He suggested seeing a doctor. I knew exactly what the doctor would prescribe- a highly medicated/toxic/unnatural shampoo. I was right. The chemical laden shampoo didn't help my scalp and gave me super horrible looking hair. By chance and desperation I began experimenting with different natural ingredients. Adding seaweed to my hair care routine brought me natural and lasting relief.

The most important ingredient in our shampoo bars is seaweed. Seaweeds are the powerhouses of our shampoo bars. Kelp in particular contains essential nutrients to help hair grow. Seaweeds are super gentle cleaners and naturally hydrate. Plus seaweeds help control flaky scalps and can help promote hair growth.

We make three shampoo bars blends.  All are seaweed rich, the difference is the blends of oils.  

Lovely Rita Super Conditioning:  Some hair needs more moisture and we should know since we both have SUPER curly hair. Our Lovely Rita Bar contains coconut and castor oil which help creating  superior thick lather but also condition those pesky locks. Olive oil and rose hip oil leave your hair shiny and soft.

Sweet Melissa Gentle and Mild: If your hair is straight and needs less moisture our Sweet Melissa bar is for you.  Your hair needs protein and a blend of oils that moisturize without being too heavy.  Our shampoo bars harness the power of sugar kelp to pump up the protein which is what your hair craves.  

Men's Shampoo Bar:  Our Seaweed Shampoo Bar specially packaged just for men.  The power of seaweed can help tame an itchy scalp or full beard and designed to be used anywhere including rivers and streams. 

Thanks to the ocean conservancy for the opening quote.  Check them out.

Last year, I took a business development course and the guru wanted us to find our customer's pain points.  I talked about our Maine Seaweed shampoo bars and how I believed they would appeal to anyone who loved the ocean and is concerned about the plague of plastic.  Our shampoo bars are a plastic free alternative to hair products packed in plastic bottles.  I got a gigantic "pshaw".  

About a week later I was in the grocery debating which peppers to buy.  I wasn't looking at the price as much as the packaging.  I bought my usual only to discover at home that an extra plastic nest had been added.  I thought to myself, "Won't buy these again" and made a purchasing decision based on plastic packaging".  And remember- this was a year ago, I've come a long way and now don't purchase produce wrapped in plastic.

This quick vignette is to illustrate how your hard earned dollars can make a difference.  You can still eat great food, have lovely hair and enjoy an afternoon latte without creating a mountain of waste.  It does take a bit more organization and thought.  And be prepared to move two steps forward and one step back but stay on the plastic free  journey.  Choose an area to go plastic free every month or so.  Master one and pick a new goal.  Buy a few reusable grocery and produce totes. Try a shampoo bars.  Carry around a coffee cup for your afternoon fix.  Head outside to your favorite nature spot and pick up the trash.

Even if you never become completely zero-waste you'll be amazed at how far you can go! 

At Dulse & Rugosa, our little bit of good is to switch our packaging to be as plastic free as possible.  Some of our products have always been there.  Our Maine Seaweed Shampoo bars are simply packaged in tissue paper that is made from recycled paper products.  The "plastic" bags we use for other products are actually biodegradable cellophane bags made from wood cellulose fibers sourced exclusively with sustainable forestry principles.  Our Shower Shots are packaged in these cool non-plastic bags.  They truly are a happy hour for your shower and the happy continues with compostable packaging.   

But the truth is a lot of our packaging has been cheap plastic jars.  There's a reason for this- cheap.  When you're a small business starting out your focus is on getting people to try your products.  There is a BIG difference between eco packaging and plastic in terms of price per container.  Plastic is so much cheaper- I know this because as a consumer I find myself standing in the grocery store comparing the price of items based on their packaging.   We've been going through the same process as a business.

One of the biggest changes we've made is with our popular Island Face Scrub.  Our $5.00 trial packs were packaged in a plastic/foil pouch.  Now they are repackaged in a kraft/plastic pouch combo.
 There still is some plastic but it's a lot less.  The same is true for our larger size.  We've replace the plastic jar and lid with the kraft/plastic pouch.  It's much less packaging and that's good for the environment.

That's our little bit of good.  What's your's?

I've put off writing about reducing plastic consumption and kids because it's so complicated.  Mostly because I've found in my grown up/no kids life that it takes quite a bit of planning and organization to reduce my plastic use.  I travel a lot to markets and on my occasional overnights I find I do great the first day but the next day is a challenge.  I'm tired, hungry, don't know the area and that's when I consume more products packed in plastic.

When my daughter Carly was young, I lived year round on a remote Maine island.  We were homesteaders, growing our own food and I worked from home.  I didn't have to organize backpacks, lunch boxes, snacks and extra clothes- not to mention homework, books and a few toys for the car.  And that's not even taking into account winter- with boots, hats, etc.  Our life's are filled with busy and "hurry-up" which is why plastic is so popular- it's convenience.  But because we have kids and grandkids and we want them to have a lovely future we each need to make small steps towards living a plastic free life.

The first thing you have to do is pick an area to focus on and the lunch box is a great place to start.  One of my favorite places to shop for reusable containers is Reuseit.   Especially if you are on a budget, you need to start small and keep adding because you want to buy high quality items that will last.  It's counterproductive to buy flimsy containers that won't last- it's a waste of money and makes trash.  

Start with a good, rather large lunch container.  I find in general, when you use reusable containers you need more room.  You might want to pack a couple of containers- one for lunch and one for snacks.  When you decide to replace plastic bags- there's a new product on the market, silicone reusable bags.  The bags are dishwasher and microwave safe but they are pricy.  One bag cost around $12.00- but will last and last.  Another great container in my opinion is the reusable juice box.  According to Reuseit, "juice boxes are one of the most wasteful parts of lunchtime".  A single box takes over " 300 years to decompose and nearly 4 billion are consumed annually."  At $9.95 per single box these are do-able, especially if you normally buy at least 8 juice pouches a week.  If juices are not on sale it will cost you around $5.00 per week.  Over the year you'll be spending over 250 dollars on single use juice boxes.  You can buy a lot of reusable juice boxes for that amount.  And you do need to buy more than one.  We're talking kids here- so one in the lunch box, one in the snack bag, one for the car, one left at school and one under the bed.  

Raising kids is complicated, reducing your plastic consumption is complicated.  The reason we change is For The Future.

The 3'R have changed into the 5R's.  Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and raise awareness.  My occasional blogs are a small contribution to helping raise awareness about plastic consumption.  It's a journey down a long and twisty road, not a quick zip down a super highway.

The cool thing is once you start to raise your awareness- you find yourself making small but significant steps.  Each week I find myself making better choices and feeling proud of the progress I have made.

Here are some great places to check out to raise your plastic awareness a bit higher.

On Facebook- 

Plastic Pollution Coalition - this is such a great site for info and tips, I love it!  And they have lots of great graphics to share.

Snapshots of Simplicity- this is a reflective page with thoughtful posts including "What's in my Grocery Bag" and "Hanging Out With Seagulls".

On Instagram-

Anita Horan has a #plasticfreeproduce campaign going on right now because really there is no reason to buy bananas wrapped in plastic.  Just saying!

Justgrabbits encourages folks to grab some trash, take a snap and post.  Here is your chance to find out about trash all over the globe.

Plastic Free Mermaid-Kate Nelson is an Australian mermaid with lots of tips to switch out the plastic.

And finally on Pinterest

Monterey Bay Aquarium has an idea board for plastic free living.

Hope you are inspired and find some good online support for reducing your plastic consumption.