Category: Reduce

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Homemade tissues can help break our reliance on single-use products

Sometimes breaking our reliance on single-use products can be difficult. Here is one easy way to start! For years, we have been using our own tissues at home rather than buying a box after box of paper tissues from the store. Cloth tissues are easy to make and care for. To make your own cloth tissues, you simply need a piece of flannel cloth. I like to use ripped sheets, but if I don’t have any I will run to a thrift store and look for a flannel sheet to buy. If you want to start small, a pillowcase will make quite a few!

Cut your flannel sheet into squares. I like mine to be about 8 inches square but have them in many different sizes because I didn’t want any leftover fabric. After cutting, you’re done if you want! Fold your tissues and store in a container around the house. You can also choose to bind the edges by surging or folding over and sewing. I don’t do that anymore; it takes more time and my kids prefer quantity over quality when they’ve got colds. Eventually the flannel unravels, but that’s generally about the time they’re getting stained or holey and they end up in the compost pile.
To care for your tissues; simply throw into the wash with your other laundry!

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Have you heard of plastic-free July?

Plastic-free July is a global movement designed to bring awareness to single-use plastics and encourage consumers to think out of the box in their shopping and daily life. While it’s called “plastic-free”; the campaign encourages you to try to reduce single-use plastics for a day, a week, or the whole month. The best part is that it’s about trying your best rather than being perfect, so don’t hesitate because it feels daunting! The site linked above has a ton of ideas. Take your first steps toward lowering your reliance on single-used plastics today 🙂

Here at Koofie’s Natural Living, we’ve tried since the beginning to avoid the use of single-use plastics as much as possible. We package our goodies in glass if we can, and avoid plastics unless we cannot find an alternative. Because we are a small business, we can also work with you if you are trying to avoid plastic. For instance, we haven’t found an “easy-to-apply but doesn’t leak” alternative to our deodorant containers, but we are happy to package your deodorant in a tin or glass jar. We don’t do this regularly because most of our customers enjoy the easy application with a deodorant tube, but a jar or a tin is a great way to use deodorant if you don’t mind using your fingers to apply it (or get creative with utensils).

We encourage you to ask any of your local small businesses if they have alternatives to plastic available for packaging. Asking not only lets the business know you’re interested in avoiding plastics; it also starts a dialogue between you and the business 🙂

For a list of nearly plastic-free and-low plastic products available through Koofie’s Natural Living, please visit here and let us know if you have any great ideas for packaging. Also, if you’re interested in a larger, refill-size of any products we are happy to work with you!

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Plastic-free and Low-plastic Products

Plastic-free July with Koofie's Natural Living photos of products

Plastic-free July is in full swing and for those of you looking to lower your plastic use, I’ve made a list of our nearly plastic-free and low-plastic products!

“Nearly plastic-free” products will generally only have a thin plastic film label, with no other plastic in the product packaging (or product!).

“Low plastic” products will have a glass container with a plastic top, or some other small use of plastic

Please also CONTACT US if you’re interested in other products in a low plastic or nearly plastic-free packaging; most of our products can be stored in different packaging. All of the plastic used in shipping has been re-used (except for tape) but we are happy to ship without the use of airbags or bubble wrap if you prefer.

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Need $25 Million?

Two years ago today, the Virgin Earth Challenge was launched. With a prize of $25 million to any person or team that can design something feasible commercially to remove man-made greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. The competion was thought up and finaced by the founder of Virgin Records and over 350 other companies under the Virgin brand, Sir Richard Branson. Branson stated,

“We all now know that something radical has got to be done to turn back the tide of global warming.  By launching the $25 million Virgin Earth Challenge, the largest ever science and technology prize to be offered in history, we want to encourage scientists and individuals from around the world to come up with a way of removing lethal carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere.  By competing for this prize they will follow in the footsteps of many of history’s greatest inventors and innovators.  But in this case potentially save the planet. It is our hope and belief that the winner of The Virgin Earth Challenge will help to reverse the collision course our beautiful world is currently on.  They will not only make history but preserve history for many, many generations to come.

However, it is important to remember that there is a real possibility that no one will win this prize.  Governments, and their people, must continue to use every effort to radically reduce CO2 emissions.”

Do you think you have a idea that could win the prize? Email me with your plans and I will make sure they are submitted! If you would rather do the legwork yourself, visit the Virgin Earth Challenge website for all the details.