Shopping plastic-free – for the sake of the environment. You've probably already considered this idea and, at the latest, wondered, at the supermarket, among all the shelves full of packaged food, whether it's even possible. Plastic is omnipresent in our everyday lives, so much so that it's sometimes difficult to imagine a life without plastic packaging. But people are creatures of habit, and plastic waste is entirely avoidable. An entire movement has dedicated itself to the plastic waste problem, focusing on zero-waste products and alternatives to plastics and packaging. Here you can find out how practical this is and how you can integrate plastic-free shopping into your already stressful daily life with children.
Plastic-free shopping: without dogmatism
Life as a parent is often quite fast-paced. Balancing household chores, hobbies, and shopping between kindergarten, school, and work requires good organization and preparation. Organizing a shopping trip so that you can avoid plastic entirely often seems like an insurmountable hurdle. Even with fruit and vegetables, it's difficult to avoid plastic during a simple visit to the supermarket, especially since plastic is often used in hidden ways that are difficult for laypeople to detect, such as in the packaging of apples. Taking food home unpackaged is still not impossible, though. You'll learn how in this article.
Plastic-free shopping in the supermarket
If you've decided to change something for your environment and your children's future, it's often the small steps that make a difference. Consciously avoiding plastic when shopping and thus producing less waste is a good start to a plastic-free life. Simply consciously avoiding plastic bags saves a huge amount of packaging waste. Instead of relying on packaging in the fruit and vegetable department, choose unpackaged alternatives. You can bring cloth bags from home and use them to safely transport your fruit and vegetables. The same applies to bread and rolls from the bakery or your purchases at the deli counter. In general, but especially with fruit, make sure that the products are organic, because then you can be sure that no harmful seals are used that could contain plastic - some of them aren't even vegan.
Unpackaged stores
If you know of a packaging-free store in your area, you should definitely pay it a visit. It's also great fun for children, and by filling their own containers, even the little ones can help and contribute to your shopping. Packaging-free stores usually carry a wide range of dry goods, cosmetics, and regional products like fruit. You can bring your own containers, for example, made of glass or alternative packaging, which will then be weighed and filled by you. If you want to use existing plastic containers, you don't have to fear judgment in packaging-free stores. Reusing them makes much more sense than producing more plastic waste.
Farm shops and weekly markets
You can find great unpackaged products at weekly markets or farm shops. Often, you even buy directly from the producer – and knowing where the food you eat comes from immediately makes you feel much better. From the field, straight to the warehouse and store, and from there, completely plastic-free, into your shopping bag. And the environment will thank you, too, as you're not only saving vast amounts of waste, but also reducing transport costs. You can combine shopping at the farm shop with a visit to the farm, which is also a great experience for children. This turns shopping into a family event and feels much less stressful.
Plastic-free in the bathroom
Large amounts of plastic can be found, especially in bathrooms. Shampoo bottles, cosmetics, bath additives, and hair ties – plastic seems to be in almost every product. But if you think a little about the impact of plastic on the environment and its effects on your health, switching to alternative options isn't so difficult. Little by little, you can replace all the products you've used up with plastic-free options. Plastic-free products are becoming increasingly popular, especially in packaging-free stores, but also in drugstores. Next time you're shopping, take a look and see how many different products you can find without plastic packaging. Whether it's toothpaste, shampoo, or even bamboo toothbrushes – the zero-waste movement doesn't shy away from any product.
Your voice counts
Thankfully, there are now plenty of plastic-free options. If you know the right tips and tricks, the change will hardly be noticeable. Consuming glass products, unpackaged food from organic stores, unpackaged shops, or cosmetics without plastic particles—if everyone just contributes a small amount, manufacturers will receive a signal that the market is ready for a plastic-free future.
Did you know that we also ship completely plastic-free? For example, we use sustainable tissue paper, recycled cardboard boxes, and our package inserts are also made of natural paper.
At CosyRoots, we also rely on GOTS-certified cotton , which you can be sure is free of microplastics. With our products, we want to make a difference not only for you, but especially for your children. Slow fashion instead of fast fashion, short transport routes, and long-lasting clothing, packaged entirely without plastic. For our environment.
