In response to a very thought provoking post by my yogi colleague nilsthomasyoga on instagram about plastic pollution, I thought I'd share a few ideas.
I'm sure we all look at the products in our bathroom and kitchens and think ok, enough is enough! We all have too much stuff don't we? Loads of unused products with way too much packaging and plastic.
Have you ever been gifted really gorgeous shower or hair products? How good does it make you feel using them? Taking pleasure from simple everyday rituals, with a soothing, or invigorating bathroom routine. It goes back to working out what is important to us and what stuff we can live without. Linking again to the concept of 'slow living' I mentioned in my previous blog about time.
Earlier this year I started to make a cull and pledge not to buy any more cheap shower products from the £1 section of my local pharmacy and supermarket.
I decided (after much deliberation) that I liked the look of amber glass bottles for my bathroom. There are lots around, on Etsy and Amazon but I bought mine from Planet Organic. I also bought some vinyl, waterproof labels from Print Tailors on Etsy, which I think make the bottles look really smart.
Then came the task of what to put in them.
There seems to be quite a few refill options around for body wash from places like Boot's, Superdrug and the supermarkets. However, hair products seem to still be some way behind, especially conditioners. Many of the leading brands are trialling a few lines in shampoo refills, but not yet conditioners. Hopefully this will soon change.
There's also a lot of new indie brands emerging when you start to re search - so I'll aim to share a few that I like here.
Fiils is a bright, fun, mid priced brand and their sustainable concept is great. Their refills are also relatively small in size 400ml which means you can change things up to suit your mood or season.
Faith in Nature products are comparably priced to a lot of mainstream brands. They are widely available and the products I've tried are lovely. I especially like the grapefruit and orange body wash which you can refill at Planet Organic's refill station. You can also buy in bulk online but I don't have the space (and I'm not sure I want to commit) to 5 Litres of the same product.
Another brand I'm keen to try is Miniml who have a self service refill station in a cafe in Finchley, called Impact. I noticed when I checked Miniml's website they have a 16 piece sample set on offer at the moment for £19.95, which is a brilliant idea before buying bulk of anything. I think I'm going to give them a try as their product range, is really extensive, includes lots of products for the home too, and very reasonably priced!
My absolute fave at the moment is Sop. A gorgeous slightly more aspirational brand from Norfolk. I have just treated myself to their Loke conditioner from The Grocery Post in Highgate, which smells and looks divine. Their branding, website and ethos is really inspiring. (Worth a little read about how they are supporting Showerbox - a mobile shower facility for the homeless). They also have some reasonably priced eco yoga mats amongst other lovely
things and a decent A/W 21 playlist available to listen to.
Then there is the 'People's Pantry' transported by Ernie, the converted milk float. I believe they also stock refillable beauty products. Unfortunately, the timings don't work for me when their 'round' comes my way.
However, on the High Road in East Finchley we are lucky to have Tony's Continental and Amy's both who offer refillable Ecover products which smell great, perform well and I currently use for some household products.
It's all still very much work in progress. But there is sea of change. And who ever thought shopping for new sustainable hair products could be so much fun!
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