At this time of the year, many of us have come up New Year’s resolutions, quite often relating to our health and wellbeing. Maybe this year we should be looking a litter further afield and making a resolution to be more aware of the health and wellbeing of our planet.

One of the major impacts on the health of our plant is no doubt, plastic pollution. How many documentaries do we need to see, to realise this is something we can, and all need to make a stand on. We know plastics floating in the ocean kill our sea creatures. Plastic and the disposable society we have become, is creating a huge rubbish dump of plastic which is choking our planet.

When we walk down the aisle of a supermarket and see rows and rows of plastic containers, we need to stop and think – where does all this plastic packaging go, once the contents are emptied? Yes, we can feel good about recycling, but wouldn’t it be better to have no plastic at all.

A few months ago, I wrote about the Viva la Body skin and hair care range which only used packaging which was totally plastic free. This is unheard of in the hair and skin care industry. Since I wrote that article our sales of Viva la Body range have skyrocketed. Customers are taking a stand AND they love range because they are fantastic products!!

For some time we have made available bulk laundry and dishwashing detergents so that customers can refill their own containers which saves on plastic.

To help our customers take a further stand on plastic free packaging we have stocked a range called CHANGE. What an appropriate name because we all need to change our shopping habits. CHANGE has created a range of cleaning tablets. Each tablet is a concentrated cleaning solution and just by adding warm water the tablet dissolves thereby creating a cleaning product. By using these cleaning tablets, it not only means we are using a product which has majorly reduced its use of plastics in its production and packaging, but also has reduced its carbon footprint in the distribution of the product. Compare the cost of transporting a 300ml bottle of cleaning liquid, compared to one tablet! And the range is extremely economical, being much cheaper than supermarket cleaning products.

There’s a Multi Purpose Cleaner which can be used to help eliminate grease and grime from our kitchen and bathroom.  It’s effective in killing germs and bacteria and is ammonia and chlorine free, being created from a base of bicarb soda. Each tablet makes up 300ml of cleaning solution. There has been excellent feedback on this product working just as effectively as other cleaners but without the overpowering smell of chemicals and without the plastic waste.

The Glass Cleaner is also popular. Great to use on cleaning windows and mirrors. Once again one tablet makes up 300ml of glass cleaner. It works best when used with a paper towel or microfibre cloth. It is streak free and easily removes finger marks and dirt.

A Water Bottle Cleaner – what a great idea. Most of us have changed from using plastic to glass or stainless steel water bottles, but how often do we actually give those bottles a good clean. This water bottle cleaner gives the water bottles a good, deep clean. Just pop a cleaning tablet into your bottle filled with hot water. Leave for 20 minutes then rinse thoroughly.

As with our water bottles, how often do we clean the inside of our washing machine. This Washing Machine Cleaner is really convenient. Just add one tablet to an empty washing machine and run on a warm/hot wash cycle to clean away sediments of dirt and detergent residue plus any awful smells. You may be surprised at how much grime comes out of the machine AND your clothes may come out cleaner in your next wash.

Changing to products like CHANGE and Viva la Body is just a small way we can make a difference. These are just little steps however if we all make these little steps and set an example for our family, friends and community, we can move towards a healthier planet. What a great New Years resolution!!