Well that’s not a title you see very often in this day and age. That’s probably something that was touted in the 60’s when the harmfulness of plastic was still unknown. But just as the quote “money is the root of all evil” is technically misquoted from the Bible (it’s “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”), I think saying all plastic is bad is also imprecise. In this case “disposable plastic is bad”, would be the more accurate phrase. Because tbh, I can’t imagine living a life without plastic. It’s man-manipulated stardust if you will. They’ve allowed for modern miracles and have prolonged our lives in general (think of all the plastic necessary in hospitals and saving lives). So this post is an ode to my favorite items made of plastic!
My plastic water bottle: My constant companion.
My collapsible salad bowl: I originally purchased it for use in trailer life, but I love this bowl for everything. It’s lightweight and doesn’t slide.
The NoseFrida: for helping to suck out my baby’s boogers in the gentlest way possible
The Everlane Nylon (Original) Anorak: been using it for 3 years and plan on wearing it forever
Erasable Frixion pens with refills: These are my go-to pens for everything including writing checks, writing in greeting cards and writing in my notebooks because they are erasable (but look like normal pen ink). And I always buy refills now because there’s no point in buying a brand new pen every time.
The Away Suitcase: It’s lightweight and undentable. I can’t imagine owning luggage that wasn’t made of plastic.
The 5% elastane in some of my clothes: I’m grateful for the comfort that the stretchiness of the fabric allows. I can wash it in the washing machine without it losing its shape. Nowadays I try to stick to mostly natural fibers but am ok with some plastic in it sometimes as long as I wear the item as much as possible and as long as possible.
I could probably keep going on and on here but my point is that we need to change our mindset about plastic. It’s not all bad. We just need to treat it with the respect it deserves, thus using it wisely and reusing as much as possible. Disposable plastic is what’s killing our planet, so we need to end those practices and habits (for me that would be pre-washed and pre-made salads and other packaged foods). Plastic is a non-renewable resource that I plan to treat like gold, not trash.