Being green is booming... but take care in what you buy.
Hey guys Happy 10th Blog post yay! Welcome, today I am going to be talking about being super careful when buying products that are advertised as environmentally friendly. It's fantastic that finally product designers are considering the environment in their designing process, but you have to be careful as a consumer that you are actually getting what you pay for. Some companies are seeing the environmental crisis as a way to make money, and sometimes the products they produce are not the answer.
Products are suddenly appearing everywhere that are advertised as eco friendly, however as I am a sceptic by nature, I question this bold claim. Some of these products will be a perfect solution, but others may help the environment short term, but be a cost long term. In this blog post I am going to cover a few products that I have seen advertised and go into what their environmental costs actually are, but more importantly, do we actually need them?
Last Swab
I am sure you have heard about this product. It is a reusable cotton bud, which sounds fantastic to me. In the past cotton buds were completely made of cotton and paper, so were recyclable. However still produced CO2 in their creation and transport. In recent years cotton buds have been made out of plastic, making them very damaging to the environment. As they are single use, they end up in landfill, the environment and, of course, our oceans. Last Swab sounds like a great product that will cut out the need for single use buds. Looking at the last swab's website, the company seem very genuine as they have documents all about their product and about the minds behind the design. The actual product is made from compacted nylon and medical grade silicone for the bud parts. Sillicone is fairly environmentally friendly (as far as we can tell), it comes from sand however we do not know much about the production of silicone other than that. The product is very versatile, reusable and should last a long time. It is recyclable however only in certain places and sometimes only in certain quantities. The good news is that if it ends up in landfill it breaks down into harmless materials (according to last swab). Personally this seems like a very good buy, the company have made their start-up costs through a crowd funding website and are not due to start shipping until September however they are taking orders. Here is their website: https://www.lastswab.com/
One thing I would like to say here, is that personally I do not use cotton buds that much. I use them to get off the last dregs of makeup, on the rare occasion I wear it. However, even though it is not a product I use that much (you may use it a lot) I think it would still be worth buying.
Silicone Cling film alternatives
These products have been advertised across the internet as environmentally friendly alternatives to cling film, However I do not think they are the best solution. Cling film is one of those products that I really hate, it is a product I barely ever consider using. It is only in my house because my mother buys it, but don't worry I am working on stopping her! Lets go over the idea of this product, I will insert a photo here to show you what they are.
At first glance this product looks very useful. I think it all comes down to whether you use cling film a lot or not, if the answer is yes then maybe you could get some of these. They are made from silicone, which we have already discussed to be durable and eco friendly. It also does not seep toxins like plastic does. However I ask you this: Do you actually need it?
I'd like to persuade you that you don't. There are so many other methods of covering food it is ridiculous that cling film even exists. The most simple solution to this is so obvious: Use a damn plate. Cover your food bowl with a plate, sorted. This even works if (my mum's reason for buying cling film) you are trying to avoid splattering in the microwave, a plate will work just fine. If you use cling film to put sandwiches in use a box the right size, or a reusable sandwich bag. Glass jars, or old washed out Jam jars are good for storing food in as well. Be creative.
In my opinion this product is an example of overengineering at work, There is also a few other similar products like this, just made out of different materials. I have added pictures below:
Fabric food coverings are good if you are using old clothes to make them. However the production of new fabric from cotton is very costly to the environment. Beeswax food wrap is a great product, as it has even more applications than the silicone ones. With the beeswax food wrap, you can mould it to the shape you want using the heat from your hands. This means you can use this for sandwiches, fruit, bowl covers, practically anything. However this is an animal product, it comes from bees. This throws into the mix a lot of ethical and environmental questions, not to mention it is difficult to get hold of. Extracting honey and wax from beehives has been done for many, many years. It can kill bees during the process but when done correctly should not cause the hive too many problems.
Back to the matter in hand, though these products are better than cling film, they are still not great for the environment in the long term. I think the best solution is to be a bit creative with what you have, rather than going out and buying more things.
Thank you so much for reading. I have covered just a few products today, but there are many more out there. Just be careful with your purchases, make sure you know what you are buying!
Sources:
https://kyledriscoll.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/silicone-sustainability/
https://ecolunchboxes.com/pages/silicone-people-planet (Could be biased due to this company selling silicone products)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeswax
Products are suddenly appearing everywhere that are advertised as eco friendly, however as I am a sceptic by nature, I question this bold claim. Some of these products will be a perfect solution, but others may help the environment short term, but be a cost long term. In this blog post I am going to cover a few products that I have seen advertised and go into what their environmental costs actually are, but more importantly, do we actually need them?
Last Swab
 |
| The last swab in its case, picture sourced from their website |
I am sure you have heard about this product. It is a reusable cotton bud, which sounds fantastic to me. In the past cotton buds were completely made of cotton and paper, so were recyclable. However still produced CO2 in their creation and transport. In recent years cotton buds have been made out of plastic, making them very damaging to the environment. As they are single use, they end up in landfill, the environment and, of course, our oceans. Last Swab sounds like a great product that will cut out the need for single use buds. Looking at the last swab's website, the company seem very genuine as they have documents all about their product and about the minds behind the design. The actual product is made from compacted nylon and medical grade silicone for the bud parts. Sillicone is fairly environmentally friendly (as far as we can tell), it comes from sand however we do not know much about the production of silicone other than that. The product is very versatile, reusable and should last a long time. It is recyclable however only in certain places and sometimes only in certain quantities. The good news is that if it ends up in landfill it breaks down into harmless materials (according to last swab). Personally this seems like a very good buy, the company have made their start-up costs through a crowd funding website and are not due to start shipping until September however they are taking orders. Here is their website: https://www.lastswab.com/
One thing I would like to say here, is that personally I do not use cotton buds that much. I use them to get off the last dregs of makeup, on the rare occasion I wear it. However, even though it is not a product I use that much (you may use it a lot) I think it would still be worth buying.
Silicone Cling film alternatives
These products have been advertised across the internet as environmentally friendly alternatives to cling film, However I do not think they are the best solution. Cling film is one of those products that I really hate, it is a product I barely ever consider using. It is only in my house because my mother buys it, but don't worry I am working on stopping her! Lets go over the idea of this product, I will insert a photo here to show you what they are.
 |
| silicone cling film alternative, photo sourced from google. |
At first glance this product looks very useful. I think it all comes down to whether you use cling film a lot or not, if the answer is yes then maybe you could get some of these. They are made from silicone, which we have already discussed to be durable and eco friendly. It also does not seep toxins like plastic does. However I ask you this: Do you actually need it?
I'd like to persuade you that you don't. There are so many other methods of covering food it is ridiculous that cling film even exists. The most simple solution to this is so obvious: Use a damn plate. Cover your food bowl with a plate, sorted. This even works if (my mum's reason for buying cling film) you are trying to avoid splattering in the microwave, a plate will work just fine. If you use cling film to put sandwiches in use a box the right size, or a reusable sandwich bag. Glass jars, or old washed out Jam jars are good for storing food in as well. Be creative.
In my opinion this product is an example of overengineering at work, There is also a few other similar products like this, just made out of different materials. I have added pictures below:
 |
| Fabric food/bowl covers, image sourced from google. |
 |
| Beeswax wrap, image sources from google. |
Fabric food coverings are good if you are using old clothes to make them. However the production of new fabric from cotton is very costly to the environment. Beeswax food wrap is a great product, as it has even more applications than the silicone ones. With the beeswax food wrap, you can mould it to the shape you want using the heat from your hands. This means you can use this for sandwiches, fruit, bowl covers, practically anything. However this is an animal product, it comes from bees. This throws into the mix a lot of ethical and environmental questions, not to mention it is difficult to get hold of. Extracting honey and wax from beehives has been done for many, many years. It can kill bees during the process but when done correctly should not cause the hive too many problems.
Back to the matter in hand, though these products are better than cling film, they are still not great for the environment in the long term. I think the best solution is to be a bit creative with what you have, rather than going out and buying more things.
Thank you so much for reading. I have covered just a few products today, but there are many more out there. Just be careful with your purchases, make sure you know what you are buying!
Sources:
https://kyledriscoll.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/silicone-sustainability/
https://ecolunchboxes.com/pages/silicone-people-planet (Could be biased due to this company selling silicone products)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeswax
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