Plastic Free July is in the books for another year. Since I’ve already made so many changes, it’s getting harder to find new products to replace single-use plastic. I still wanted to make an effort to continue to reduce plastic so this year I challenged myself to find 3 new plastic-free swaps during the month of July. In today’s post, I’ll share my new finds with you.
If you’re just starting out with green living and looking for ideas for plastic-free swaps, check out my roundup of 31 simple plastic-free swaps.
My plastic-free journey
One of the first things I learned in my journey to green living is there is a lot of low hanging fruit. When I first started out, I was finding new changes and small swaps pretty much every day. Over time, it gets harder to find new things. I’ve made a lot of changes but there are a few last plastic items that I haven’t been able to find replacements for. That was my mission this Plastic Free July.
Every once in a while, you find an amazing company that puts out creative and innovative products. I hear about innovation from a lot of bloggers I follow in the UK and I always wonder why we see less of this kind of creativity in North America.
Imagine my joy when I discovered a Canadian company that has a range of plastic-free and eco-friendly products. All 3 new products I found are made by this company and I’m so excited to tell you about them.
Introducing Etee
Etee is a Canadian company based in the Toronto area. Their mission is to “be the spark that ignites the flame for widespread change in the way consumer packaged goods add value for people and planet”. What’s not to LOVE about that? You can read their full story here. It’s inspiring!
I discovered Etee when I was looking for Canadian-made alternatives to my toothpaste tabs. As I browsed their website, I was impressed by their lineup of products. They make all the things you’d expect from such a company – products like shampoo bars, conditioner bars, and bar soap. They also offer concentrated dish soap in biodegradable plant-based pods. You just add your own water. Kind of a cool concept. Why pay to ship water?
I was so excited to find solutions to three problems where I hadn’t been able to find plastic free or low waste solutions: lip balm, hand lotion, and dental floss! Yippee.
I placed an order and anxiously awaited my new goodies. I didn’t have to wait long. They arrived in the mail within a few days.
First impressions
I’ve shared in the past my frustration with excessive packaging. There’s nothing worse than ordering an eco-friendly product and having it show up covered in plastic.
I’m happy to report that, when my package from Etee arrived, there was no plastic packaging in sight. The products were shipped in a simple padded paper mailer, and there was no plastic on any of the product packaging inside either. We were off to a good start.
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Product reviews
I ordered several items and have purchased other products over the past couple of months. For today, I’ll stick to reviewing the lip balm, hand lotion bar and dental floss.
Lip balm
I do use coconut oil as lip moisturizer but when my lips get really dry, especially in winter, I need something a little more robust. I really hate plastic lip balm tubes because they are not recyclable. Etee’s lip balm is packaged in paper tubes. What a fabulous idea!
I tried the grapefruit lip balm. I love that it contains only 4 ingredients: organic coconut oil, organic cocoa butter, beeswax and grapefruit essential oil. It feels great going on and it works really well.
If grapefruit isn’t your thing, they also sell cocoa mint lip balm.
Hand lotion
I’ve written before about my love for bar products. They are convenient and fabulous for travel (I live in hope that I will be able to travel again soon). I’ve already switched to unwrapped soap, stain remover, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant and facial moisturizer bars. Imagine my happiness when I discovered Etee’s hand lotion bar!
I had been buying hand lotion in a glass pump bottle but I just wasn’t thrilled with it. Etee’s hand lotion bar is in a tin. And, they recently announced a refill option with no tin!
The Etee bar has a nice citrus scent and it’s made with only 6 natural ingredients. You simply warm it up by rubbing it in your hands and then spread it on your hands or wherever you need a little TLC.
So far, I like it. The true test will come in winter but, based on the product reviews on the website, I expect to be happy.
Dental floss
I’ve switched to a bamboo toothbrush and toothpaste tablets, but I’ve been using up my supply of dental floss. Now that I’m finally getting to the end of my supply, I was happy to see that Etee offers dental floss in a glass or stainless steel container, and also refills!
I ordered the gently minted waxed silk dental floss. It comes in a 30-metre spool and is fully biodegradable. The box is printed with soy-based ink. When I opened the box, I got a bit of a surprise.
My first thought was, is this plastic packaging on the refill? A quick check of the website confirmed that it’s actually a 100% biodegradable cornstarch baggie. Nice!
I find the floss works well and haven’t had any concerns with breakage. Another win!
More to love!
And, there’s more to love about Etee. All of their products contain only natural ingredients, and are not tested on animals! They offer a 90-day guarantee on all products.
Plus, this is a company that listens to their customers. I joined their VIP Facebook group where they regularly ask for, listen to, and act on feedback from customers. I love it.
Use this link to get $10 off
As I mentioned, I have tried several other products from Etee and I’ve been happy with them all. Please check out this awesome Canadian company. They offer free shipping on orders over $60 in Canada and the USA. And, they do ship worldwide. If you want to make an order, use this link and you’ll get $10 off a $50 purchase.
I’m so happy to add three more plastic-free products to my repertoire. Every plastic-free swap just feels so good.
What innovative plastic-free swaps have you found? Tell us your finds below.
Wow. These are some great finds! I love the plastic-free body lotion and chapstick. I’m going to check out the site! Have you ever written a review on enviro-friendly razors? I’m looking for an alternative, and you always find the best stuff. 😁
Thanks Suzanne. I did write a review of some hair removal options last summer. I have been using an epilator but I find it more time consuming and inconvenient than shaving. I have been thinking lately that I need to research enviro-friendly razors. I’ll let you know if I find anything.
Awesome. I’ll check out your hair removal post!
Thanks for sharing Michelle! I will have to check these out. I was peeling potatoes yesterday onto some old newspaper and thought of you (from one of your old posts). Unfortunately there is no green bin program in Sarnia (big change from Kitchener), but I still love the trick. I am sure we will figure out a composting solution once we get settled but are renting a smaller space for the summer.
Thanks Eric! I didn’t know you had moved to Sarnia. That’s too bad they don’t have a green bin program. It diverts so much waste from the landfill.
Your blog is a wonderful, ongoing inspiration. I will order some Etee products soon. I especially like the idea of silk (!!) dental floss. So much of our culture (for example our huge medical-industrial-healthcare-pharma industry) continues to rely upon VAST amounts of plastic with seemingly NO thought about what happens after we have used that toothbrush or dental floss or toothpaste tube (or single-use syringe which goes almost immediately into a “sharps” bin for disposal). My only regret about your blog is that you post so frequently that I have a hard time keeping up with your writing while also keeping up with everything else unfolding in my life here on planet earth. But every time I tune back in, I read something which offers hopeful, balanced options. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for your kind words Will. I shared this post with the folks at Etee this morning and they were so appreciative. I told them we need more companies like them. It really is proof of the power of one individual with vision to make a difference. These small companies are showing us that change is possible. It’s why I love to spread the word when I find them.
Oh I love the idea of the lotion bar! I am going to look at their refill option because I definitely have tins I could repurpose to house a bar. Thanks for sharing about this company! 🙂
It is a great idea. And Etee is introducing new products all the time. I’m so glad I discovered them.
Michelle, what a great post! I love how you suggest ways to go plastic-free and then give us ideas and product recommendations! I’m always finding natural products for my daughter and if they are also environmentally friend then even better!! I definitely will check out their website!!
Thank you. So far, I’ve been impressed by every product I’ve tried from this company. We need more of this kind of innovation.