Category Archives: Shopping

Perfection is Stupid

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Plasticless

I am reusing a statement made by Jason Sweeney as my title for this post. Those three words have sent my mind in a hundred different directions thinking about what impact the human pursuit of perfection has on this planet. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bottled Water, Business, Environment, Fashion, Food, Health, Inspiration, Party, Plastic, PlasticLess Tips, Shopping, Society, Water | 5 Comments

Live Better

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Plasticless

Walmart is a phenomenal success story and it has a huge impact on the retail landscape wherever it spreads. The largest retail corporation in the world has a lot of detractors from various segments of society, some of which overlap. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternatives, Inspiration, PlasticLess Tips, Shopping, Society | 1 Comment

Whole Foods is Not Just a Brand

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Plasticless

One way that I avoid plastic packaging is to feed myself and my family lots of whole, fresh fruit every day. Here is a slide show of what we had over the course of a week This is all relatively … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Shopping | Comments Off

Reusing Reusable Bags

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Plasticless

I’m usually an enthusiastic cheerleader about reusable shopping bags. Disposable plastic shopping bags are one of the most obvious targets for plastic reduction. I was given pause when I read a thoughtful article complaining about the fact that businesses are … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternatives, Environment, Fashion, Plastic, Shopping, Society | 3 Comments

Clear And Present Danger: Plastic Litter and Urban Floods

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Plasticless

Let’s get this out of the way first. Plastic waste doesn’t CAUSE flooding. Rain causes flooding. Discarded plastic bags and plastic bottles DO impact the efficiency of flood control systems in several ways. Besides the obvious potential for clogging drains, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bottled Water, Environment, Garbage, Plastic, Safety, Shopping | Comments Off

Making Reusable Bags from ‘Disposable’ Bags

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Plasticless

This isn’t exactly a review of Fat Bottom Bags. I chose local solutions as much as possible and these bags are made in the North West of America. They caught my eye because they look quite a bit like the … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, PlasticLess Tips, Shopping | 7 Comments

What’s Wrong With CROCS?

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Plasticless

Crocs are made from ethylene vinyl acetate. That should be enough to make me hate them, but footwear is complicated. Traditional materials like leather cause pollution during processing. Shoes are often made in sweatshops. The list goes on, it’s hard … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Footwear, Shopping | 4 Comments

Save Us From Movie Merchandise

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Plasticless

1975 to 1982 was the golden age of movie merchandise according to the NYT. The articles that I found on the subject mostly talk in dollars. I have to wonder what the numbers mean in terms of tons of plastic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternatives, Entertainment, Environment, Food, Inspiration, Plastic, Shopping, Society, Toys | Comments Off

Packing Peanuts

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Plasticless

Photo Credit: ThrasherDave When I worked at JustUs Coffee, I had a coworker who was quite vocal about his hatred of Styrofoam packing peanuts. We were a production facility in the middle of major steady expansion, so we ended up … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternatives, Environment, Garbage, PlasticLess Tips, Shopping | 3 Comments

Hindsight Peripheral Vision is 20:20

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Plasticless

I desperately needed a computer mouse this week and all of my choices in the local retail market came with excessive plastic packaging. I am reusing a flat portion of the plastic as a super heavy duty laminate for my … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternatives, Computers, Environment, Plastic, Shopping | Comments Off