Between the sleepless nights and piles of washing, it’s hard to remember to look after the planet while you’re looking after your bub. To celebrate Plastic Free July, here are some ways to green up your act, from waste reduction and waste management solutions to ecofriendly baby products to help you minimise you and your child’s impact on the environment and cut out those nasty Single Use Plastics once and for all!

Did you know that most conventional bandaids are made from plastic? They don’t break down, making them a single-use plastic item that must be taken to an incineration plant to be properly disposed of.  They are also commonly made using a combination of chemicals as well as PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, one of the most toxic plastics for both ourselves and the environment and which can cause nasty skin reactions, especially on your child’s sensitive skin. With multiple compostable and biodegradable options in existence, there is no excuse for us not to consider the sustainable, nontoxic alternatives to bandaids. We love Australian owned and operated PATCH organic wound strips, crafted with 100% biodegradable and hypoallergenic ingredients including 100% organic bamboo fibre, which will not only biodegrade and compost, but also features natural antibacterial and antifungal properties. The wound strips also hold additional goodness in the form of activated charcoal, aloe vera or coconut oil!

With kids comes a LOT of washing. It’s unavoidable, but we have the means to reduce the environmental impact. While it would be ideal to wash full loads only, keep the temperature low and avoid the tumble dryer, sometimes that’s just not feasible – and that’s ok! As an ecofriendly option for doing your laundry, we love Aussie brand Biocasa’s Laundry Detergent Strips in Delicate & Baby. Each soap-strip is equivalent to one load of ultra-concentrated, hypoallergenic laundry detergent that can be torn in half for half loads or hand wash. Gentle on your baby’s skin and the environment, it’s phosphate and paraben free, free of added dyes and chlorine bleach, vegan, readily biodegradable and comes packaged in zero-waste compostable packaging - helping keep 700,000,000 plastic jugs out of landfills per year.

Cooking your own food is not only the healthiest and safest option for the whole family, but also cuts down on the packaging and production costs on the environment that are associated with processed and industrialised foods. As an alternative to clingwrap and single-use plastics, many environmentally conscious parents look to reusable packaging for their children’s food.

Coming in a range of sizes and styles from puree-perfect 80mL and 140mL for babies or lunchboxes, all the way to sandwich bags and wraps, Sinchies reusable products are not only kind on the environment but kind on your wallet, with a retail price less than that of the equivalent disposable versions on the market. Designed using transparent, recyclable plastic, easy to fill and wash and free of BPA, Pthalates and PVC, cut food costs and reduce waste by filling up these pouches for eco-friendly, on-the-go eating.

According to the government, a staggering 3.75 million disposable nappies are used every day in Australia and New Zealand. Not only does it take approximately one cup of crude oil to manufacture each nappy, but each one can take anywhere from 150 to 500 years to break down – that’s a huge amount of landfill!  Where cloth diapers aren’t always the most suitable option for parents, biodegradable nappies offer an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional disposable diapers.

Cuddlies nappies are made from bamboo, not only nature’s most sustainable resource but also 100% biodegradable. They have been designed to biodegrade 75% of their content in as quickly as under 100 days and for easy, environmentally friendly disposal of dirty nappies, Cuddlies also offers 100% biodegradable corn starch nappy bags free with every subscription bundle. Not to mention all the benefits of bamboo! 

Click here to find out more.

As well as nappies, disposable baby wipes also account for a huge amount of landfill waste. Where conventional disposable baby wipes can contain chlorine, dyes, alcohol, fragrances, latex, PVC, TBT, phthalates or other harmful toxins that can harm the health and function of your baby’s skin, they also take decades if not hundreds of years to break down. CUDDLIES hypoallergenic water wipes are uniquely designed with 99.6% purified water, making them perfect for a gentle clean and everyday use. They are also made from bamboo, making them 100% biodegradable - not just gentle on your baby’s skin but on the environment too!

 Click here to make the change today.