As a consumer I have been striving to avoid all the plastics I can. (We've taken that up a notch since the most recent oil debacle and now we're working on sourcing safe, stable, non-plastic containers for our bestselling LuSa Organics baby care line.) At home going (almost) plastic-free means buying in bulk, making (and growing) our own, and choosing second hand over new. For years we've been hauling our snacks around in glass jars. It works well but can get heavy on hikes and picnics and we've seen more than our share of breakage.
I recently stumbled upon Life Without Plastic and was thrilled with what they offer to keep your lunch plastic-free. They sent me a stainless steel tiffin to try and truly we find ourselves reaching for several times a week. It's portable, safe, lightweight, and sturdy. Along with this tiffin that my friend brought us as a gift from India, we rarely use anything else when we head to the park, the woods, or down the road.
Life Without Plastic has a generous giveaway for one lucky winner of a tiffin and a stainless food storage box. (Details are below the interview.) Read on for my interview with Jay, one of the two owners of Life Without Plastic.
Clean: What is Life Without Plastic all about?
LWP: Our mission involves offering the
best alternatives to plastic products for everyday life activities. We
focus on products that are hard-to-find, high quality, safe,
ethically-sourced, and of course with as little plastic as possible. We believe our world, our environment, is a sacred
place and space deserving the utmost respect, care and love. And we
think our products and the way we run our business reflect this
perspective.
Clean: What inspired you to go into this line of work?
LWP: (Co-owner/Parnter) Chantal and I have always been interested in helping and appreciating
the environment, and living in as healthy a way as possible. We have
never been fans of plastic – especially for food and drink. One thing
that has always disturbed us is to see how oily sauces, such as a
tomato sauce for pasta, would become impregnated in the plastic of
plastic food storage containers. If the plastic is absorbing the food,
it only makes sense that the food is absorbing the plastic.We began
doing research on the effects of chemicals and found the results disturbing – links to cancers and
developmental problems. We didn't want to be putting these chemicals in
our bodies.Back
in 2002, we were looking for a stainless steel water bottle and had
great difficulty finding one. We finally came upon the Klean Kanteen,
ordered one, tried it out and were impressed. With stainless bottles
now all over the place, we still feel the Klean Kanteen is the highest
quality bottle on the market, which is why we continue to carry it. So
that got us thinking – these bottles are hard to find, and we know
there are others out there looking for alternatives to plastic…Fast
forward one year to when our son was born… Chantal was
breast-feeding, but we sought glass baby bottles for storing breast
milk. Again, great difficulty finding glass baby bottles, which, of
course were the norm 20-30 years ago. We finally found that Evenflo,
based in Ohio, was having them made in Mexico. We contacted Evenflo,
and it was no problem to order them, but they only did wholesale and
the minimum order was 1000 bottles!At that point we decided to make
the leap and actually start the business that had been simmering in our
minds for several years by then. So we began with stainless steel
water bottles and glass baby bottles, and have never looked back while
expanding into food storage containers, dishes, water dispensers, toys,
bags… (gorgeous natural brushes from Germany and a stainless steel
ice cube tray are the latest products soon to be added to the line).
Most importantly, we both wanted to be doing something we believe in,
and to make a tangible difference for the environment and people's
health.
Clean: How do you believe you and your business are bringing good into the
world?
LWP: We know that what we are doing is making a difference both for the environment and for people's health. Our social justice and environmental mission revolves around decreasing global reliance on plastics, and can be summarized as follows: To offer the best alternatives to plastic products for everyday life, and to actively promote and educate about reduced reliance on plastic products for health, environment, and economic reasons.
As described on our website, this mission is based on a vision grounded in four guiding principles of health, environment, integrity, and community. (Visit LWP's website for details on how they work to support these principles.)
Clean: What else should we know?
LWP: Health, environmental, and ethical practices play into all we do. When sourcing any new product we have a list of environmental and labor-related considerations we go through in relation to the product and the supplier. And here at home we strive to accommodate the needs of our workers (especially in relation to family responsibilities). We have strong trust relationships with our employees and they are our friends, too. We gain support and nourishment from our community of Wakefield and do our best to give back in numerous ways. We have helped our municipality become fair-trade certified and are now working toward making it plastic-bag free.
Life Without Plastic is generously offering a giveaway to one lucky winner of the two items pictured below: a tiffin and a stainless steel food box. To be entered in the today's drawing simply leave a comment below with one way you are shifting your life to reduce plastic use (or one way you could!). I'll close comments on Monday morning, first thing. Good luck! Comments are closed.
To receive 10% off of any order at Life Without Plastic, use coupon code "lusalwp".
We got a set of glass storage containers for Christmas last year (we asked for it) so we’re using those for freezing and storing food, as well as stainless steel bowls! We are trying to phase out plastic (and Teflon) as we’re able to.
Casey, Cookie sheets were our big hang up. I finally splurged on a pair of stainless ones. They are so nice!
~Rachel
Oh, I would soooo love to win this! We are taking up your challenge and trying to reduce our use of icky plastic!
We do our best to avoid plastic (glassware, cloth bags, steel water bottles, etc.) Next on my list: how to get rid of laundry detergent containers, shampoo containers and dish soap containers, have them all be biodegradable, effective and not break the budget. (I’m trying to find room in our budget for raw dairy). Thanks for the give-away chance.
We too are stepping up our efforts to reduce plastic, my cupboard is full of lglass jars and containers but this site has solutions to other frequent plastic quandries!
Thanks for the interview. It feels good knowing there are more and more companies I am comfortable supporting. And I think I’d be reaching for a tiffin daily!
We’ve been reducing plastic step by step. My big struggle is the plastic bags that certain produce come pre-wrapped in. Even at the little stand I shop at, not the big grocery store. We’ve been eliminating our plastic storage and shifting to be glass jars.
We also make all our own soap, laundry included so we don’t have any product bottles in our home (or very few).
YesYesYes Please. Ive been eyeing the stainless steel box off for awhile.
we are slowly switching to a plastic-free life as well. we try to buy in bulk when possible and we use glass storage. i would love to have more kid-friendly plastic-free dinnerware. thank you for this giveaway!
i hear ya–it IS getting heavy lugging around all these glass containers for our lunches and snacks. These seem like an awesome alternative option! Thanks for the chance!
I have been dying to try these. I’m a lugger of glass as well and would be very happy to have an alternative. Thanks!
I think it’s time for me to bite the bullet and toss out all of my plastic storage containers… I’ve been very slowly switching to mostly glass, but I would love, love, love something unbreakable and more portable!
I’ve been planning to buy one of these for so long … we’ve phased out a lot of plastics, but still use plastic containers when we’re out and about. Thank you!
Oh yes! count me in!
I’ve been using fabric bags to carry my groceries for 17 years and have also, more recently, shifted to fabric bags for fruit & vegetables.
Thanks for introducing me to Life Without Plastic and hosting this giveaway opportunity.
PB
Peggy,
The switch to cloth for fruits and veggies is a big one. We even get plastic bags from our CSA… So good for you and Mother Earth!
~ Rachel
We take our own food every time we leave the house, so this giveaway would be a blessing! Thanks for hosting!
My next endeavor, like you all at Lusa, is to find alternatives to the plastic used for many herbal homemade goods like body oils–tins are great for balms etc but need a good one for shampoos, oils and all. Look forward to hear what you find for Lusa Rachel–and btw– BIG blessings on your Work! Your Whole Work 😉
Also tired of lugging glass, i’ve tried two tiffins from different companies. Unfortunately, they were returned because the weld points were already rusting. Although i’m willing to pay a bit more for earth-friendly products, i expect them to be high quality. So i’m very excited to learn about Sanctus Mundo tiffins! And thrilled to find Life Without Plastics (especially since many items i’ve found independently are on this one site). I’m sure i’ll be using LuSa’s coupon code there soon. Thanks Rachel!
Oh, this is such a great giveaway. Instead of using plastic we use mama made snack bags from snacktaxi.com, use glass containers for storage, use reusable stainless steel bottles for water, and use little mason jars for the kids’ drinks in the house (purchased at thrift stores!). We of course never shop without our reusable bags, no matter where we are. Love this giveaway, thanks so much for the opportunity. Happy weekend.
We do as much as we can at home, but I’m struggling with this at school. I’m a Family & Consumer Science teacher (Home Ec.), and sending the students home with leftovers during our cooking units without using plastic has been downright impossible. Foil and paper lunch bags aren’t much better, either. My plan for this summer is to come up with a better solution!
oh, thank you! what a great giveaway! we’ve been slowly converting our lives over (to plastic-free) since our first was born a year ago. so far, it’s been lots and lots of mason jars…but I would love to get some stainless steel in the mix!
The birth of our first baby a year ago was a wonderful chance for us to not only work harder at ridding our own home of plastic, but to educate our family and friends about better alternatives to plastic as well…after all, everyone wants the best for a new baby! We tote our own reusable bags everywhere, store leftovers in glass containers, and continue to learn about better, safer alternatives for us all.
What a great giveaway! We have been reduing plastic in our home for a while now. We use glass storage containers, reusable fabric storage bags and mesh produce bags, buy milk from a farm in reusable glass jars and make our own yogurt and kefir, use stainless water bottles, as wellas purchase much in bulk and store in glass.
We were drinking a lot of bottled water because our well water isn’t the best. We invested in a reverse osmosis filration system and glass drinking bottles from http://www.lovebottle.net. Now I bring my cool water bottles everywhere and get lots of great comments on how unique they are! Next is to get rid of our tupperware – yuck! thanks for introducing this option. I see lots of great replacements for my ugly spaghetti stained plastic 🙂
we are pretty big sticklers about buying in bulk, storing foods in glass, not using microwaves, cooking at home, etc. i have been wanting to try tiffins and other metal storage for things like bringing lunches since glass is so heavy. thanks for offering this giveaway!
awesome giveaway! we’ve been making cloth bags for snacks……next is for our fruits and veggies.
thanks
I’ve recently found all non-plastic dishes, cups, and utensils for the baby.
that is a gorgeous little tiffin. how can you insist on using plastic when there are so many awesome (and better looking!) alternatives out there?!
I’m slowly making changes as my budget allows. Stainless water bottles, glass storage containers, and the obvious… fabric shopping bags. I’ve been considering a tiffin, juggling it’s place on my priority list. I welcome the conversations it will inspire in the break room at work (namely yes, you can survive without a microwave).
What a great giveaway and line of products Rachel, thanks!! Thanks to you I now have a protected glass water bottle from Life Factory, I love it and am excited to share it with others!!! =)
I try to cut out plastic as much as possible. I use cloth bags for groceries and produce, and I freeze foods in freezer-safe glass jars–just to name a couple. Luckily the town of Whitewater has an awesome recycling program that takes *almost* all plastic, so if there is something that I couldn’t avoid, I be sure to re-use and/or recycle.
OOOH!!! What great stuff! How wonderful this all would be to use!
Thanks for the chance! I was JUST looking at these the other day and wishing I had the money for them. With 10% off or possibility of a win. hmmmm…..
We just bought our first house and in the process of moving I donated all of our plastic storage containers. Ahhh feels so good:)
This summer we are switching to cloth snack bags. We would love to have another non-plastic food container option! Thanks for the chance!
We are replacing plastic bags with reusable fabric bags. We are also getting rid of plastic containers and replacing them with glass and metal.
We have been drinking our travel drinks (water, coffee, tea)in glass canning jars. The lids are easy to wash and track down (and interchangeable) and I have plenty of jars from my adventures in food preservation!
thanks for the interview & great information!!
instead of plastic storage containers i saved glass applesauce jars and use them for my leftover.
I’ve got a tiffin that I keep in our picnic basket…which I should really get out and use, now that the weather’s nice. It’s Concert in the Park season! Thanks for the giveaway – these look fantastic!
We are always trying in small ways, love, love cloth napkins.
We use stainless steel water bottles, various glass jars/containers (still some plastic at this point); thrifted ceramic/stonewear to replace children’s plastic dishes, fabric grocery bags, stainless steel and cloth snack containers for kids (these were a big expense and didn’t work out too well- too small for us)…it is a process due to finances:)
Life w/o Plastic is such a fabulous resource. We use mason jars and other glass for food storage. Occasionally we still come home with a plastic bag or two and we reuse them until they are no longer reusable. Cloth bags are a given but I will gladly pile groceries in my arms if I happen to forget my bags. And I carry a Kleen Kanteen everywhere I go.
Anybody have other storage solutions for those huge Rubbermaid totes in the garage?
We’ve been using reusable shopping bags for a while now, and I have a stainless steel water bottle I take to work everyday.
Awesome giveaway!
Not just practical and safe, but GORGEOUS. Wowza. Eating in style has never been so good. 😉
I would love to get these containers. I think about it all the time. But they are quite pricey. For now we’re working on it one piece at a time. Though in my mind it would be nice to get rid of everything plastic all at once!
I try to keep safety and durability in mind whenever I’m buying something new. I recently bought a set of stainless steel BBQ tools to give to my husband for his upcoming birthday. It’s nice to know that we’ll be able to use them for a long time (and nothing’s going to melt!).
My best way to reduce plastic consumption is to buy as little industrial products as I can. Whenever I do have plastic in my house, I try to give it as much use as I can. Nothing gets thrown away if it can be re-used. But I would love to increase our ability as a family to need it less and less.
Thank you Tish for the kind words. Ill share what I learn. Ive got some great leads.
~ Rachel
Bianca,
The rubbermaid tubs were bothering me too, so I bought a couple of sets of these cardboard office boxes. My grandma always stored things in them. I love them. http://www.uline.com/BL_6656/Uline-Economy-Storage-File-Boxes-with-Lid
~ Rachel
I’m phasing out our plastic storage containers. We’re reusing glass storage jars (everything from tiny baby food jars to massive pickle jars) and I’m slowly collecting other non-plastic storage containers at yard sales and thrift stores. This week I’m picking up oilcloth and will be making some cloth snack bags — hopefully I can stop buying ziplock bags!
We have all brought stainless steel water bottles for our family and friends as birthday and Christmas presents over the last year. This year we are buying tiffin containers for everyone.
I always use cloth bags when shopping and stainless water bottles as opposed to plastic. I love all of the food containers on this site. They will make great replacements for my few remaining pieces of tupperware.
We’ve started to grow more of our own food and to choose glass jars instead of plastics for the products we still buy (and then reuse the glass jars for many many things…) Bulk buying has helped too!! Stupid plastic…
Rachel,
Kind thanks for your review, and deep thanks also to all your readers – such inspirational comments. We always love hearing what other folks are doing to reduce plastic use, and we are constantly learning as we go. I just wanted to add a little response to “nancy” regarding rusting at the weld points of other tiffins she has had. I know exactly what you are talking about and we have never had experience or complaints of this happening with these tiffins. We have been working with the Thai family-run company that makes these tiffins for the past four years and are constantly impressed by their integrity and attention to detail. Also, Rachel, as a quick footnote I thought you and your readers may be interested to know of the blog Fake Plastic Fish (http://fakeplasticfish.com/) run by a friend and constant inspiration, Beth Terry. Looking for more ideas on going plastic-free? Read Beth.
Our best to you all.
-Jay
I recently found out that I have aluminum toxicity and toxic build-up in my system. That revelation led us to reasses our kitchen. We got rid of our tupperware, our microwave, our aluminum pots & pans and now everything is uncoated stainless steel & glass. I’m feeling a lot better!
We store bulk items in recycled glass jars and use cloth snack bags. I also use cloth bags whenever out shopping. I’ve seen the stainless steel water bottles, but never made the connection to use stainless steel for other storage! Wonderful!
I completely avoid plastic “silverware” and even bring the real stuff on picnics! I also use my own shopping bags and a water canteen.
love this — thanks for the inspiration
I love these. Is it nerdy to admit my planning and saving for these types of reusable items? I do.
Last year we bought a bunch of sandwich wraps from a crunchy type co-op. They wash up easy and no more sandwich baggies!! Awesome give away!!
We’ve pretty much elminated plastic, except for the occassional ziplock for freezing. Klean Kanteens are great, as are glass storage containers. But, small drinking glasses for toddlers are still a challenge for us. BPA free is our best compromise right now, so I’m excited about the stainless cups I see here.
I am trying to cook everything from scratch. Too often we find ourselves “too busy to cook” and end up getting take-out in plastic containers. Cooking at home not only reduces our plastic consumption, it is better for our budget and health as well. Thanks for the opportunity to win!
Jennie,
When Im on my game I make double batches and then freeze reasonable sized portions for quick (crisis) dinners. Just an idea!
~ Rachel
Jenifer,
We thrift little vintage juice jars so when one goes down we just quietly sweep up. Little stainless or wooden cups work great too!
~ Rachel
Libby,
Nerdy but awesome.
~ Rachel
For anyone looking for kid-friendly, plastic free dishes, our family really likes enamelware(graniteware). We use enamelware cups, bowls, and plates. Along with being kid-friendly, they are safe to use on the stovetop, in the oven, in the microwave(although we don’t have one anymore), over an open fire, and they can be put in the dishwasher.
What a great company! I’m always trying to reduce our plastic intake, plastic baggies are the hardest for us. I have been using cloth produce bags for the last few years, they’re awesome and I think more people would really like them.
I purged the tupperware.. using glass dishes! Working on getting rid of the baggies. I store my bread in paper bags, freezer jam goes in glass jars, and leftovers in glass storage containers. We eat snacks a lot when out and that is when it is hard to take glass. We would love to try other options for our picnics.
I saw someone mention trying to eliminate plastic for laundry soap and shampoo. Our co op has bulk stuff like that.. Just take in your gallon glass jars and fill em up!
It is hard to not buy some things in plastic containers.. working on it though 🙂 Making my own yogurt!!
I have committed to not using any plastic bags from any store for a year (or forever!) and I never use plastic water bottles. I always have my stainless steel water bottle and coffee mug with me. I also don’t buy toys that come in a bunch of plastic (I can’t stand that!).
Thanks for the give away!
Tricia
I bought a Klean Kanteen bottle for each of my sons’ lunch boxes this year. Because the bottles are pricey, I was concerned that they would lose the bottles. But fortunately they didn’t, so I’ll be able to use them next year too. It worked out really well, and I feel good about decreasing the trash pile at their school.
Like many of those that have commented already, our family has been working to eliminate all the plastic from out lives over the last few years. We love glass despite the heavy picnic baskets it creates. Wondering if anyone has a good space conscious alternative to plastic freezer bags?
we have cut down on our use of plastics drastically. We bring our own cloth bags to the grocery store, have switched to cloth bags for the produce. We use glass for storing our left over food and occassionally use platics for carrying food when traveling. Recently I started to just use a cloth napkin to wrap our sandwiches when you go on a picnic or on a day trip then when we unwrap the sandwich we have a clean place to put our sandwich. No more icky picnic table or surfaces.
Well, we use only stainless steel bottles, use cloth diapers, and I’ve begun making my own cloth snack bags to be reused again and again!
Oh my – I have wanted one of these for a looooong time! We have been buying in bulk and using glass jars and fabric totes for years. We’re now looking at what we buy and trying to eliminate those that we’re able to make at home. The packaging is what really gets me. We’re now constantly brewing a batch of kombucha and I even cut up some of my hubbies t-shirts to use as toilet paper for #1! Next up, I want to learn to make our own vinegar.
We’ve started bringing our own glass containers to restaurants for take-out, though I’d love to switch to a tiffin.
Thanks so much to you and Life Without Plastic for such a generous giveaway! I appreciate the chance to win…but I’m most grateful for the coupon code 🙂 We’re largely a glass family–storage containers, jars, etc. But my husband has a beloved “perfectly-sized” plastic container that he often uses for his lunch (when he packs it rather than I 😉 ) I’ve been planning to give him a stainless steel box as a gift because I think that may be just the thing to help him give up his beloved plastic container.
(Very) Long story short: I’ll be making good use of the coupon code 🙂 Thanks!
We’re buying less prepackaged food by joining a CSA and bringing our own glass jars when we buy dry goods in bulk.
We got a set of mesh bags (on etsy) to use at the grocery store for produce instead of plastic produce bags. Lightweight enough that they don’t mess with produce scales.
we recently stopped using the plastic bags for produce at the grocery store…. i’d love to find a way to do all that berry-freezing i plan to without plastic bags. any ideas?
I’m trying to use my cloth shopping bags all the time. I have a little foldable one I carry in my purse. Slowly trying to purge the plastic in my life and be more mindful of the plastic items we use.
what a great giveaway! We try and buy in bulk when possible to reduce the amount of plastic that comes into our home. Our town has the most amazing recycling program (#s 1-7, simply out by the curb, among other stuff) which means that we hardly make any trash, but it makes me realize how much recycling we are generating. So our next step is to conquer that…