Hi I am Kerry and Plant Based Hipster is my company. 

I sell hand poured wax melts in the most delicious fragrances, to fill your home with the most wonderful scents and hopefully put a smile on your face.

The reason I started making wax melts are because ones that I had tried, no matter what brand, were causing me health issues. I suffer with asthma and also oral allergy syndrome and I was finding that wax melts and scented candles often had an adverse effect on my breathing and gave me an allergic reaction and I ended up having to take anti histamines. So I made it my mission to develop wax melts and scented candles that wouldn’t negatively effect my health. There was a lot of trial and error experimenting with different fragrance companies. I had to do a lot of research into fragrances and waxes to be able to grasp what ones would be better for my health. Eventually I found fragrances that were free from the usual nasty chemicals that can causes harm to health and I decided to use coconut and rapeseed wax with no additives such as paraffin as this wax is totally natural, causes no harm to health and it’s completely biodegradable . All our wax melts are made from coconut and rapeseed oil wax which is a sustainable source unlike soy which is contributing to worldwide deforestation.

A little bit about why I chose coconut and rapeseed wax:

In my opinion, coconut and rapeseed waxes are currently the most sustainable source of wax (and, in comparison to other waxes, have supply chains with the most ethically transparent practices) with each singular wax requiring the properties of the other so as to function effectively. The supplier of my coconut and rapeseed blend wax certifies that this wax is free from Palm, Soy, Beeswax, Paraffin, Polymers, GMO materials and any other additives

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Coconut & rapeseed wax is the new wax on the block. It’s definitely more expensive to use, but because of it’s great scent throw and even burn we think it’s worth the price tag.

Coconut & rapeseed Wax is a soft creamy white color and is the eco-friendly choice. Harvesting the oil is an organic process with coconuts themselves being a sustainable high yield crop

Benefits of Coconut & rapeseed Wax 

• Coconut & rapeseed wax is slow burning and luxurious.
• The hot and cold scent throw of Coconut & rapeseed products is excellent
• Coconut & rapeseed wax gets the most eco-friendly points   

My wax melts and candles are:

Cruelty free ✅

Vegan ✅

Soy free ✅

Sustainable wax source ✅

Free from CMRs and/or phthalates  ✅

Free from parabens and silicon ✅

Free from PEG ✅

Biodegradable ✅

Recyclable packaging ✅

CLP compliant ✅

My wax melts are completely biodegradable and even the glitter! All of my packaging is recyclable and also biodegradable. The wax melts themselves come in glassine bags. I have chose glassine over recyclable plastic as we all know a lot of what we put in our recycling bin ends up getting shipped abroad and put in landfill. Glassine will biodegrade in 2-3 weeks where as plastic takes 450 years. Any orders we post are packaged plastic free and even the tape I use can go in your recycling bin.

Thanks for taking the time to read about my little business 

Kerry’s amazing wax melts will be featuring in the Between Green Box for May and there’s only a few days left to grab yours!

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Most shockingly to me was the chemicals in ‘baby-safe’ products such as Johnson&Johnson Baby Shampoo and sensitive fabric softeners.

Say NO to these companies focussed purely on profits not people by choosing a sulphate & palm free, vegan and sensitive skin friendly (including your perfect little baby) shampoo and body bar.

Next, Fabric softeners with their cute animals on the packaging and snuggly baby blankets are hiding shocking ingredients. Fabric softeners and dryer sheets are not required by law to list all their ingredients on the label so here’s a list of what you could find:

• Chloroform
• A-Terpineol
• Benzyl Alcohol
• Benzyl Acetate
• Ethanol
• Pentane
• Ethyl Acetate
• Camphor
• Linalool
• Phthalates
• Limonene

Together these chemicals can cause a host of health problems including respiratory problems, central nervous system problems, eye irritation, dizziness, headaches and nausea.

Also, just to let you know several of these ingredients are on the EPA’s hazardous waste list.

So when you take a long sniff of your fresh laundry you are probably inhaling a cocktail of toxic chemicals. Not to mention what is being absorbed through your skin when wearing your clothes.

Luckily I’ve done the hard work for you! I’ve tried a lot of different ‘eco-friendly’ ‘natural’ laundry products for me and the rest of my family of 4, including 2 teenagers (I point this out purely to focus the need for effective cleaning, deodorising and scent!)

So instead of pouring that bright green/blue/pink/purple liquid in the washer drawer or grab the liquid tabs for throwing in the drum, take a look at Laundry Detergent Sheets!

Each laundry strip packs ultra-concentrated, hypoallergenic, eco-friendly cleaning power into a tiny, pre-measured strip of liquidless laundry detergent that you just toss in the wash. Its low-sudsing formula works in all types of washing machines, including high-efficiency (HE).

They also cut down on the clutter under the sink with ultra-efficient packaging. No bigger than a large letter envelope in size and thickness, you can fit over 400 loads worth of Tru Earth Eco-Strips in the same space as a single 100 load jug of traditional detergent. The carboard packaging is more widely and easily recycled than plastic bottles and tubs that are dumped into landfills or floating in our precious oceans affecting land and marine life.

I’m honest and I will disclose that Tru Earth Eco-Strips are manufactured in Canada. FEAR NOT, I’ve found Simple Living Eco that make laundry strips right here in the UK!

Isn’t it time we said NO to chemicals and YES to natural cleaners that work effectively, save the planet, save money and save yourself from chemical inducing health issues?

Find all Simple Living Eco Laundry Products here including the Laundry Sheets and my other favourite, Natural Stain Remover Bar!

or use the code JODIC5 at checkout

21-04-21

This blog post has been shared from Crystal Cole on June 13, 2019 (credit: Crystal Cole)

I am probably going to make myself really unpopular by saying this, but I am going to say it anyway.

This morning, I posted a photo on our social media account of a natural deodorant. The photo showed two candles behind (obviously, as we make candles too!) and within seconds, a comment was posted ” Ironic that you hash tagged zero waste and then put photos of plastic electric candles in the background” A quick look on our page would clearly show that we make candles. Instead of doing a bit of background checking, the comment was made flippantly and quickly retracted when we put the poster straight. We make candles. We are trying to be a plastic free company. Showing plastic or electric candles just wouldn’t be us because well, it goes against our ethos and we don’t use them because we have candles in abundance in our workshop! How dare anyone pass judgement without doing a little investigation. The comment was taken down very quickly once they were set straight, which is really sad because my reply gave some really good insight in to what we do and how we do it and that is generally trying to cut out plastic and waste from our products and company. That was never seen or read by the poster; i guess they didn’t want to open their ears to bit of education around the company.

Last week, I had to defend myself and my company on a zero waste parenting group on Facebook, as a comment was made that “this company seems dodgy to me – I’ve looked at the reps photo and she doesn’t appear to be the sort of person who is a zero waster” How dare anyone make such a judgmental and flippant comment on a reps looks. Is it really ok to cut down a person or a company with such damaging comments without even getting to know us or ask us any questions first. Do you know how upsetting it is for someone to be told that their face doesn’t fit their ethos. How crazy is it that an opinion can be formed on what a person looks like in one photo!!!

More and more I am seeing posts of people pleased to show off the changes they are making to reduce their waste and more and more I am seeing comments  that are belittling, rather than encouraging and supportive.

Who cares if john still uses tea bags, but has changed to a biodegradable toothbrush?

Who cares if Brenda still washes her hair in shampoo that has come out of a bottle, but she takes her own bags to the grocery store instead of using plastic carrier bags.

Whose journey is this? yours or theirs? If you don’t like my company – don’t use us! But if you haven’t used us, how can you tell the world that we are “dodgy?” If you don’t like that John still uses teabags, how about congratulate him on his efforts so far, maybe offer some advice, but cut him down? Thats just not on.

There is far too much superiority in zero waste groups and whilst some people has spent time educating themselves on the east ways to avoid waste, what they are failing to see sometimes is that their superioirty can come across as really negative. We are all trying to fight a war against waste together and in the battle field, we need to build each other up, not tear down our fellow comrades. Wars like this are won by many people doing the best that they can, but no one can be perfect. Show me someone living a zero waste life and I will show you a liar. Because I am not perfect, my company is not perfect, John and Brenda are not perfect. We are all just trying to do our best.

So next time you feel the need to post a negative comment that could potentially bring down a small business, or give Brenda a mouth full because her face doesn’t fit and her hair is not washed with the urine of a zero waste guardian angel, just remember, everyone starts somewhere and everyone can easily go AWOL from the zero waste war because of your comments. Be kind and supportive.

From now on, we will be using the hashtag myzerowastejourney on all of our social media posts, because zero wasting is personal to us all. This company is MY journey to help do my bit, not yours. Your journey is yours too. Doesn’t make either of us right; it just makes us soldiers in the same fight, just taking a different route to the battle.

Please stop to think about how your comments towards small businesses and new zero waste individuals can be as damaging as the plastic we all are fighting to rid the planet of. 

I choose zero waste, kindness and positivity. What do you choose?

Hi Betweeners, just to let you know this blog post has been shared from another site but it resonated with what I wanted to say so well! REMEMBER: Be Kind. Always.

Here’s the original piece: https://crystalcole.co.uk/blogs/news/cutting-the-crap-out-is-not-just-about-zero-waste

Share your views over on my social media!

Between Green Eco friendly home group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/740608686769927/?ref=share

My insta: https://www.instagram.com/_between_green_/

FB PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/betweengreen/

Did you know that UK households waste 4.5 million tonnes of food each year. Add that to the 3.6 million tonnes wasted by the food industry and you can clearly see why Food Waste Action Week is an important week to review our food related habits.

During lockdown periods due to the Covid-19 pandemic, households had learned to get better at preventing waste. Concerns about going to the shops and running out of food initially motivated people to waste less. Pre-shop planning, smart storage and creative cooking all contributed to the decrease in UK household food waste.

It’s an uncomfortable truth. The more lockdown measures are eased, the more food waste there is in UK households.

How can we reduce the amount of food we waste?

• Store Food Properly – wrap up open packets and use reusable storage boxes to keep food fresher for longer
• Keep your fridge and cupboards organised – rotate food when you shop so newly bought foods are placed behind items needed to be used first
• Write a shopping list and stick to it – it’s easy to be swayed by offers but stick to your list to reduce waste and money. If you’re not a fan of shopping lists, take a picture of your fridge/cupboard shelves before you head to the shops instead. This will stop you from buying something you’ve already got at home.
• Buy local and loose – stay away from pre-packed bags and packets and choose just the amount you need. Don’t forget your reusable fruit and veg bags!
• Assess best before dates – food doesn’t “go off” magically at midnight on the best before dates. Be sure to check dates so that foods that won’t last until they are used can be frozen if possible.
• Get creative with leftovers – we’ve made crumble toppings with crumbs from flapjacks or bottom of the bags of cereals. You can also use peels for stocks, and any leftover meats and/or vegetables for pies or soups.
• Freeze your fresh herbs – you can defrost and discard the water however a small amount of water shouldn’t ruin most recipes.
• Perfect your portions – Hands up who has ever found themselves with far too much rice or pasta? It’s easy to do, but there are simple ways to cook the perfect amount. For example, a mug filled with dry rice will cook enough for four adults.
• Before you freeze your leftovers – label the bag/container telling you what’s inside and when you froze it.

Food waste affects on the Environment

Did you know, global food waste produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all commercial flights.

Globally, around a third of all food produced is lost or wasted, which contributes between 8 and 10 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions.

It isn’t just the leftovers on our plate to consider but the many resources that go into producing our food, like water and land.

Many things, including water, land, energy, time, and transportation are needed to produce our food, so it’s really important that we don’t unnecessarily waste it.

• Almost 280 tonnes of poultry goes to waste in the UK every day, if we stopped wasting poultry, we could do the same for climate change as planting nearly 6.6 million trees every year.
• We throw away the equivalent of 3.1 million glasses of milk every day. If we used every drop, we could do the same for climate change as planting nearly 6 million trees per year.
• Every day 4.4 million potatoes go to waste in UK homes. If we all stopped wasting these potatoes it would do the same for greenhouse gas emissions as planting 5.4 million trees per year.
• 20 million slices of bread are thrown away at home in the UK every day. If we stopped wasting bread, it would do the same for greenhouse gas emissions as planting 5.3 million trees per year.

Food Waste Recipes

It became a household staple in 2020, using up your soft bananas to make banana bread. Yesterday my daughter did a LIVE cookalong on Zoom making the perfect banana bread

Find the FULL recipe and method in my Facebook Group

If you enjoyed this video please subscribe to my YouTube channel

https://youtube.com/channel/UC4sm9yRoWakj70r9jFUBWDw

At Mrs Sparkle we create handmade, eco friendly, natural products for use in the home.  Our aim is to make it easy for everyone to make eco swaps in their busy lives at an affordable price.

We collect and share information so you can make informed decisions whatever your goal, be it to go natural, reduce plastic consumption or to find more zero waste products.  

Our mantra for sustainability is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  Recently we have become interested in the work done by Terracycle and decided to find out more.

✨”Eliminating The Idea Of Waste”✨

I am familiar with Terracycle, have used their bins in supermarkets and have been known to say ‘ have a look at Terracycle, they take everything’ if someone mentions being unsure about recycling something.

I wanted to find out a little more about them, and share my discoveries!🌿

Terracycle collects items not currently recyclable through local councils.

They offer recycling solutions for typically hard to recycle waste, such as collecting things like laundry tablet boxes and melting them down into hard plastic pellets that are then remoulded into new products.

Below is a table offered for sale in their store, made from recycled toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes!💚

As it stands, these are some of their achievements –

✨202 million people are collecting and handing in their waste, across 21 countries
✨That means billions of pieces of waste collected so far
✨44 million dollars raised for charities through this scheme

Terracycle offer many incentives for schools and charities. Once you start collecting, you accrue points for your chosen organisation that are then transferred into donations✨

So many things can be collected, from bread bags, cheese wrappers and crisp packets,  to rubber gloves and plastic toys and games!

All you need to do is –

✨Choose ‘programmes’ – which items or brands you would like to collect, and sign up for free
✨Collect any waste items
✨Print a free shipping label
✨Send in your waste for recycling

There are drop off points too at many local shops, churches and other businesses – take a look to see where your nearest location is, and what they accept!

Mrs Sparkle and Between Green would love to hear about any other recycling schemes that you have heard of, big or small – it’s great to hear about the amazing work being done!!🌸

Thanks for reading and thanks to Between Green for inviting us on here.

Who’s heard of Greenwashing? If you haven’t here’s a quick definition;

Green washing is the use of false environmental claims with pictures or words such as ‘natural’ or ‘ethical’ as a marketing spin to imply their product is Earth friendly, sustainable and basically, as green as it can be.

Now, for people who want to do their bit for the environment this is very frustrating as finding and using alternatives already has its barriers without multi billion pound companies use these eco ‘buzzwords’ without much legislation.

How to spot Greenwashing:

1. Ignore the packaging with those misleading buzzwords such as ‘recyclable’ and the vague use of ‘eco’ and read the label.

2. Don’t be fooled by branding. its easy to be swayed by the little green leaves and happy little Earth images but do your research.

3. Find proof of green practices – get familiar with spotting those words that don’t really mean anything until proven that their values helps them to make sure that they are doing all that they can to operate sustainably.

4. Beware the slogans! Here’s a shocking example:

LUSH – now you’d be led to think when you walk into the store that its a vegan cruelty-free paradise. Now only part of that is true. LUSH are very dedicated to not testing on animals but 33% of their products are not suitable for vegans. That means some products are not free from any kind of animal extract.

And have you ever wondered why you can smell LUSH from a mile away?

I’m sorry to say but its due to the use of potent parfums and parabens so their products have a longer shelf life.

You want to know more right…?

Let’s talk about McDonalds – In June 2018 the multi billion dollar fast food chain made the switch from plastic straws to paper straws. However, eagle-eyed milkshake slurpers called them out as not actually being recyclable.

McDonald’s has since stressed the straws are made from recyclable materials, but current recycling infrastructure does not allow for them to be processed by recycling plants.

So what can you do next time you swoop in for a happy meal? Say no to straws and use your own reusable one. As well as metal straws you can get handy foldable silicone ones for out and about.

Ready for another shock?

Be warned the next image can be distressing and upsetting!

Not all L’Oreal products are 100% vegan meaning some of their products contain animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products such as egg white, mink oil, beeswax, honey, and other animal by-products.

Lets check your greenwashing skills:

“in 1989, L’Oréal was able to end all testing of its products on animals, without making our products any less safe. Since March 2013, the Group has taken another decisive step: The Group no longer tests on animals, anywhere in the world, and does not delegate this task to others. An exception could be made if regulatory authorities required it for safety or regulatory purposes.”

Did you spot the greenwashing in this policy?

The L’Oreal animal testing policy states they test their products on animals where required by law.

Right so lets dig a little deeper….

Required by law animal testing means that the brand is allowing animal testing to occur on their products due to various laws and regulations around the globe. These laws may apply to ingredients, formulations, or finished products. They could also happen pre-market (before the products are available to consumers) or post-market (after the products are available to consumers).

The truth is there are so many alternatives to all these wonder creams, lotions and potions!

Take a look at our vegan, organic natural solid deodorant:

With your new greenwashing skills, which products are you going to choose???

All our alternatives are available in our Sustainable Swap Shop including the deodorant shown above:

SUSTAINABLE SWAP SHOP: Between Green (between-green.com)

Hands up if you’re working from home…. yep, me too!

I’ve put together some really simple ways you can save the world from your dining table, bedroom, living room, wherever you are staying home and safe!

1. Unplug your computer overnight

Make it a habit to unplug your computer every night. Not only is this a real energy saver, but it also can protect your computer from serious damage. It’s not an old wives’ tale — a power surge caused by lightning can completely fry your computer.

A computer, modem, and monitor, TV, phone charger, or cable box all consume a considerable amount of electricity even when not in use.

2. Disable Screensavers

Yes, they are very pretty however, a PC with a screensaver going can use well over 100 watts of power, compared with only about 10 watts in sleep mode.

Most screen savers use the same amount of energy as when the screen is in normal use. Some more sophisticated screen savers actually use more energy. You can set most screens to automatically power down after a pre-set time of user inactivity, e.g. 1 minute. By clicking the mouse or pressing a key the image is quickly restored. Remember to fully switch off at the end of the working day.

3. Use a paper bin

YES – obviously its way more eco-friendly to reduce your paper waste in the first place but when paper waste is inevitable make sure you are recycling correctly.

If you haven’t got a spare bin you could use a strong shopper bag or even an empty cardboard box which makes it all the more easier to recycle!

Now lets see if we can reduce the amount of paper….

4. Print on both sides

If I need to print anything I make sure I can fit at least 2 pages to one sheet and most printers have an option to print on both sides.

You’ve saved paper, saved ink and saved electricity! Well done you!

5. Lower your Screen Brightness

This green tip comes to us from Harvard Law School’s energy manager Eric Potkin who found that reducing your computer monitor brightness from 100% to 70% can save up to 20% of the energy the monitor uses.

Most people won’t notice much difference in their monitor between 100% and 70% brightness, so reducing brightness to the minimum comfortable level is a great opportunity to save up to 20% of your monitor’s energy consumption.

6. Make your own snacks!

So we’re at home and we’re not using coffee cups or plastic bottles, we get to use our favourite mug all day…WIN!

Making your own snacks means less, or even, no packaging.

Nuts left over from Christmas make awesome seeded bars and flapjacks, or try your hand at the lockdown favourite of banana bread to reduce food waste.

Being at home is the perfect time to get creative – make sure you share your home recipes!

7. Change your search engine

Goodbye Google…

Bye Bye Bing…

Adios Ask.Com….

Ecosia uses the ad revenue from your searches to plant trees where they are needed the most. By searching with Ecosia, you’re not only reforesting our planet, but you’re also empowering the communities around our planting projects to build a better future for themselves.

Give it a try!

Stay Safe Everyone

Let me know if you use any of these tips by connecting with me on Facebook and/or Instagram

Love, Light and Green Vibes….

Jodie