2021, Are you ready. . .

OK here we go. The fourth year of my Package Free Pledge is just around the corner!! Wahoo! Once again I will be using the 40 days of lent as my time reference for the challenge.

This year lent begins on the 17th February and ends on the 3rd April (also my birthday) cool…

I am still in Edinburgh for the time being, depending on certain ‘covid’ rules and restrictions so a lot of the places I visit in this years challenge you may have already seen in previous pledges, however it might be a bit different with the current global pandemic still active. The government are really keeping us on our toes waiting for the next announcement of rule changes . . .

But hey! What better way to spend our spare time than finding more environmentally friendly ways of buying our daily food and products!

Please help by trying the pledge for yourself and sharing my stories, triumphs, bumps in the road. I hope that the pledge can reach more people in the local community and spread the package free mission.

A reminder of why I continue to do this pledge.

We don’t only need to preserve anymore, we have to regenerate, create solutions and work together in keeping the earths eco system balanced and stable.

The little choices we make each day as consumers has an effect. . .

I am so happy to have made this an annual project as it provokes me to observe my habits and put my attention on the bigger picture.

Its not all about the ocean either, most packaged items contain ingredients which are damaging the rainforest such as palm oil. .

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL?

“Palm oil has been and continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino. This forest loss coupled with conversion of carbon rich peat soils are throwing out millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. There also remains some exploitation of workers and child labour. These are serious issues that the whole palm oil sector needs to step up to address because it doesn’t have to be this way.” - WWF

I believe if we buy locally and without packaging we can eliminate the continuation of deforestation and plastics in the ocean, but step by step. The big businesses have to play their part more importantly, as it will take time to change our habits. People will continue to buy whatever the companies produce. For example, the whole world wont stop drinking coca-cola anytime soon . . .

And with this clever commercial you may think that Coca-cola have gone green however they are only 30% plant based and are still manufacturing 70% plastic. If we think about how many people drink this stuff globally in a day, 30% just isn't enough.

It's a step in the right direction, but things are moving incredibly slowly.

I’ve seen more places with compostable cups around the city of Edinburgh which is a good step but there is still so much more to be done, in supermarkets for example, and when we buy online. How much useless packaging do we receive in the post. . Especially in this time of the pandemic when all shops are closed and people can only really buy through the internet.

There are a lot of things to take into consideration and the pledge will help put my awareness of the situation back into practise, and hopefully reach others in doing so.

This is where I will leave it for now and hope that you will check-in with my progress starting from the 17th of this month.

Stay connected, love the planet.

Package Free Pledge 2021.