NZ Plastic-free shopping guide

The Plastic-Free Kiwi’s plastic-free shopping guide for New Zealander’s is a room-by-room guide to plastic-free and cruelty-free products available in NZ supermarkets, specialty stores and online:

Kitchen

• Dishwashing detergent:
• Commonsense Organics stores have refill stations for Eco Store dishwashing liquid.
• Eco Store bottles are made from a sugar cane based plastic which is also recyclable. But you can also refill Eco Store products at some Binn Inn stores and Commonsense Organics.
• Dish brushes/cloths:
• A steel wool pot scrub is stainless steel and usually comes in only a cardboard box.
• Eco Store wooden dishbrush’s with replaceable brush head. Buy online.
• Knit up some cotton dish cloths – here is a simple and fast making pattern here.
• Food:
• Buy in bulk where possible, stores like Binn Inn, CommonSense Organics and of course the new zero waste store in Auckland GoodFor provide many options. Reuse the zip lock bags you already have until they get holes and then either make some fabric bulk food bags or if you are not crafty support local businesses and buy some here.
• GoodFor also delivers in cardboard boxes with the dry bulk goods in paper bags.
• Produce – Refuse the produce plastic bags at the supermarket and just put your fruit and vegetables straight in the trolley. But if you have to buy a whole lot of one thing, e.g. potatoes or apples, reuse a paper bag from home or a cloth bag or buy some of these gorgeous NZ made mesh produce bags from Bag it up Bags.
• Cooking oils – CommonSense Organics Wellington and Johnsonville stores have refills for olive and sunflower oil and they encourage people to bring their own bottle. Handy tip: If reusing a bottle from bought oil, don’t remove the whole label…leave on the part that states the volume of the bottle so the shop keeper doesn’t have to weight it again and instantly knows how much is in the bottle.

Bathroom

• Toilet paper:
• GreenCane is completely plastic-free packaging with paper and a plant-based cellophane window. Not only that, it is also made from 70 percent sugarcane and bamboo pulp, the sugarcane are left over from the sugar processing process. It is also super soft and the rolls are slightly bigger than regular loo paper rolls.
• EarthCare – Although EarthCare does wrap it’s toilet rolls in soft plastic bags, it still deserves a special mention here as the only toilet paper I’ve seen for sale in a New Zealand supermarket that is made from recycled paper and of course I love to support recycled products

• Toothpaste: 
• Weleda comes in a recyclable aluminium tube, although it has a plastic lid.
• Lush tooth tabs are $3.90 a packet and available in seven flavours, in particular Atomic variety has just become certified Fair Trade. Lush had recently changed from the cardboard packaging to bottles made from recycled plastic (which can be returned to shops for recycling).
• There's also the DIY alternative of simply dabbing your toothbrush in baking soda and brushing. Or a slightly gentler version is mixing 2 parts baking soda with 2 parts coconut oil and a few drops of peppermint oil to form a paste.
• Mouthwash:
• Salt in warm water is great to gargle and leaves your mouth feeling fresh.
• Floss: I am yet to find a completely biodegradable completely plastic-free dental floss but the following is a less plastic option -
• Eco Dent. Available from SAFE's Cruelty Free Shop in Auckland or online: www.choosecrueltyfree.org.nz costs $13.99 for 100yards and comes in a biodegradable cardboard container. When ordering make sure to ask it to be shipped without plastic. There is one bit of plastic that the floss is wrapped around but pretty good for minimal and will last at least a year.
• Toothbrush:
• Go Bamboo. New Zealand designed and made and can be brought from some supermarkets (often it is hiding amongst the plastic brushes though but feel free to request it from your local) for about $4.50. Bamboo handle in cardboard packaging, however, bristles are still nylon. This is the best I have found so far though.
• Shampoo and Conditioner: I personally have been using water only method and an occasional DIY dry shampoo for nearly a year now but here are some other options.
• In the past I have used Beth Terry at Fake Plastic Fish's "no 'poo" method of one tablespoon of baking soda per cup of water mixed together to wash my hair. Only used it once so far and, although the lack of suds felt like I was just pouring water on my hair, I was actually surprised at how clean my hair felt afterwards!
• Apple Cider vinegar (buy at bulk barns and refill) makes a great conditioner or hair treatment.
• Lush solid shampoo and conditioner bars are also good. See Lush NZ to find your nearest shop or order online (many Lush products still contain sulfates though.
• OrganicCare shampoos and conditioners (including the kids 3in1 shampoo, conditioner and bodywash) are vegan, SLS-free (I think it uses a palm oil based sulfate), uses sustainable palm oil and bottles are made from recycled and recyclable PET plastic. And it is available from most NZ supermarkets (Australian product) at a competitive price.
• Cleaning products:
• EcoStore has a good range of cleaning products including spray and wipe, cream cleanser, toilet cleaner, detergent, floor cleaner. The container is plastic (though the new range is made out of sugar cane fibre - a waste product) but if you go to places like CommonSense Organic you can refill the bottles for most of the range.
• Soap: Most single bars come in cardboard or paper packaging. All soaps I've found - save a few pricey bars from Lush - do use palm oil although Trade Aid especially has a good programme in place for ensuring the palm oil it uses in its soaps is sustainably harvested.
• I like EcoStore soaps personally. Smell nice and are cheaper than some of the other options, though not all of them a vegan. It is a New Zealand company though.
• Trade Aid also does good soaps in cardboard and waxed paper packaging. 100% plant-based but does use palm oil.
• EarthWise - A great little New Zealand hygiene products company that is really starting to come into its own. Its soap packaging is plastic-free, just the soap bar in a recycled cardboard box, printed with vegetable inks. The company is proudly cruelty-free, GE-Free, and the soap uses all plant-based ingredients so is great for vegans.

Personal hygiene:

• Deodorant:
• Again Lush has the answers. Their Aromaco bar is great. It has a slight "hippy" sent but does the job of keeping your pits dry. T'eo is good for a more conventional scent though I found the bars too dry and rough on the skin. Aromaco is great after shaving as you can feel it also moisturisers.
• DIY version. Either just baking soda dusted onto your pits or mix half baking soda and half coconut oil and a few drops of tea tree oil (which has antiseptic properties) and set in the fridge. Scoop some cream on each armpit after your morning wash. (If you live in a warm climate you will want to keep this in the fridge as the coconut oil liquefies above room 25 degrees Celsius (approximately).
• Menstrual Cups: Why use disposal tampons and pads when you can get a reusable product such as the Diva Cup made from medical grade silicone. See my review of the Diva Cup here: Harvest Wholefoods sells them in Auckland (or they did two years ago). Review on my experience with the diva cup on my personal blog here.
• There are quite a few cheaper options for menstrual cups online now. Most are made from medical grade silicone, some Facebook pages are even giving them away for free just pay for postage deals. Do an online search.
• Cloth pads: Whatakrakka, based in Palmerston North, is one online company that sells cloth pads and they have lot’s of funky designs to choose from too!

Laundry:

• Washing powder/liquid:
• Next Generation. Supports Plunket and comes in a cardboard container with scoop made from recycled cardboard. Also low phosphate. Available from New World supermarkets.
• Soapnuts - order online from Soapnuts NZ.
• Pegs:
• Go Bamboo pegs are made of bamboo with steel spring and packaged in cardboard, completely plastic-free. $.4.50 pkt 20 from some supermarkets and Commonsense Organics Wellington plus other wholefood/health stores. You can also by online from the Go Bamboo website.

Bedroom/personal:

• Clothes: Buy secondhand where possible. Be mindful however that some op shops use plastic to pin on their price tags. But usually the smaller op shops don't. The smaller op shops usually have the better bargains too so double win!
• Shoes:
• Trainers - Brooks: Just bought a pair of their running shoes from Shoe Clinic. Although they are made in part from synthetic materials, there was no plastic bits in the shoe box, just paper. And the box itself was made from post-consumer recycled cardboard with a note underneath saying how Brooks show company (US-based, Asian manufactured) is committed to minimising their environmental impact. I understand they also run a recycling programme for old shoes too and use recycled rubber for the soles but haven't confirmed that yet.