As Sustainable As Possible - BSG Blog — plasticfree

Have you ever thought about the evolution of the toothbrush? The earliest form of "toothbrushes" were actually “chewing sticks”- for example, miswak or neem. In ancient Babylon, people chewed on twigs to shred the edge into fibres, creating a "brush" that they would use to clean their teeth. Some plants even contained cleansing or antiseptic properties. Miswak or neem chewing sticks are still common in some parts of the world.  The Chinese were probably the first to invent the earliest form of 'toothbrush' in the form we currently recognise. These were made with boar bristles stuck onto or tied with twine onto the handles of...

I used to attend weekly talks about Buddhism at a temple a few years ago and recently they’ve restarted their sessions (now on video conferencing - yay!) After last night’s session, one of my classmates asked a question about how to deal with pests since the Buddhist approach is to avoid needless killing (“ahimsa” - non harming). I thought about my own response to pests. I realised that my preference over time has been to shift the “pest” or shoo it away rather than whip out a spray.Here’s my citronella and lemongrass incense stick for repelling mosquitos — I’m giving...

Have you ever considered what we wash down the sink? Have you ever thought about what exactly goes into making your dishwashing liquid and sponges?   View this post on Instagram A post shared by (I’m Mel!) Zero Waste & Bamboo (@bamboostrawgirl) on Jul 4, 2020 at 6:58am PDT   Back when my friends first started WWOOF-ing (working on organic farms), I remember the conversations we would have about the stringent rules on the farms. Since most of them were off-grid or in rural locations, it was essential that waste was kept to a minimum and any wastewater was kept chemical-free...