Plastic Free July
By Gilbert West · 06 July 2026
Plastic free sounds like a tall order, but there are plenty of ways to get started, so why not give it a go?
I visited Leah at Flourish last week as she was putting the finishing touches to the layout of the shop which puts her Zero collection centre stage. The refillables are one of her best sellers and she's hoping to get more regular customers this month during Plastic Free July.
Zero is a combination of a refillery for a range of shampoos, conditioners, bubble bath, cleaning products, washing up liquid and laundry liquids and other household goods. Most products are in bulk pump containers. You take your empty bottles along to the shop and fill those up. If you don't have any containers because you've been busy recycling them all, no problem, Flourish can supply you with some. The whole aim is to stop old containers, especially plastic containers and packaging, going into the waste stream by using them again and again.
You can get details of the Zero range here , but just pop in and say hello and take a pal.
Leah is also committed to stopping waste at source and that starts with packaging. Many of the cards and other gifts in the shop don't have plastic, single-use sleeves that you don't really need.
As you browse around the shop you start to see the no and low packaging ethos on almost all the products. They even have bulk dried pasta as part of the refillery. Definitely worth a visit and if you're in need of a gift, they do gift tokens.
Leather goods for the good
Across town on Queen Street, Sariann at the Raw Milk Mercantile explained that not only does getting rid of plastic card sleeves at source reduce waste, but it also cuts down on the designer's labour of having to slip those cards and envelopes into a single use sleeve.
She shares Leah's ethos when it comes to avoiding waste and reducing plastic in her shop. This ranges from stocking refillable pens in the stationery section to hand-stitching a range of leather goods made from recycled saddles. She also likes to share the knowledge and skills with others in her leather working workshops.
Everyone benefits
There are personal benefits too. Less waste means less space taken up by bins and recycling vessels in your home and fewer trips to take the bins out on bin day. We've been trying to cut back on packaging at home and our bins are emptier. I've noticed that when I hear the bin lorry turn up at 7am I don't curse because I forgot to put the bins out. Now I know we'll be good for another fortnight.
If you're inspired to find out more or looking for ideas and resources for your own activities and events, Plastic Free July have a website at https://plasticfreejuly.org
