Blog
Another 100K Milestone!
Plaine Products began as a crusade against bathroom plastics. Our Co-Founders, Lindsey and Ali, were committed to creating a sustainable way to sell high-quality, toxin-free products in refillable, aluminum bottles.Every bottle of Plaine Products sold keeps one single-use plastic bottle from adding to the plastic pollution crisis. The best part? So many of you share the same mission! Together, we’ve hit our most recent 100k bottle milestone in LESS than a year! When we launched Plaine Products in February 2017, we had no idea how far our refillable bottles would go. 2 years and 8 months later, we hit our first major milestone: 100,000 plastic bottles replaced with our reusable, refillable aluminum bottles! From there, it took us exactly one year to hit our 200,000 bottle milestone. This past August, we hit our 300,000 bottle milestone in record time—JUST 10 months!“Small changes, like swapping out your plastic shampoo bottle for a reusable aluminum one can make a big difference when our entire community is dedicated to making one small change at a time.” Lindsey McCoy, CEO With the help of our Plaine Products community, we’ve been hitting the 100k mark faster and faster each year! As of today, we’ve diverted over 341,000 (and counting*) plastic bottles from ending up in our landfills and oceans and we’re just getting started!Thank you for joining us and here’s to our next 100,000 bottles!*Have you seen the ticker on our website banner tracking each bottle sold so that you can see the difference you are making with your purchase?!
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How to Celebrate Fall Sustainably
The leaves are changing and the weather’s cooling down, which means it's time for fall! From decorations to pumpkins to candy and more, it’s easy to create a lot of waste during the fall season. However, fall is so much better when celebrated sustainably! Read on for a few tips to celebrate Fall a bit more sustainably. Decorations Who doesn’t love celebrating a new season with decorations? This year, instead of buying plastic decorations from the store, turn to nature instead. Create a colorful fall garland with leaves you find outside, gather pine cones for a natural centerpiece, or opt to decorate with real pumpkins. The best part? Natural decorations can be composted once the season is over! If you don’t have access to these natural options, try shopping at thrift stores instead. You never know what fall-tastic items you’ll find! Outdoor Activities Fall is the perfect time to spend time outside, so one of our favorite fall activities is hiking. Enjoy the beautiful changing colors while taking in the fresh air. You can even pick up trash along the way to make the trail more beautiful for the next hikers! You can’t celebrate fall without a visit to a pumpkin patch! To make pumpkin-hunting more sustainable, visit your local pumpkin patch instead of big-box grocery stores. Bonus points if they are grown organically! Self-Care Fall is a great time to slow down and practice some self-care. For some people, that means hot bubble baths or indulging in luxurious products. We suggest running a bath with our plastic-free conditioner and body wash, and following it up with our super moisturizing body lotion! For others, cooking and baking can be a form of self-care. This fall, treat yourself to your favorite treats by cooking them at home. Try making your own apple cider or apple pie instead of buying it pre-packaged at the store, and try to shop local whenever you can! Halloween Halloween is one of the best parts of fall, but it’s also the most wasteful. From costumes to candy, Halloween creates a huge amount of waste. Here’s how you can celebrate Halloween more sustainably: Reuse old costumes or buy them second hand. Don’t waste your pumpkin seeds! Collect your seeds while carving. Season them with spices of your choice and roast them in the oven for a tasty fall treat. Once you’re done with your jack-o-lantern, set it outside for local wildlife (as long as it hasn’t been treated with chemicals) or add it to your compost bin. Hand out plastic-free Halloween treats. Stock up on candy at the bulk section of the grocery store, and hand out the treats in paper bags instead of plastic. Thanksgiving It’s the time of year when we gather around the table with family and close friends to enjoy a large, scrumptious meal and think about what we are grateful for in our lives. Thanksgiving is a celebration of the harvest and different people coming together to share a joyful moment together. Yet, Thanksgiving can also get a bit out of control with all the decorations and trimmings. Here are some tips to make your Thanksgiving holiday a bit more sustainable without having to sacrifice tradition. For even more ideas for a sustainable, environmentally-friendly holiday season, be sure to check out this blog post! Indulging in your favorite fall traditions doesn’t have to be wasteful. How will you make your fall season more sustainable? Send us your pictures or tag us on social media at @PlaineProducts!
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The Importance of Local Elections
Feeling like you’re powerless in the fight to protect the planet? Well, you’re more powerful than you think. The November elections in the US are quickly approaching, and you have the ability to make a difference: VOTE! While this is an "off-year election" it does include many local elections, like state legislative elections, mayoral races, initiatives, and a variety of other local elections that can have a big impact on the environment.One of the best ways we can effect change is through voting, in each and every election. Voting gives power to the people and allows us to hold our leaders accountable. The Environmental Voter Project estimates that over 12 million environmental voters skipped the 2018 midterm elections. Imagine the positive progress we could have made for the environment if more people had turned out for those races! Here are a few reasons why elections, especially local elections, are an incredibly powerful way to drive change: Local government directly affects many aspects of your life. Local and midterm elections are responsible for filling positions big and small, from Mayor down to Commissioners. Your local officials are directly responsible for making the laws and regulations that affect your community. They have authority over things like schools, affordable housing, public transit, and yes- your local environment! These officials have the power to protect (or harm) the natural environment, so it’s incredibly important to vote for leaders who understand the importance of protecting our planet. Local laws can set precedents for future federal laws. Local regulations can impact far more than just your community. Local regulations have a history of shaping federal-level policy, especially when it comes to grassroots environmentalism. What you do in your community matters, and it could help inform the future of federal policies. Margins matter. The New York Times estimates that only 27% of eligible voters participate in local elections. This means that the margin needed to win an election or pass a regulation is very small. Your vote very well could be the one that pushes the results in your favor! Local Elections Matter! Still don’t believe local elections matter? Our Plaine Products team members are here to tell you how they’re getting involved in their local elections: “We have two candidates for mayor. The challenger is specifically running on a climate platform with more responsible development measures in place. The current mayor hasn't taken any action on climate change, and we're a coastal town, so the choice is very clear.” -Lindsey, CEO “When it comes to your local school board elections, ask yourself about the candidates’ motivation for running. It should be focused on serving kids and the community, rather than a political or partisan agenda. At the end of the day, we’re all united in wanting kids to have the best education possible in a safe environment.” -Kim, Shipping Specialist “Our elections here in New Orleans were postponed due to the catastrophic damage and disruption caused by Hurricane Ida. With a daunting future of strong hurricanes ahead of us, it’s important I show up and vote for candidates who take the threat of climate change and rising sea levels seriously.”- Becca, Social Media Coordinator “We have a measure here asking to approve restrictions on some local park development. This would designate these parks as “Nature Preserves” and would restrict the amount of human-made structure and pavement in an attempt to keep these green areas as natural as possible.” Justin, Web Dev Local officials are far more likely to listen to your opinions than representatives at the federal level. Make the most of this relationship by getting out and voting for leaders and laws that are important to you and the planet. Local, state and federal elections can all make a huge difference in our lives and the environment. Visit rockthevote.org to learn more about the issues and candidates on the ballot in your community! Be sure you’re registered, get politically engaged, and make your voice heard! Vote at the ballot. Vote with your wallet. Vote for environmental progress and environmental justice.
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Plastic-Free Self Care
There’s no getting around it: we’ve all been through some tough stuff over the last couple of years. From pandemics to climate anxiety, there always seems to be another reason to stress. Self-care has never been more important than it is right now, so we’ve come up with some sustainable, plastic-free ways to give yourself (and the planet) a little extra love. Plastic-Free Tea Some days all you really need to relax is a hot cup of tea. But did you know most tea bags are actually made of plastic and can leach harmful chemicals into your drink? Opt for plastic-free alternatives instead, like Bigelow, Numi, or Yogi. Or ditch the bag entirely and try brewing some loose leaf tea! Plastic-Free Bath Soak A warm bath is one of the best ways to relax and unwind after a stressful day. You can make your soak even more rejuvenating by adding a few pumps of our plastic-free conditioner for a deeply hydrating effect. You can also add some of our Body Wash if you’re into bubbles! Plastic-Free Deep Clean For some of us, getting organized and cleaning up can be a form of self-care. Next time you decide to do a deep clean, try making your own plastic-free cleaning supplies! Here’s one of our favorite all-purpose cleaner recipes: 1 container with a spray nozzle (can be glass, aluminum, or a reused plastic bottle) 1 funnel (makes combining ingredients into your container mess-free) 1 cup distilled water 1 cup white vinegar 2 tbsp liquid castile soap 5 drops tea tree oil Combine all ingredients into your container using your funnel. Give your container a thorough shake, mixing all ingredients evenly, and you’re ready to go! We recommend using an old rag or cut-up t-shirt to keep your cleaning routine low-waste. Plastic-Free Massage Massage can be a great way to relieve stress and tension. The best part? You don’t even have to go to a spa! You can relieve much of your pain and tension yourself with some self-massage. Take a few drops of our Beauty Oil and give these massage therapies a try. Plastic-Free Face Masks Face masks and cucumbers on your eyes: the epitome of self-care! You can create your own nourishing face masks at home without all the plastic from the store. Here’s one of our favorite recipes for a plastic-free face mask: Blend two tablespoons of honey with a half-cup of mashed papaya. Apply the mixture over your face and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Cucumber eyes optional! Wash it off and moisturize. Next time you start to feel overwhelmed by everything going on in your world, remember to take time for yourself. From tea to baths to face masks, there are so many ways to practice self-care without having to worry about the impact on the planet. Let us know some of your favorites by connecting with us on social at @plaineproducts!
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Unexpected Ways to Use Your Plaine Products
Our products are designed to be mega-concentrated and versatile, meaning you can buy less and use our products for more. Read below for our favorite unexpected ways to use Plaine Products.
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Pact Collective
We have done many things in order to make our products and packaging as low waste and plastic-free as possible. Not only can you refill and reuse our aluminum bottles many times, but those bottles can also be recycled once they have a few too many dents in them. And being aluminum, they can be recycled and reused an infinite number of times. Even our shipping boxes are reused multiple times before they are recycled at the end of their life. But there is just this one thing...our pumps. Yes, they’re plastic. And no, we haven’t found or designed a plastic-free pump, yet. (If you’ve got any ideas, we’re all ears!) Most municipal recycling programs do not accept pumps like ours in your recycling bin. And while you don’t necessarily need a pump, it definitely makes using our products easier and more convenient. It also extends the life of the products because you typically don’t use as much when using the pump. Plus, we ask that you reuse your pumps with each new refill bottle. So, what to do with your Plaine Products pumps when they are no longer reusable? Enter Pact Collective, a nonprofit that’s working to make sure as much hard-to-recycle beauty and makeup packaging is recycled as possible, and working to move companies to more sustainable recycled and reusable packaging. Plaine Products is now a proud member of the Pact Collective! Plaine Products customers can now drop off broken pumps or pumps you are no longer using into Pact bins at Credo Beauty stores in the US or Hudson’s Bay stores across Canada. Or you can mail them back to us with your empty bottles and we can mail them to Pact in bulk. Please make sure they are clean first! Only clean pumps have a chance to be recycled properly. Pact works with specialty recycling partners to sort the material by hand, breaking down mixed materials into their various components as needed. The sorted materials are then sold to end-buyers so they can achieve their highest and best use. The truth of it is, the majority of beauty products are not recycled properly, if at all. That’s over 120 billion beauty packages annually that have a massive environmental impact. Pact is working to change that, by providing a sustainable option for hard-to-recycle beauty packaging and working with beauty companies to improve the recyclability of their products. So, gather all of your clean, empty, pumps and other hard-to-recycle beauty packagings and drop them into a Pact bin near you. We’re proud to be working with Pact to increase the recycling of beauty packaging and working towards more sustainable packaging throughout the beauty industry.
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Alcohol in Personal Care Products: What To Know
There are different types of alcohol in personal care products, and they all do different things. Some types of alcohol are harmless. Others should be completely avoided. From hair care to skin care, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about alcohol in your products. Why is Alcohol Used in Hair Care? There are many reasons why you might find alcohol in personal care products. Depending on the type of alcohol, they can offer different things for different products. Alcohols that evaporate quickly are used in hairsprays. Other types of alcohols are used to lock in moisture. Some products also use alcohol as an “emulsifier” which helps to prevent the oil and water in the formula from separating. The key difference in these alcohols lies in the molecular structure. Long vs. Short Chain Alcohol Long-chain alcohols (also known as “fatty”) are the good guys: they’re derived from natural sources like coconut oil, and they help lubricate and hydrate your hair while locking in moisture. Examples of Long Long Chain Alcohols include: Laurel alcohol, Cetyl alcohol, Myristyl alcohol, Stearyl alcohol, Behenyl alcohol, Cetearyl alcohol. Cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol can be found inPlaine Products Conditioner. Cetearyl alcohol is an ingredient in the Deep Conditioner. Hair care products with short-chain alcohols should be avoided. Short-chain alcohols don’t have as many carbon atoms, which makes them lighter and evaporate faster. This quick evaporation causes the product to also whisk away the moisture that your hair needs, leading to damaged, dry, and frizzy hair. It’s especially important for those with curly hair types to avoid these types of alcohols.Examples of Short Chain Alcohols include: Ethanol, SD alcohol, Alcohol decant, Propanol, Propyl alcohol and Isopropyl alcohol.You’ll never find a short-chain alcohol in a Plaine Products vegan ingredient list! Why is Alcohol Used in Skin Care? Alcohol isn’t only used in hair care. It’s also commonly used in skin care products across the world. Just like in hair care, some alcohols are beneficial for your skin and others are not. Brands will commonly use “bad” alcohols in their toner and moisturizer formulas because of the drying effect that can make your skin feel tighter and cleaner...for a moment. These alcohols end up stripping away the natural oils in your skin, and can lead to dryness, irritation, and even enlarged pores. When choosing skin care products, stick to the same idea as haircare: long-chain (or fatty) alcohols are good, short-chain alcohols are bad. You can rest easy using our entire facial care line, as it doesn’t contain any short-chain alcohols. Instead, we use cetyl alcohol as an emulsifier in our products, which is derived from coconut oil and helps us achieve a moisturizing, creamy consistency that will nourish your skin. Bad (aka short-chain alcohols) are used in some of the most popular products on the shelves, but that doesn’t mean you should use them. Make sure to check the label of any product you’re putting on your hair or skin, and choose products with long-chain/fatty alcohols. Your hair and skin will thank you! When considering your skincare and hair routine, it's also wise to consult with a dermatologist or visit amedical aesthetics clinic for personalized advice tailored to your skin's unique needs. These professionals can provide valuable insights and recommend suitable products free from harmful alcohols, ensuring your skin stays healthy and radiant.
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Plastic-Free July: How To Reduce Plastic On-The-Go
The easiest way to reduce plastic use is to be prepared! Here are some helpful tips to reduce your plastic on-the-go!
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Plastic Free July: How To Go Plastic-Free At Work
Whether you work from home or the office, here are some ways to go plastic-free at work.
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