Thoughts when buying for Christmas
There's a lot of buying of stuff just now, both for us and for our vans, before Christmas. I've seen microfibre towels and clothes recommended several times here because of their convenience in drying so well.
Sure, they do that, but before buying any more, I'd like to spread the already growing awareness that they have come at a heavy price: the synthetic fibres they're made of, which come out of everything from towels to fleeces every time they're washed, are increasingly clogging up the ocean and all that lives in it. Many of us will be watching "Blue Planet II", with Attenborough rightly lamenting the sad sight of an albatross feeding its young plastic; now we know it's not just big bits of plastic, but microfibres too.
There's new evidence that these microfibres are working their way up the food chain, even down to being ingested by deep sea creatures. (See http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2016-10-03-first-evidence-deep-sea-animals-ingesting-microplastics )
I may not be popular for posting this, I suspect, but the uncomfortable truth is that it's what we buy which ends up down there, inevitably. There's not much we can do now about the stuff we've already bought, but going on buying more signals the manufacturers to keep upping production.
So while changing this will be like trying to turn an ocean going tanker, it's only by starting somewhere that it'll turn, and if we express a preference for other materials, they'll eventually take notice, just as there is now some progress on needless plastic packaging.
Another link from last year to cheer you up! - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/20/microfibers-plastic-pollution-oceans-patagonia-synthetic-clothes-microbeads
Cottons, wools, and other natural fibres biodegrade naturally, and don't cause the problem, even if they are less convenient for now.
I have hope that since we're on this forum because we like getting into the outdoors and seeing the natural world in all its beauty, there'll be other souls here prepared to work to preserve what chances it still has of surviving.
Meanwhile, thanks for reading and happy Christmas shopping :-)
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A well thought out post HH. We are trying to do our bit and buying more wool products if we can, it's tragic to think that at one time it was such an important commodity, but now virtually worthless. Plastic packaging drives me up the wall at times as well!
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Well said! We're having a rethink on everything we use, HH, just like you. My eldest son, a chemist, has always been very 'Eco conscious' and he and his partner have always encouraged us to think carefully about the products we use. As a result we've dramatically cut down on packaging, and our use of plastics and man-made fibres - going for cotton, wool and silk for clothing and bedding, glass and metal for utensils. We used to buy bottled water - now we have a couple of nice screw top glass bottles which we just refill and refill. We use jute bags for life and keep paper bags for storing things such as mushrooms.
I've never been great on 'polyester' and absolutely hate microfibre (which is like chalk on blackboards to me) so despite taking half a minute longer to dry myself we use Egyptian cotton towels, the same for bedding, feather pillows - even in the caravan. We have down duvets in the caravan (I know the arguments for not using duck down .......... but is it honestly any worse than the plastic alternatives) and silk duvets at home.
We can all do a small amount and by everyone doing a small amount we will be reducing waste and pollution by a massive amount. Even just that one plastic bag that you don't fill with vegetables (just put them in your shopping trolley) will be one less thing to be thrown away.
Eldest son, mentioned above, has taken recycling to the limit, and made our youngest grand-daughter (his niece) a beautiful xylophone for Christmas. This is properly polished, carved, tuned, on felt pads, and with a really crafted wooden hammer, all made from left overs from the hardwood fence which he put up last year! It's a true labour of love!!!
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Great posts and replies.
I try very much to do my bit, but it isn't easy 😤😭.
I think manufacturers need to be taken to task and in hand about packaging. By whom and how can be debated and decided quickly 😂😂.
As we consumers can only make our choses to a certain extent. Plastic bottles being an example, glass milk bottles were returned washed and reused almost instantly - now glass is recycled using more resources in the process 😤. Cages delivered to supermarkets are wrapped in yards of cling film type plastic. And worse airports install this type of machine so you can protect your cases for a price. Forgive me but I thought the cases were the protection!
Rant over 😉
Edit I heard it said on the radio recently, programme unknown, that cotton wasn' good for the environment because of the amount of water required to grow and process. No mention that the end product was biodegradable! And certainly no mention of other materials.
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Hedgehurst
I suspect you are already talking to a converted audience here? We have been using Waitrose Quick Check, not sure how long but it must be nearly ten years. We have not long ago replaced some of the original bags we were given and only on rarer occasions use the normal supermarket plastic bags. We have a multitude of bags for life in the car and motorhome for when shop elsewhere. The problem is that we, in this country, can do all we can but our contribution worldwide is insignificant unless we get the poorer countries on side. Our Aquaroll and Wastemaster must be 25 years old and no sign that they won't go on for another 25 years so things can be built to last. I could be wrong but microfibre seems a relatively "new thing" and perhaps there needs to be a great assessment on how these newer products will eventually damage the environment?
David
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Thanks all, for these positive replies. I was rather waiting to be shot down by the myopic clans of "but it's so convenient!" so this is hugely encouraging!
Val, I love the idea of that xylophone!Bakers2, cotton as widely sold now is a mixed blessing indeed. I think a visit to Nat Trust's Quarry Bank Mill near Manchester brought it home very well. Cotton grown organically and processed traditionally is a superb product, not harmful to the environment. Sadly the big manufacturers devised ways of making it faster and cheaper, and yes, most commercially bought stuff uses profligate amounts of water; typically these are the same producers paying desperately bad wages to the people doing the work. Cotton labelled with organic, eco, fairtrade, is usually (assuming the label isn't cheating) produced under far better conditions. For me, who like Val doesn't get on with synthetics anyway, it's also far more comfortable and wears better, so is worth paying that extra amount for.
It is difficult, I agree - I get hooked on this problem of stuff the manufacturers want us to buy because it suits them versus our power as buyers. I suppose that's why they harness the power of advertising, to persuade us that we reaaaally reaaaally neeeed the rubbish they want to sell us.Meanwhile let's hope that by spreading the word we might gradually help to turn the synthetic tide.
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Our council is currently carrying out a consultation exercise around waste collection and recycling. Our biggest problem, because it isn't collected is plastic. Bottles, cartons, little trays, plastic bags etc...... we can save it up and take to tip, but it isn't close, and it does pile up. Hence I am going to start leaving some of the plastic wrappers in the supermarket if I can, let them deal with it as most of the usage is driven by them. Cardboard isn't an issue for us as we use it in our stove as kindling, along with the one Saturday newspaper we get each week. We love proper wool jumpers and cardi's, don't wear much fleece. Coats are either wool, waxed or things like Puffas. But they last for years with care. We get little food waste, I never impulse buy, and like to cook using ingredients and fresh stuff or a bit of frozen stuff. If it doesn't go down us, it goes down the dogs, with the odd slice of bread outside for the birds!
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Our council recycles everything it can. We have to keep it all separate which can be a pain. We have bins for garden waste, although we have a compost heap we can't compost it all so great for bigger prunings etc. Food waste, I dreaded this but so far no smells although I don't evny the collector in the heat 😲, but again walking past you only get a whiff not over powering. Sack each for cardboard and paper, sometimes have to consult list as to what goes where - brown paper goes in cardboard. We get food recycling sacks delivered to use in our house bin and tie up before placing in the collection bin, melon and pineapple skins prove a challenge 😉. They also deliver recycle bags for plastics which include trays and orange juice type cartons. We had a receptacle for plastics before these bags, it was was that long ago I can't remember what it was 😲, ours went missing so I used to put ours out in an old linen basket which was never taken. I had a long 'discussion' with council staff about why. They were waiting for someone to design a plastic container that was recyclable before they could take ours again. You really couldn't make it up!! I will say now several years on that it certainly works well as far as storage and collection goes. Just need folks to tie them before they put them out and anchor them when it' windy, or heaven forbid others collect what blows about the street and recycle 😤😭
Everything starts with little steps and I'm glad to read such positive comments here.
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That is brilliant, we know and love Penzance, but circumstances have meant we haven't been able to visit for a while, so we haven't kept up with local news. But just things like fish and chips in paper or cardboard boxes instead of plastic trays must help a good bit. I must log on to Cornishman website!
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great post and replies guys and dolls. agree with everything said but, and here's my pennies worth, when it comes to plastics which is the biggest cause of damage to the seas is that what is recyclable and what is not and I don't think anyone out there can say yes or no to whatever they have in the hand. I put everything that's plastic, looks like plastic, feels like plastic in the recycle bin and let the council sort it out but I cannot put yoghurt pot in as will be find for this if caught. another thing that annoys me is that the government and recycle companies want us to rinse everything before it goes to recycle so more water used and this is never mentioned but more and more fat balls in the sewer system and when it's been cleared where does it go, out to sea. I look at it this way-if its man made then it can be recycled. one last thing, have you noticed how many fires there have been at plastic recycle factories/storage places, I wonder why. cannot do anything with it so lets set fire to it blame someone else.
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I'm not environmentally unaware (for example my van is Euro 6) but the scientific evidence is relatively tentative. We have four microfibre towels in our van. They are ten years old and look like new. Conventional towels would have been washed many many more times over that period resulting in detergent being deposited into the environment.
My point is that these things are not simple. It has been suggested that buying a Rolls-Royce and keeping it for 40 years is more environmentally friendly than replacing your cars every five years or so.
As an exercise spent an evening noting the products advertised on TV. Very few of them are necessary and many of them are expensive. Perhaps manufacturers need to target essential items less.
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Lots of good stuff here about councils catching onto recycling more and more items, which is excellent, and much needed. Likewise the move needed away from single use plastics, which are a bane.
Please forgive my sounding terribly schoolmasterish, but we're getting away from my original point, which is the rise of microfibres in fabrics we all buy & use. As BlueVanMan says, it's always more complex than we thought it looked at first; and we can't possibly take all the possibilities into account. We don't realise many of them until a lot later!
But there's more and growing research pointing to these microfibres being a greater cause of trouble than was realised earlier. They're there already, so not much to be done about what we already own.My hope is that we can move to slow down their production, by slowing/stopping choosing to buy them.
PS on washing with detergent - we rather tentatively tried white vinegar, as it's environmentally safe, and find it's even better than most eco-friendly washing powders and liquids!
Meanwhile it's happily snowing here and children of all ages are having a lovely time playing out in our park
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It's the small things that drive me up the wall. We bought a swede not long ago from Tesco, priced per unit rather than per kilo. So why wrap the ruddy thing in plastic? Just so they can barcode it? After paying for it I always unwrap it at the checkout and leave the plastic with Tesco telling them why.
Those that visit France and Germany on a regular basis will know that they stopped giving out plastic bags years ago, and I'm happy to say so did Wales.
I think a lot of people really don't understand the consequences of their (in)actions and I thank goodness that at least the general public venerate David Attenborough enough to maybe stop and think twice. A lot won't because they are lazy and it's easier to continue with their same routine but hopefully enough will. It takes ages to turn opinion around but at least it seems to be going in the right direction.
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Here's the xylophone - which he made because a lot of the children's toys on the market are plastic. We've bought her a set of wooden bricks, a wooden Noah's Ark shape sorter, and some books - and put some money in her bank account.
Meanwhile back to microfibre - anyone want an old caravan club fleece?
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There are certain products and wrappings that beggar belief or are just plain overkill in truth. Why stick bananas in plastic bags? Onions in plastic bags or plastic nets? Marks and Spencer are serious culprits, for example......coconuts with a ring pull! Bonkers! and very annoying!
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I hate microfibre towels, they seem to catch on any rough skin, we did try them but after one use they are now in the back of the cupboard.
All our towels are good quality cotton, we still have towels we bought when we got married 48 years back, and we have inherited OH's original baby towels too.....now almost 69 years old (shhhhh!) and used on both our children too. They must be good quality!
The oldest coloured ones we now use in the caravan.
I do not think we have actually ever even had to throw away any of our cotton towels, we have passed on a few to our children too.
We do use fleeces, but not washed more often than necessary.
In other clothes we have almost 100% cotton fibres, not a fan of synthetics.
Food waste here is negligable, peelings etc we either compost or grind up in the Insinkerator.
We recycle as much as possible, OH is meticulous in that, but she feels our council could take a wider range of plastics. Neighbouring councils seem to recycle more stuff.
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Wooden toys are great, was all we had when I was a child, and now making a comeback in many shops. OH just bought a wooden train set from Ikea for our soon to arrive grandson, so we can add to it with the stuff our two had.
I have made, as a woodturner and wood enthusiast, several wooden toys for our grandchildren, love working with wood.
DD is expecting her first baby in March, will be our third grandchild. She has just got a pile of stuff from her brother, and made sure she got his original wooden wheeled trolley with coloured wooden bricks. She reckons it is now a family heirloom.......only 47 years old! She is very keen on recycling etc.
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I've got some microfibre towels in the van, don't like them much but suspect they'll last forever. Interesting to read about the fibres shedding whilst washing so will go back to the cotton towels in future. Don't wear much synthetic clothing except outerwear for keeping the elements at bay. I think as DK said earlier most of us on here are aware of the problems, will have to try harder to reject the main culprits whilst appreciating that some provide vital support especially in medicine. I saw the programme recently about black plastic that can't be read as plastic on the sorting conveyors at recycling plants hence black plastic is rejected in our kerb side recycling. As TDA said, bonkers!
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I know he's a musician - so has a good ear, but I'll ask him the details of the wood, how he made it and tuned it - and if you email me on valdaathome@gmail.com I'll pass on those details to you.
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I work selling perfume and cosmetics, and was told earlier in the year that the BB cream that every customer was raving about was to be banned because the microscopic beads that it contained ,were ruining the ocean bed, if thats the case then im impressed , and think its time more action was taken , what a farce the plastic bag tax was, we should just change to paper , or have your own, they end up all blown into the hedges at the side of the road ,making our green and pleasant land a mess ,we should find something more eko friendly than plastic bottles..... I hate them , and plastic straws when you go on holiday yuk left in the sand then swept into ocean to choke a fish or a bird , we seem obsessed with packaging, its like we dont question things anymore and just believe all the hype from the ad men lol...... You can tell i work in retail and christmas is upon us haha:)) best regards mrs bc
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It's gorgeous! Going off topic myself - I think the answer is to shave bits off the underside to tune the bars, and the all important thing must be to start with them flat (musically speaking) and then not to take too much off!
Ah well - back to the microfibres!
It's great that as has been said, everyone here's already of The Converted. Having just watched the last Blue Planet II this evening I hope more may join the ranks of people who hope we can do something ourselves to help the change.
Now, where's that woollen hat I bought earlier this year near Ullapool...
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Back to sheepskin, sheep's wool, cotton, linen, jute, wood, and paper made from all of those chopped up finely..............! Oh, and glass of course instead of plastic.
And yes, you're right, the slats are shaved underneath, with less or more taken off, to deepen the note. They are fitted on to felt pads........ and presumably screwed down with environmentally friendly sourced screws!
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It's not going to be easy. Affluent societies are a lot lazier nowadays, and generations are growing up/ageing using easy clean substances, throw away items, even cars seem easily disposable, despite being much better made! Reusing and adapting used to be a way of life, but not as prevalent in today's society. It will require a huge mind set change.
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Why not have one Christmas, say next year, when no one buys anything other than food.
Is the tat that fills shops actually needed? Do you need to buy stuff just for the sake of buying Xmas pressies?
That would make more impact than anything else, surely.
Over the years I have been fortunate to have seen many wonders of this world, and places of beauty. What is most marked in my memory from the late 80's was those horrible tacky striped plastic bags, often containing tourist tat, blowing through the old city of Petra. Closely followed by fast food cartons and fizzy drink bottles just discarded by people too lazy to put away properly. Ronald has a lot to account for.
Of course, the waste could be put back from whence it came i.e. out of the earth, there are enough holes underground, or burn it to create electrickery; but both of those options involve spending.
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