Charlotte’s Cupboard - the UK's first packaging-free shop on wheels are passionate that that plastic-free shopping can be easy and accessible to everyone. Here are their top tips for going plastic-free beyond July.

Single-use plastic is the hot phrase on everyone’s lips right now, especially this month, #PlasticFreeJuly. But what can you do as individuals to help eliminate single-use plastics from your lives? 

Where to start

First of all, it’s always good to ask yourself ‘what happens to this after I’m done with it?' It will help you look at things differently. Also remember, you don’t have to do everything at once. Introduce changes slowly, bit by bit.

We know a lot of people can feel like their small changes won’t make a difference, so take a step back and think about it. There are 7.6 billion people on this planet and if even a fraction of these made 1 small change to their daily lives, just think how incredibly impacting that would be!

On top of this, don’t overthink anything! We already own many items that we can easily multi-purpose. Take cling-film for example. Why not use the good old plate-over-a-bowl method for food storage?

Or, how about the disposable cutlery conundrum at lunchtimes? Yes, you can purchase a spork, but if you’ve got a whole drawer full of cutlery we are sure they would love the chance to be taken out once in a while- that drawer must be pretty boring for them. 

It doesn't have to be difficult

All we are trying to show you is that saying no to single-use plastic doesn’t need to be difficult, plastic-free alternatives are everywhere! By the end of this month, your daily trips out and about can definitely be stress-free!

We know that shopping plastic-free can seem daunting, that’s why we do what we do. It’s also why we make things light-hearted and sing or rap our Cupboard Covers, taking our favourite songs and giving them plastic-free lyrics.You can check them out here.

Your next step is having access to plastic-free shopping, which we know can be a tricky one.

Who are we and what do we do differently?

We set up Charlotte’s Cupboard in order to combat the lack of convenience which surrounds plastic-free shopping. Operating on a mobile basis in Sussex means that customers can choose to shop with us, how they want to. That might mean visiting us at one of our stationary stops or us delivering to their home OR workplace using our plastic-free delivery service.

To shop with us, our customers can use ANYTHING. You don't need a set of pretty Kilner jars to get going. Everyone has an old jam jar, ketchup bottle or a Tupperware box to put to better use. In fact, sometimes the more obscure your container, the more character it adds to your cupboard.

What can you do if you don't have access to refill stations?

For those of you who don’t have access to a service like ours, don't be afraid to ask. If you're buying food anywhere that puts food into takeaway containers for you, why not provide them with your own reusable containers? This also goes for asking people in your local community for recommendations. You never know, they may know about some hidden gems on your high-street that you were previously unaware of.

We only launched 6 months ago and we already operate in 18 different towns and cities. This may only be in Sussex right now but we don’t plan on stopping here. If you’d like to shop with Charlotte’s Cupboard in the near future, make sure you let us know but voting for your town on our website. We will be launching new locations shortly!Vote here.

What’s next? Well, what are you up to on 31st July? End a successful Plastic Free July with us and Georganics at 1pm on Facebook and Instragram with our live Q&A.

Click attending on the event here