Uuuuuggghhhh
Edit: If anyone knows what to do with these plastic on plastic straws that will never get used in this house, holler. Tossing them will kill my soul.

https://chemtrust.org/cleaning-products/

Polyvinyl Alcohol (also known as PVOH) is commonly used in laundry detergent pods and sheets because it dissolves in water. But “dissolves” doesn’t mean disappears. In fact, studies show that PVA doesn’t fully break down in the environment, especially in cold water or low-efficiency wash cycles. Instead, it contributes to microplastic pollution in our waterways, harming marine life and entering the human food chain.

I’m trying to replace my usual synthetic sportswear with men’s shorts made from as little plastic as possible.

I’d use them for a mix of gym sessions, running, walking and everyday wear. My two main priorities are:

• Minimal synthetic fibres and unnecessary chemical treatments
• Durability over several years without shrinking, losing shape or wearing through quickly

These are the options I’ve found:

Nero Merino Liner Shorts — £70
100% organic-cotton outer with a 100% merino-wool liner. These seem closest to a conventional lined training short while containing no synthetic fibres. My main concern is whether the cotton and merino will withstand regular exercise and repeated washing.

https://nerofabric.com/products/nero-merino-liner-shorts

Ryker Apex Shorts — $99 plus UK shipping and import costs
Also advertised as having a 100% organic-cotton outer and 100% merino liner. Ryker says the materials are OEKO-TEX certified and tested for substances including BPA, PFAS and phthalates. They look promising, but they are expensive to order from the US without knowing how durable they are.

https://rykerclothingco.com/products/the-apex-short-master

Earth Wardrobe Tencel Active Shorts
Made from 57% organic cotton, 37% modal and 6% elastane. They are not plastic-free, but the small amount of elastane may help them retain their shape and last longer than a completely natural-fibre option.

https://earthwardrobe.com/products/t2300-tencel™-active-mens-shorts

Pangaia 365 Midweight Long Shorts
Made from 100% organic cotton and fairly substantial at 320 GSM. They look durable, although they may be too heavy or absorbent for running and harder workouts. They also use Pangaia’s peppermint-based freshness treatment.

https://pangaia.com/products/mens-365-midweight-long-shorts-black

For comparison, I also looked at the Fabletics One Short, which is much more purpose-built for exercise but made primarily from nylon and spandex:

https://www.fabletics.co.uk/products/THE-ONE-SHORT-LINED-7IN-SO2252189-0001

Has anyone owned or trained regularly in any of these?

I’m particularly interested in which option has lasted longest in real-world use. I’m willing to accept a small amount of elastane if it meaningfully improves durability, but I’d prefer to avoid heavily synthetic fabrics, microplastic shedding and unnecessary finishing treatments.

I’d also be interested in any durable UK-available alternatives I’ve missed - thank you!

My husband is a Lululemon lover, something about the cut and fit of their clothing. He also likes BYLT. But chafes through pants, shorts, and underwear like nobody’s business. Not to mention, Lulu is so toxic and I’m trying to move him away from the brand since he is constantly wearing and sweating in it, and we are focusing on building a family.

He’s particular about his clothing and how it feels when he wears/worksout in it. He sweats through everything if he does a 10 minute workout in 50 degree weather. He chafes through pants that he wears to work in an office (just walks around) within 1.5-2 years, so his workout shorts have half that shelf life generally.

We’ve tried NADs, but he refuses to workout in them. We’ve also tried Ryker running shorts, but he refuses to run in them. Any suggestions I should look at for shorts, tees, and briefs that are enjoyable to workout in and last?

Looking for something with some decent padding so my nips don’t show. Rarely wear a bra but sometimes need one for work.

Thanks!

For the Saki Luna Kettle how does the sensor work without a sillicon seal around it?

Hi,
This probably gets asked often here but is there an affordable orcanic cotton ( or just any plastic-free) socks that are sold in global internet stores? I live in Finland so they also could be from somewhere I can buy them locally. Majority of recommendations here are from US based web shops that either don’t post to Europe or have unreasonably high shipping costs.
Thank you for help!

"Plastic-free packaging" while there is plastic surrounding the front of the brush and "synthetic bristles" which are probably also plastic. All of the bath items by this brand had plastic packaging covering the actual brushes so you couldn't feel the bristles/brushes.

I don't understand how you can base all of your branding around being "eco" and then ignore your own packaging.

Do you get a chance to go to the woods and pick berries?

Did the math on our familys bottled water spend last year and it came out to almost $1400. mostly costco runs and some delivery jugs. kinda grossed me out when i saw the total ngl.

picked up an Aigerri countertop RO for around $300 on sale. we rent so no plumbing hookup, just plug it in and fill the tank. the filter set is rated for 529 gallons which should last us over a year. replacements are about $60.

so year one is roughly $360 total. year two drops to like $60, basically $5 a month. even factoring in the 5:1 waste ratio, we just dump the reject water on plants, were way under $15/mo now.
is my math missing something here or is bottled water just a massive ripoff lol

On the hunt for a stainless steel kettle that is completely plastic free and has a temperature control?

Kind regards!

This is not a debate or question about whether or not Teflon is safe to ingest. I'm most curious about Vitamix's and other companies' behavior and how they responded to the black flecks showing up. How a company responds can be a good signal for how they might respond to other customer inquiries and reveal a lot about their values and company culture.

Two years ago, Vitamix posted this response to a review on their site:

Response from Vitamix: 2 years ago Vitamix Hi. Please know this was not a recall. Vitamix was involved in a class action settlement alleging that the seals of the blade assembly in certain Vitamix containers may “fleck,” causing tiny bits of black material to enter food or drink during blending. These flecks are of a non-stick material (polytetrafluoroethylene or “PTFE”) that is commonly used in cookware and many other products in the food industry. The seal material poses no human health or safety risk based on regulatory approval and third-party testing. Unfortunatley claims did need to be filed back in 2018-2019. Also know that you have indicated that you have owned your prodcut for 1-5 years, your machine would not be affected. The date of machines affected were between 2007 though Oct 2016. If you have any further questions, please call us at 1-800-848-2649. https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/commercial/products/wet-blade-assembly

When I read it more into it, it sounded like something in the assembly was rotating very fast and making contact with the Teflon seal in a way that was flaking off particles.

Are the black Teflon flecks no longer an issue? Did they change anything about the design? I did some reading and it seemed like the problem was always going to be inherent to the design unless they significantly improved their manufacturing tolerances, and that usually means a big increase in cost.

Earlier on (~2015) Vitamix sent out some replies saying they had revised the design, but some of the people who had reached out to them said that the revised containers were still producing black flecks.

Some links:

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/owners-of-waring-blenders-report-black-flecks-in-blended-food/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/virginiahughes/vitamix-blenders-spin-off-shards-of-teflon-but-its-probably#.vyArmNPL4

https://www.blendguide.com/blog/vitamix-black-flecks-flakes-specs-pieces

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=60648.0

https://web.archive.org/web/20160325231415/https://joyofblending.com/vitamix-black-particles/

Hi, I have been using 750mL CamelBak chute mag bottles for years and would like to find a substitution with the following features:

Stainless steel, non-insulated
Dishwasher safe
Wide mouth for ice cubes
3-inch outer diameter fit car cup holder
Easy to open cap for in-car drink
No straw

Not sure if there is any good product people already find. Thanks in advance.

As an athlete through high school and into my late 20’s, I’ve been wearing exclusively Ethika performance underwear for the last 14 years. I hope I haven’t absorbed to much bad stuff..

Over the last 3 years, I’ve completely transitioned my lifestyle to clean eating, removing microplastics/forever chemicals and really trying to hone in on natural resources.

At this point, my clothing is really the last thing that needs addressed.
As mentioned, I’ve been an athlete for years and currently an avid runner. A LOT of my clothes are athletic wear, which consists of polyester, spandex, nylon, etc. this includes my underwear, which is maybe the most important piece of clothing?

Is there a healthy alternative to athletic underwear, and how important is it?

My pillows have reached the end of their lifespan, and sadly there's no denying it. Now I'm hoping to replace them with something that has less plastic. The only thing is, I don't know what would be the best fit for me. I've done a fair bit of research but I'm nervous I will buy the wrong ones.

My current set up is two flat, fairly dense pillows stacked on top of one another. I can't do a super squishy pillow. I also can't do a super thick and plush pillow. It's got to be on the flatter and harder side otherwise it doesn't stand a chance. I also don't want to have the innards of it moving around every time I shift in bed.

Does anyone know if there's anything out there that may suit my needs?

I am also okay with some plastic. I'm just hoping to buy healthier pillows this go around.

I'm an artist and I am fully certain that having microplastics get into the air and into my wet oil paintings will cause irreversible damage and will cause them to degrade and lose aesthetical looks significantly sooner. I live going to be living in an apartment with carpets made from plastic and I am looking for rugs made from fully natural materials to put over this carpet to protect my paintings (air purifiers will still be protecting them the most but having rugs will help a lot too). I know finding pure cotton rugs in this price range might not be possible but i'm going into college and don't have the money to spend 4-5 thousand on rugs as that's about the only prices i've been finding, so I thought I would ask anyway. If anyone can find anything for the red one I like older style rugs like Bokhara but for the others any color and style is fine. Thank you

I’ve been using Attitude personal care products for a while and in recent years their packaging does not appear to be compostable as they’ve previously claimed: https://attitudeliving.com/blogs/lifestyle/don-t-sweat-it-the-perfect-zero-waste-deodorant-does-exist (example)

I was not given an answer for what the adhesive consists of— it doesn’t seem water soluble when I soaked it, and the help desk did not tell me. Moreover, the outside of the packaging now has a plasticky film attached to it as well… Regardless of whether these materials are actually compostable and simply lack a certification at this time, I find it frustrating that posts on the official website and social media that describe their packaging as both biodegradable and compostable are still up. I don’t recall any updates or indication from the company that this information would no longer be true (if it was ever true?), and I definitely would’ve looked into other options had I known. I’m not very reassured by the vagueness of the help desk reply. At the very least I’d have wanted them to answer my questions about what the questionable materials precisely are.

been meaning to do this for a while..Got a copper bottle and honestly its been pretty easy to stick to.

No plastic, no linear , Just copper!!! Feels like small but a decent Change .

I need to use eye drops sometimes. I have chronic pain conditions. Any advice please?

Where can I find men’s athletic wear that isn’t polyester and that doesn’t break the bank.

I’ve seen material like linen, wool, or cotton be recommended but haven’t found any advice comparing them against eachother. Any help would be greatly appreciated.