Plastic Free July, a global movement where individuals and businesses actively participate in refusing/reducing single-use plastics for the entire month, officially returns today. This year, ecostore will once again be inspiring and challenging New Zealanders to join forces by ‘switching down’ their plastic items, embracing sustainable alternatives and making a lasting impact on the environment.

As well as sharing plastic-free inspiration all month to show the power of small changes, ecostore is further supporting the cause by sponsoring Plastic Free July Aotearoa.  By focusing on one area of the whare each week, both groups will bring insightful tips and tricks for everything from the kitchen to the bathroom and beyond, to foster habit changes and reduce the overwhelm of where to start.

Hannah Thain is the driving force behind the Plastic Free July Aotearoa 2024 campaign. While learning a lot about the natural world through her degree in environmental science, it wasn’t until a backpacking adventure six years ago that she saw the true impact of human actions on the environment, witnessing the sheer amount of waste and plastic pollution around the globe. Since then, she has worked in a number of roles focusing on conservation and environmental stewardship and is thrilled to be taking over the helm of Plastic Free July Aotearoa 2024.

Thain has been on her own journey to reduce plastic and understands that it’s not an overnight switch. “I’ve been slowly creating habit changes over the past few years to reduce plastic in my own home, and I’m excited to share some of these easy swaps with Aotearoa throughout July. I’m by no means perfect or totally plastic-free, but if there is one thing I’ve learned over time, it’s that small switches do add up to big changes. 

“My goal is to change people’s mindsets about plastic-free switches; I don’t want people to be disheartened and think that they can’t make a difference – they can, and they will!”

According to data from Eunomia*, New Zealand manufactures about half a million tonnes of plastic products each year, over half of which is made into plastic packaging mainly intended for single use.  About 380,000 tonnes of plastic is sent to landfill, and only 55,000 tonnes get recycled. There is an unknown amount of plastic that escapes into our environment – but New Zealanders have the power to change these statistics by each playing a small part, and Plastic Free July is the perfect time to start.

With the support of ecostore, Thain is excited about what New Zealand can achieve this month. “This is something everyone can get involved in, and this community welcomes everyone regardless of where they are on the journey,” says Thain. “This could be your first foray into cutting plastic, or you might be setting yourself a challenge to totally remove plastic from a certain space this month. It’s not about immediately achieving 100% plastic-free, it’s about discovering alternatives, making mindful choices and reflecting on our individual impact on the environment. We’re thrilled to be supported by ecostore again this year, a New Zealand business that understands and supports this aupapa, offering environmentally-friendly products for people wherever they are on their sustainability journey.

“We’re encouraging people to make a commitment for the 31 days of July, to see first-hand that these simple changes can have a big impact. And who knows – they might find it so simple that they keep going!”

Ecostore’s Sustainability Project Manager Romain Mereau echoes Thain’s sentiment and is proud to support Plastic Free July Aotearoa again in 2024. “Plastic Free July is all about making continuous improvements, little by little – something that we strive for at ecostore. While innovation can be marked by major milestones like a new product or achieving certification such as B Corp, they are almost always the sum of lots of little changes continuously implemented over time,” says Mereau.

“In our latest sustainability report, we shared that through several initiatives, ecostore users saved 140,480kg of plastic (approximately the weight of an average blue whale!), which beautifully illustrates the impact of people making individual decisions that benefit the collective,” says Mereau. “For us, choice is what’s important. We are thrilled to offer totally plastic-free options such as our Dish Soap Bars and Toothpaste Tablets, alongside initiatives like our Plastic Returns Programme and Refill stations to extend the life of plastic already in circulation.”

Plastic Free July Aotearoa 2024 kicks off with a focus on changes in the kitchen. For a full list of plastic-free activities, tips, tricks and giveaways, visit the Plastic Free July Aotearoa 2024 Facebook page.

*Eunomia – Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure and Services Stocktake report

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