But you already have a less cute version of all of this stuff.
Labor/ExploitationAnd if you don't have it, buy pre-owned
Pre-owned wax food wraps?
You can make them! I used an old organic cotton t shirt I had and a shitty pan I use just for heating bees wax (it will ruin your nice pan - I did that the first time 🫠). I cut the shirt into squares and swirled them around in the melted bees wax and voila! I used the wraps for years. Eventually they get too nasty to clean and you can use them as fire starter.
I wanted to make some but ended up with something similar to a crumpled paper.
Oh no! That made me laugh haha. I'm sorry it didn't work out. I could totally see crumpled paper coming out as a possible result 😂
Maybe try ironing it between baking paper? Crinkle by crinkle ;)
You can put beeswax beads on the cloth and iron it with parchment paper between. It seems like it's the best way with zero extra tools or materials wasted
I don't have an iron but that seems like a good idea! I reuse the shitty pan any time I need to melt bees wax (making lip balm, body butter, soap)
I didn't get into homemade cosmetics though it's something I want to teach myself so I don't give my money to huge corporations and contribute to the end of world. Maybe you have starter tips!
I did a course on soap making when I lived in Spain it was just one intro class but it gave me the confidence to make my own soap after that. The teacher on Instagram is @ohjabon but it's in spanish. For body butters I followed a video from YouTube: https://youtu.be/KgORGHaPa9U?si=aDBlIOza4GFITnZm but then adapted it to have the qualities I wanted (ie adding beeswax or arrowroot powder for a better absorption and less oily consistency).
Sure, why not? Presumably they can be cleaned or they'd be useless as a re-usable item. Might be difficult to find to be fair though as they're not super popular.
True, but it depends on the person, like some people may need to buy new due to allergies and even though they're washable, you don't know how they've been used and I'd be cautious about using something from someone you don't know, which you don't know where it's been that you're putting anywhere around your mouth.
If it works for you though, then that's great!
They can be cleaned to a point. Do I trust the previous owner to have cleaned theirs immediately after use before the bacteria gets into the wax and can’t really be cleaned out after that point? And to have not used it on especially risky foods like raw chicken? No, no I don’t, and neither should you.
I found a 60 dollar coffee travel mug that doesn't leak and has the button thing to take sips that I would never buy for 2 dollars at a Goodwill and I use it every day in the winter and a different 2 dollar Tupperware one that I found the same day for cold drinks. I drink literally everything out of them lol. 4 whole dollars vs like over a hundred if I ordered them.
That’s what I always told people in my zero waste shop. Of course, if they don’t have the stuff laying around their house already, I’m happy to sell it to them! Or if they’re buying as a gift. But whenever people would come in looking for the make up removal pads; for example, I’d ask if they had unused towels or terry cloth type clothing that had holes or was too small. Cut em up!
Of course I could’ve made more money from that individual purchase; but people learned to trust me and my suggestions and I built up a very loyal customer base that way:
The issue of course with that is most of the cheap stuff lying around is shitty quality and likely a negative health risk. It's easy to forget that the things lying round aren't health neutral.
lol obv there’s some nuance … but I think my health will be fine when I use a free reusable grocery bag to bring to the laundromat instead of buying a ~fancy organic cotton bag~
Oh yeah that's all crap, I was referring to the food stuff tbh
Totally agree!! Been trying to phase out plastic stuff with glass. Like cleaning and reusing glass jars from the grocery store. Double win
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What is that? Some bags, a stainless steel cup with lid and straw, and whatever those two things are in the upper-right corner. $135?
Spending $135 on some junk to start your zero waste journey. Makes sense.
It's not eco-friendly if it doesn't meet the Sad Beige Influencer aesthetic.
It's not eco friendly because its ceo friendly, you know, for the company that's selling this bs
Yes! What's up with all the beige? Enough already. I have a cousin who decorated her baby's room in this beige aesthetic. For a baby! I'm glad I was a 70s kid. We had ALL the colors and patterns, together, mix and match. Ok, maybe not "match" since we're wearing stripes with plaid in all our photos - lol. But I'll take battle of the mis-matched patterns over sad beige any day.
Beige for a nursery ??? Thats so many levels of wrong
Babies first notice contrast before color ( at least last I looked into any baby stuff ), so all beige ? Bad for baby.
Also, having to make sure that beige STAYS beige ? The beauty of a colorful kids room is it hides some inevitable stains
That's what I was thinking - there are developmental and practical reasons for having a lot of color.
What I remember hearing was focus on the contrasting colors first, but when you introduce color don't introduce super saturated stuff cause that will overwhelm them ?
I have no idea. That sounds way more complicated than necessary though. Color is just in the world. Babies will see it.
Google "sad beige parenting" and you will fall down a rabbit hole.
There are moms that spray paint their kids toys beige.
D: that CAN'T be safe
Because I KNOW these moms aren't looking for safe paint or maybe even sealing these things
They're at the paint aisle in Home Depot/Lowes. 99% chance this isn't child safe paint.
I think there's a weird perception that color = consumption. So somehow beige is the 'clean' and 'eco-friendly' option.
I say screw that. There's no reason why we should spurn color in our lives.
I generally agree, but I do know there's a couple of valid reasons:
a) some dyes are harmful for the environment or people's health, so undyed fabric can be preferable. Cotton and linen are naturally beige when undyed.
b) if it's a more neutral color, theoretically it won't be as subject to the whims of what's trending and will continue to fit in with everything else you own for longer, making you less tempted to replace it before it's necessary.
and it NEEDS to be all very beige
That's the point.
Everything is a market that is seen as a resource to be extracted. Even ones like anitconsumption.
on the bottom left is like re-usable clingfilm. i received it years ago as a gift. It's like cloth coated in wax. I think it works decently well although cleaning it feels a little challenging.
I like beeswax wraps and I don’t use plastic wrap almost ever now. But washing it feels kind of icky and not fully clean sometimes and also they lose their stickiness over time so you have to reapply beeswax
That sounds like a nightmare for neurodivergent people 🤣 Sticky, not fully clean, upkeep by reapplying a sticky wax. My worst nightmare.
Tupperware from thrift stores it is! Can't use cling wrap right anyway
I dislike the food getting onto the wrap, but it's beeswax and so relies more on using the heat of your hand to slightly melt the wax in the cloth into the shape of the container rather than being adhesive.
I'm all for people using it! It looks really fun, too. I like the color much more than my baby poo green containers!
My used Tupperware works okay, so far!
Except since they're all different brands, sizes, etc it's hard to find a good place in my kitchen to keep them organized 🤣
It's not perfect, but it's working for now!
I wash and re-use actual cling film, like the psycho that I am. Usually it's just to wrap half an onion or a lemon or something. No need for a fresh piece every time.
Finally someone else that does this!! A single roll can last me 2 years because I just... Wash it.
Yay there's two of us!! 😁 I've even got a drawer full of used Ziplocs, foil and some plastic wrap, can't remember last time I purchased any of this.
YES!!
👈👈😎 zoop!
I'm guessing those things are a straw washer thing or reusable cutlery and maybe a tiffin for packing lunches? And the thing in the lower left corner is a beeswax wrap, which is a fairly high maintenance and easy to DIY alternative to cling wrap.
Appreciate the context. I thought that reusable cling wrap was a bag.
For the straw washer, I wonder why they didn’t just include one of those skinny brushes designed for straws? Those brushes are less than $1 a piece and last a good long time. Or better yet, include a cup that doesn’t require a straw.
I would also go with aluminum foil over that semi-reusable cling wrap. Aluminum foil may not be as reusable, but it is infinitely recyclable. Which I like.
The straw washer thing was just a wild guess on my part. It could be one of those things, and/or some kind of reusable cutlery.
And yeah, that beeswax wrap is cute and all, but it's fussy, hard to clean, and it degrades with use so it needs to be re-waxed. And if you're going to have to do that anyway, may as well just make them yourself in the first place. They're literally just pieces of scrap fabric coated with wax.
It's just so obvious that this is little more than a grossly overpriced aesthetic.
Those nets are awesome, look super small but extend when you put a lot of stuff in it. But it should be well in the single digits price range
I remember I needed a string bag as a kid for a play I was in, and Mum just bought a used one at an op shop. I went looking 20 years later for some at an opshop, but they just didn't exist anymore.
If you want one of those, they are called „Dederon Netz“ and they were common in the former GDR. You can get those for 3-4 bucks online (won’t post a link to the big evil A here though)
What a fucking G R I F T
start your zero waste journey.
Why is everything a journey now?
But it's on sale!
Ah, the commodification of the zero waste movement. Sweet, sweet irony.
the bamboo utensils will always be hilarious to me. especially the bamboo "knife". no I will continue to use my old camping utensil or utensils from my kitchen drawer
Like, what stainless steel utensils aren't lasting decades??? Steel will last longer than bamboo
Seriously. Bamboo probably harbors bacteria more than stainless steel too.
Bamboo actually has natural anti-bacterial properties, which is why it’s a good choice for things like cutting boards.
See eg: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9137583/
I almost spit out my water. $134.99! Ffs. They’re selling to fools.
But its on sale! Down from 149.99!
I posted this exact picture with this exact title five years ago. Can someone help me understand what’s going on? Just karma farming or should I be concerned?
Whoa, I missed that. The poster is a karma bot, and has now been banned.
Don't worry about it, but if you do recognize a repost like this one again, report it. We get most of them, but some slip past every now and again.
Thanks.
Reduce, reuse recycle.
Refuse...
(I’m not buying these) but dang I love seeing little collections like this. I know it’s all stuff I already own, likely multiple, but somehow it’s so clean and organized! That’s how they get people. I assume everyone has the same utensil drawer I have and the same bags pile I have, and their butter knives are the same ones they’ve had for years. THIS IS PRETTY AND NEW YALL!
I keep getting reusable bags as gifts. WHY?!! They're RE-USABLE! I don't NEED more!! 😤 Hell, the reusable cotton bags I got 15 years ago are still going strong. Don't think I've ever actually purchased a bag, yet there's a whole collection.
Exactly!
Is that why?!
Nicely arranged things just itches the brain
It's basically aesthetic composition with everyday stuff.
The little net bags are pretty useful tbh and different from your regular reusable grocery bags.
I bought a 5-pack ages ago and I keep them around and use them several times a week.
They are great for stashing inside your car/purse because they are seriously tiny folded up. It’s super useful for beach towels or wet clothes/things and avoiding forgetting about it and finding a stinky bag of moldy stuff. I use them for mushroom foraging as well to spread spores. Obviously groceries and farmers market. I really do almost always have this bag nearby.
Not saying you or anybody else needs it but I find it to be extremely useful.
Edit- oh and the top left mesh bags with smaller holes they sell at the dollar tree in the USA near the gardening stuff. (Also good for mushroom foraging and spreading spores btw)
Edit 2 - holy cow I just saw the price on this stuff. I got all of the bags and the beeswax wraps for less than $40 (probably closer to 30 but I’ll be generous). If you like and need this stuff, don’t buy it all together like this. They are charging you more for styling it together than the products cost separately
$134 fucking dollars. I can't even.
The waxed papers (vegan ones exist!) are actually super useful. I bought a few of them a few years ago and still use them all the time.
I will not lie, it’s actually quite hard for me to fight the urge to replace my ugly stuff with cute stuff ✋🏼😮💨 (nice to meet you, I’m the target demographic)
It’s only that I can’t justify spending money on something I already own that keeps me from buying it
I mean... People might not? Especially young adults moving out for the first time.
I assume young adults don’t have the money to spend $134 on a bag and a bottle though
Let's say that's plausible that young adults are moving out on their own for the first time and they literally don't even own a tumbler or water bottle.
That's no reason to support a sleazy company selling overpriced greenwashed junk like this.
I know when I moved out I literally didn't own anything except clothes, a laptop and a games console. I had to get a house worth of stuff, although most of it was second hand from friends and family.
I don't really have any context about what this company is or what those things are, to know if it's overpriced or green washed, but people still need things.
I get the impulse to question things and come up with exceptions to the rule and all, but you're making up a pretty implausible use case to defend a shitty greenwashing ad.
The things in this kit appear to be: Two produce bags, one beeswax wrapper, a market bag, a small tiffin, either a straw washer or reusable cutlery in a carrying case, and a metal tumbler with a straw. Nobody needs all that, especially when they're just starting out, and even if they did, there's no good reason to pay that much for it.
What it comes down to is that this is bald faced greenwashing from a company that is selling what amounts to an overpriced eco-friendly aesthetic to people too oblivious to recognize even the most obvious marketing tricks.
The primary purpose of this sub is about recognizing and criticizing manipulative marketing like this. It's one thing to point out if the criticism is actually misinterpreting something, but making up excuses for the marketers is kind of weird at best.
I'm not defending the ad, I'm saying the title of this post is stupid. If the title was "this is ridiculous green washing" I would wholeheartedly agree.
Haha. I found a similar bag in a garage can at a park. I took it home and washed it and now we use it for a beach bag
I use those mesh produce bags and those resumable beeswax saran wrap. They're great
Excuse me
$135?!
It's overpriced for sure, but I think I only own one of the things in this image...
For $135 I'd at least expect a whole bag, this one has a bunch of holes in it. /s
This is some belligerent nonsense.
Hilarious. Straight up scam
My wife likes this stuff. She bought a whole set of bamboo cutlery off an instagram person to "be sustainable". I was like 'we already have second-hand metal cutlery that will last forever'.
This isn't even cute. It's all sad beige mom versions of stuff I already have
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150$ for whole century? We usually get all these items in the picture for not more than 5$ from a best quality brands.
Must be organic
hundred thirty four dollars for a bad and a cup??????
I'm not even sure why any of this is particularly needed.
Although, I guess laundry bags are nice. We have two that my Sister said we needed, but we've never used them.
Laundry bags are great. I wash any clothes that are remotely delicate in it and they've extended the life of my clothes.
I would too, but I really don’t have any delicates to mess with. I’m a man and to be frank my wife is a total tomboy.
Tbh, those tin lunchboxes are overpriced and absolute shit.
135? seems high
Anticonsumption and zero waste has been commodified for a long time now. Gotta throw out everything you own and get the sad beige version otherwise it’s not properly conspicuous anticonsumption, it’s just plain old not buying things, and people might think that you’re a Poor.
It's dumb, yeah, but be happy zero waste is getting awareness.
Oh man which influencer was this from?
That’s quite the markup for a kit that can be assembled piece-meal at a fraction of the cost.
What even are those bags with the square holes?
I’ve been on this thing where if I decide I really want something and will make good use of it I do not get it until I find exactly what I want at the thrift store, sometimes it taken like almost a year, (ie, thermos), but then I can enjoy whatever it is knowing I got the best one without buying it new. I’ve also started thrifting for gifts for my friends and as a student it’s so nice to be able to give your friends a gift they can actually use or will enjoy and be able to afford it.
Maybe it's my aesthetic, but that ain't cute at all. It screams "sad beige influencer".
I found that bag in a grocery store parking lot, washed it, and have enjoyed using it ever since 😀
Mine is also sourced from curbside and has stickers.
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I always try to remember that the most eco-friendly thing is to use what you already have :)