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What is Plastic Free July?

July brings many things - the prospect of sunnier days, holidays abroad and iced coffees on tap. But have you ever heard of Plastic Free July? Founded back in 2011 by the Plastic Free Foundation, this campaign is aimed to get participants to eliminate their consumption of plastic during the month long challenge, to reduce their impact on the environment.

With ambitions of a plastic waste free world, the Plastic Free Foundation have done an INCREDIBLE job with spreading their message and raising awareness about the importance of cutting out this toxic material from your life. We're here to tell you more about the campaign and how it links to our own Sustainable Summer campaign...

So, what is Plastic Free July?

plastic free july

Plastic Free July was started by the founder of the Plastic Free Foundation, Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and a small team in Western Australia back in 2011, and has now grown to become one of the most influential environmental campaigns in the world. Millions of people take part each year, committing to reduce plastic pollution throughout the month of July and beyond.

The Plastic Free Foundation has 5 core values:

  • Honesty and integrity
  • Inclusivity of people, ideas, visions and approaches
  • A focus on providing solutions
  • Authenticity and collaboration
  • The belief that small changes add up to a big difference

The impact of the campaign is clear  - participants of Plastic Free July have globally reduced 2.1  billion tonnes of waste and recycling, and helped to reduce the global demand of bottled water by 2.3%. They have also reduced their own household waste and recycling by 15kg per person per year. Wow!

Why is Plastic Free July important?

single use plastic pollution

We have all heard about how devastating plastic is for the environment. Horror stories about plastic bottles washing up on remote islands and turtles ingesting plastic straws come to mind at the very mention of plastic waste, but let's discuss the facts. Did you know that every piece of plastic created STILL exists today? That's because plastic can take 1000 years to decompose, meaning there is no quick fix when it comes to disposing of it. Even recycling is not the solution - only 9% of plastic ever made has been recycled. With 79% of plastic ending up in landfills or the environment, it's safe to say that reducing your plastic footprint as much as possible is the BEST thing you can do for the planet.

How can I get involved?

clear up plastic on beach

Plastic Free July encourages interested participants to sign up to their online form to get sent all the latest updates and tips and tricks during the month of July. They also have a whole load of content on their website to help you with your plastic free transition. From simple plastic free swaps, to events you can get involved with, there is a whole host of info on their site and Instagram.

What is nuddy doing to join in?

 girls smiling holding up soap bars

Throughout the whole of Plastic Free July, we will be running our very own virtual Plastic Free Festival, jam packed with loads of informative content, challenges, and exclusive discounts on all of our plastic free ranges. We are running our very own Sustainable Summer blog campaign, which will feature our top tips, plastic free product swaps, and interviews with specialists within the environmentalism sphere.

We will also be donating 5% off all profit made during July to the Plastic Free Foundation, and we're encouraging our community to join in with Plastic Free July (our team will be taking part, too!). Make sure you're following us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up to date with all our activity (and keep an eye out for our giveaways, too). If you want to stay informed on all of our plans, you can also sign up to our mailing by scrolling to the bottom of this page. Trust us, you don't want to miss out on this one.