Life in Plastic, Not So Fantastic: 12 Products to Help You Scrub Plastic From Your Laundry
- Words by Peppermint
What month is it again? While mentally we might still be stuck in 2019, Father Time keeps ticking away and all hands are pointing to Plastic Free July. 2022 sees the initiative in its twelfth year as millions of people around the globe join the pledge to reduce their plastic waste.
We know you’re already shunning plastic straws and remembering your reusables, but this Plastic Free July, we thought we’d take a journey through the home, eliminating plastic in each room as we go. Of course, the most sustainable products are the ones you already have on hand, but there’s no better time to share some love to the brands out there fighting the war on waste, all year round. Next in the series… the laundry for all things cleaning.
Does anyone here actually like doing laundry? If so, we have a couple of piles we’d be more than happy to send your way… In all seriousness though, when it comes to cleaning, life can sometimes get in the way and good eco habits can start to slide. We get it. Here are a few brands we love who can help clean up your act.
READ MORE – Life In Plastic, Not So Fantastic: 13 Products to Help You Flush Plastic from Your Bathroom
ENVIROCLEAN
No one likes doing the laundry but dissolvable, plastic-free, plant-based detergent strips from Enviroclean that you just chuck into the wash do make the whole Mount Washmore challenge slightly more enticing…
PLEASANT STATE
This female-founded, B Corp-certified cleaning brand is on a mission to change the way you clean your home. Using plant-based surfactants and essential oils, Pleasant State’s Australian-made, just-add-water concentrated cleaning bars look good, smell good and do good. Two percent of all sales is donated to clean up our ocean.
Get $10 off your next purchase here!
BIOME
Home to a wonderland of sustainable goodies from more than 400 brands – including lots of small Aussie makers – Biome operates across six bricks-and-mortar stores and an online marketplace brimming with eco solutions. Offering plastic-free orders and carbon offsetting shipping, the team is dedicated to making sustainability work for you.
THE DIRT COMPANY
Sleek and minimal, The Dirt Company’s liquid laundry concentrate in a glass pump bottle is a weekly washing triumph. Return the reduced-plastic refill packs by subscription to be refilled, for a truly clean planet.
ETHIQUE
Don’t be fooled by Ethique’s household cleaners’ chocolate-like appearance. These snappable, multipurpose concentrates pack a seriously sweet cleaning punch – simply melt and pour into a bottle.
MUNCH
All natural and organic, these innovative wool dryer balls from Munch offer a chemical-free alternative to dryer sheets and plastic dryer balls. And because of the wool balls’ natural anti-static, they reduce wrinkles, lint, and the need to iron your clothes.
READ MORE – Life in Plastic, Not So Fantastic: 12 Products to Help You Chop Plastic Out of Your Kitchen
BARESOP
You have to hand it to Baresop – their plant-based, vegan hand wash powder, in a home-compostable sachet, deserves a high five. Mix with water and add to the foaming pump bottle, made from recycled ocean waste.
SINGLE USE AIN’T SEXY
Sexy sells! And these clever tablets keep selling out. With a ‘just add water’ foaming formula, light aloe scent and ultra-cool glass bottles, we’re not surprised that the Australian company is… getting busy.
COVE
Found at Coles, Cove’s plant-based cleaners are packaged in reusable and infinitely recyclable aluminium bottles and lightweight pouches that can be REDcycled, creating a system where plastic is over and out.
ECYO
The brainchild of three science-loving sisters, Ecyo pods take the guesswork out of plastic-free DIY cleaning. BYO bottle, warm water and dirty house – the biodegradable, dissolvable pods do the rest. Well, almost…
ZERO CO
Circle up, earth-lovers! Zero Co wants to rid your home of single-use plastic with its “order-deliver-refill-return” system. Cleaning, laundry, dishwash and body wash, all in bottles and refill packs made from recycled plastic.
ONE LESS BOTTLE
Grab your own bottle and refill at One Less Bottle’s vending machine refill stations in Melbourne. Elsewhere head to a Coles in NSW offering EcoStore refills, or try Biome in Brisbane, The Source Bulk Foods nationally or a local bulk store.
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“My piece of advice for makers and designers? Run your own race… make sure your key decisions stay anchored in your brand’s core beliefs.”
- Bec Bligh
Quick show of hands: who’s opened a water bottle expecting a refreshing sip… and instead been greeted by the unmistakable whiff of uh-oh?
Because for something that follows us everywhere (desk, car, hikes, yoga…), the humble drink bottle is strangely prone to becoming a science experiment. Hard-to-clean corners and gaskets. Mystery smells. Bec Bligh and her husband Tim know it well. A six-month sailing trip along the Queensland coast left them with a lifetime of memories and one stubborn annoyance: mouldy water bottles they couldn’t properly clean.
So they did something about it.
Enter @EverVessel. Thoughtfully designed borosilicate glass and stainless steel bottles that keep things beautifully simple: durable materials, wide openings, easy-to-clean parts and none of the techy gimmicks that tend to age badly. Turns out simplicity, done well, is pretty powerful stuff. (Their many design awards agree!)
And lately they’ve added a little extra delight: the Artist Series, where creatives like Paola Castro, Ben Miners and Martin Thompson transform these everyday companions into tiny travelling artworks. There are more colabs in the works, too: hydration, but make it joyful! 🎨💧
We chatted with Bec about the sailing trip that started it all, the philosophy behind Ever Vessel, and why the most sustainable product is often just the one you keep using.
Tap the link in our bio to read the full conversation. 🚰
#EverVessel #ReusableWaterBottle
Pull up a chair… there’s room at this table!
For the first time, Feast for Freedom is bringing people together for a spectacular long-table dinner as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.
A Longer Table is exactly what it sounds like: one beautiful shared table inside the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1), piled with generous dishes inspired by this year’s hero cooks, Noha and Nige.
From 6 to 9pm on Wednesday, 25 March, this is what you can expect:
🍽 A three-course shared feast
🍷 Matched drinks
🎶 Live entertainment
✨ A room full of good humans
Your ticket doesn’t just buy you a delicious dinner. It supports the ASRC’s vital work and helps create a fairer future for people seeking asylum.
Seats are limited, and long tables have a way of filling up quickly – head to @MelbFoodAndWine’s website to book now: feastforfreedom.org.au/mfwf
#FeastForFreedom #MelbourneFoodAndWineFestival #LongTableDinner #FoodForChange
Sew versatile! 🪡
Another great make from Lisa from @SunnySewsEveryday:
My #PeppermintWaratahWrapDress is finished and I’m so proud of it. It has been designed not to flap open and flash your pants in the wind, so I feel confident it will be a great wheelchair or standing dress in English weather.
#PeppermintPatterns #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
Frame your face with the Peppermint Bucket Hat!
Stay safe and stylish in the sun with your very own self-sewn and self-drafted wide-brimmed bucket hat. This beginner-friendly sew is perfect for a sunny day. Get out your pencils – this pattern is created using equations and maths!
This DIY project was featured in Issue 53 and now you can access it for the lovely low price of only $5.
Sun-safe chic is always in style. ☀️
Find it via the link in our bio!
Photos: @KelleySheenan
#PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintBucketHat #BucketHat #BucketHatPattern #DIY
✨ INSTANT CLASSIC ✨
The Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with a few special details based on the ever-stylish shift shape – the perfect dress you need in your wardrobe right now!
Myrtle cuts above the knee with options to customise the length. Don’t think she’s reserved for hot weather either: try a heavier-weight fabric to turn your Myrtle into a pinafore-style garment for layering.
For our fabrics we chose two from our lovely sewing partner @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Location: @ShareTheDignityAustralia
#PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress #PeppermintPatterns
It’s time to Feast!
Some recipes travel a long way before they land on your table to delight your taste buds. This year’s Feast for Freedom invites us to gather our friends, cook something delectable and raise funds for the incredible work of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1) while we’re at it.
The 2026 Feast features recipes shared by two remarkable cooks: Noha, who brought the flavours of Palestine with her when she arrived in Australia, and Nige, a Sri-Lankan Tamil cook whose journey with food began in the most unexpected of places.
You can host your own Feast up until 30 April – simply register online and get planning! Host a dinner, organise a workplace lunch, or gather your community… However you do it, the idea is simple: cook, connect and celebrate the cultures and stories that shape Australia.
Want to find out more? Head to the link in bio to meet Noha and Nige, learn more about their stories, and discover a delicious recipe to try.
#FeastForFreedom #PeppermintMagazine #FoodForGood #ASRC
