Living Plastic-free: MAJOR SIN #2
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned again. It’s been 2 months since my last confession.
And what is the sin you have to confess this time,my child?
Well, Father, this year I’ve pledged to live plastic-free. As an atonement for being a nature-consuming-resource-sucking human being.
All was going fine. I was avoiding buying or letting anything into my life that contained or was packaged in plastic. Oh sure, there were small bits of plastic that surreptitiously sneaked into my home, on clothing and stuff. But for the most part I was staying true to my vow of plastic-celibacy.
But Father, one thing I was really having problems with was – body odour.
I had found a totally plastic-free deodorant at LUSH, and was using it faithfully, but quite honestly Father, it didn’t work. I stunk - and sweat - to high heaven. Co-workers were beginning to notice. Clothes were being ruined.
So I committed my first MAJOR SIN Father, way back in January, and bought a new deodorant that came packaged in plastic…. Nature’s Gate Spring Fresh Deodorant.
Yes child, I remember. You confessed your sin to me at that time. But child, I need to perform a wedding in ½ hour so why don’t you just cut to the chase, and tell me what the sin is you want to confess today.
Well, Father. It turns out, Nature’s Gate deodorant wasn’t any better. I still stunk. I still sweat. I still had ring-around the armpit. And Father, this was the first time in my life this had ever happened to me. And it wasn’t stress at work. Or way-way-early-onset Hot-Flash-Menopause, either Father.
I went back to LUSH and tried every non-plastic deodorant they had, on the recommendation of people who made comments on my blog. All to no avail.
So I sinned again Father, and resorted to buying my usual deodorant Doves Cool Essentials. It comes packaged in a big wad of plastic, that’s not even recyclable. I feel terrible. But at least I don’t stink or sweat anymore. All is dry on the armpit front, finally.
My child, this is a serious MAJOR SIN indeed. I am deeply shocked. You have fallen right off your high and mighty polyethylene pulpit.
Yes Father, I know. I hang my head in shame. I know my credibility and conviction appear to be melting like a snow cone in Hell.
Have you fallen off your no-plastic pledge completely, then?
No Father. I continue to live my life plastic-free. Failure will not stop me. It just makes me stronger. In fact Father, initially I thought I would only make the plastic-free pledge for the first 90 days of 2007, but now I have decided to do it for the full year.
That is good my child. It is true, both you and I are only human. But it is also true, that through the pledges we both have made, we aspire to be Higher Humans and set the example for others. So your penitence today is to say 5 Hail-David-Suzukis, and 5 Hail-Al-Gores. And you must kiss my rosary.
I can’t Father, it’s made of plastic….
Oh, you're right. Okay then, just go forth and continue to preach the Gospel of Plastic-Free
Comments
How absolutely cool is
How absolutely cool is that!!!
And the writer is even from Australia, which means changeeverything.ca is being read Downunder. Way cool. Thanks for letting me know Rob.
Good things come in threes! (Alas, so do bad things) I am having a particularly lucky weekend. For the first time in my life, I'm actually feeling I have horseshoes up my ......
#1. TheBeast, who is 17 years old, seemed on death's doorstep yesterday, but magically appears fine again today (saved moola on a vet bill).
#2. MyLittleCar, who is 18 years old, last week tragically got its gears all misaligned (Park was where Neutral should be, Reverse was where Neutral should be, and so on) after being parked for a mere 5 minutes on a steep West Vancouver driveway....but magically appears fine today. (saved moola on a mechanic bill).
#3. Treehugger writes about EnviroWoman. (well, didn't save any moola, but I magically got 2 seconds of InternetFame. There has to be a price tag for that!).
Yipee!
EnviroWoman
Plastic-free. Cruelty-free. Vegetarian. Chocoholic
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More power to you
More power to you EnviroWoman! You've piqued the curiosity of our community at CommonCircle.net (it's a social network for progressive folk) - we look forward to reading more of your efforts; it's sure been an eye-opener!
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I actually started reading
I actually started reading your blog after recieving my newsletter from TreeHugger!! Congrats on the exposure!
And now I'm even checking out Lush for plastic free shampoo because everytime I've thrown a bottle out, I died a little inside and thought there must be a better way but just didnt know where to look! Bar shampoo here I come (after mine are all done...I have a collection...Oy)
Thanks for opening my eyes to plastic free living!!! And keep up the great work! I'll cheer you on from my little abode in Calgary!!
Cheers,
M
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After I read about you in
After I read about you in Treehugger, I wished they wrote about you a long time ago! I LOVE your blog. Great job and good luck!
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Man, I'm really gonna have
Man, I'm really gonna have to send those folks at TreeHugger.com some chocolate for sending new readers to EnviroWoman's little corner here on changeeverything.ca.
Mon - I'm totally there with you when you say "everytime I've thrown a bottle out I died a little inside and thought there must be a better way'. Isn't that the truth? Why isn't the world filled with more people like us (and all the other great people at Changeeverything.ca who are trying to take little steps or giant leaps to change life and the planet for the better)?
And welcome Michael and spiderdust from Commoncircle.net.
Lubna, if treehugger.com wrote about me a long time ago, then you wouldn't have had all my whacky prose to read on your first visit, and how much fun would that have been? Not much. You'd probably have just thought 'oh yeah, here's another New Year's Resolution that's nothing but high hopes and righteous good intentions which will ride off the eco-rails after a week or two.'
I'm sure there is some uber-Zen saying about 'All things come to pass as they should'...Alas I'm not into Zen. Chocolate, yes.....Zen, not so much.
Cheers everyone.
Plastic free. Cruelty Free. Vegetarian. Chocoholic
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Have you heard of (or tried)
Have you heard of (or tried) the deodorant stones that look like big hunks of rock crystal? I have no idea how effective they are, but it might be another option...
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FYI, the thing that makes
FYI, the thing that makes you smell is bacteria growing in the warm dark areas of your armpit. So theoretically if you stop the bacteria you stop the smell. Some people I know use triple antibiotic ointment under their arms. I don't know how well it works, but it might be something you could try if you can find it in a non-plastic container (I think some come in aluminum or something). Granted, this won't stop the sweating since it doesn't have aluminum in it, but it might be half the battle.
I like what you are doing here...way to go!
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Hi, This may sound crazy and
Hi, This may sound crazy and I don't know if this falls under being a "major sin" but what about a botox
injection in your pits. Its supposed to stop sweating.
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Well, some divine force is
Well, some divine force is smiling on you: you've been blogged by Treehugger, which is the 61st most popular blog in the world, according to Technorati. (They track a cool 72 million blogs, so 61st is kind of a big deal.) Congrats!