Trizanne Barnard
1 min read

Plastic-Free July: A Beginner's Guide to Going Plastic Free

Going plastic free is one of the ways we honour our Earth and the life that inhabits her. This beautiful planet of ours has been likened to the human body. The trees reflect our lungs; the water reflects our blood; the sand and stone our flesh and bones. How we treat our body is a reflection of how we treat the earth and vice vers
Plastic-Free July: A Beginner's Guide to Going Plastic Free

 

Going plastic free is one of the ways we honour our Earth and the life that inhabits her. This beautiful planet of ours has been likened to the human body. The trees reflect our lungs; the water reflects our blood; the sand and stone our flesh and bones. How we treat our body is a reflection of how we treat the earth and vice versa.

Today we face a very real crisis concerning the amount of disregarded plastic polluting our magnificent earth. Plastic pollution has reached every corner of the earth and is smothering our oceans and poisoning our environment.

Oftentimes, the challenge involved in going plastic free relates to our purchasing behaviour and the habits we’ve likely been practicing for years. In this article we focus on a number of ways to reduce plastic use, and the easy steps we can implement to make a difference.

So, how did we get into this mess with plastic?

Interestingly, plastics have only been mass-produced for around the last 60 years. A major portion of plastic produced each year is used to make disposable items that are discarded within a year. Most plastics are highly durable and will persist for decades as debris accumulating in landfills and natural habitats worldwide.

The amount of plastic being produced is said to increase in the coming years. We are being called to make some very real changes, otherwise the consequences of our excessive plastic production and plastic use will only grow more severe over time.

As awareness around plastic pollution grows, so too does the responsibility for businesses to communicate their environmental efforts with clarity and accuracy. In markets such as the European Union, new consumer protection rules include the Greenwashing Directive (Directive 2024/825), which require that environmental statements used in marketing, packaging and brand storytelling are specific and supported by verifiable evidence. For Dawn Patrol Wines, this reinforces our approach of grounding any sustainability messaging in recognised standards, such as IPW-certified production and transparent sourcing practices. In other words, the same care we take in reducing our environmental footprint should also guide the way we speak about it.