Plastic Free July is a great campaign to bring awareness to ways you can choose to reuse when it comes to everyday items. Here at Shop Naturally however, we like to choose plastic free everyday where possible. So we would love to give you some tips on ways that you can take small steps to create change in your life to start using less disposable plastic.

First step to consider ways you can reduce plastic waste is to BYO coffee cup (or tea cup, or hot chocolate cup!). We have a range of options of reusable coffee cups from those that are completely leak proof so you can buy your coffee and pop it in your handbag till you are ready to drink it, to those that are perfect if you want to drink immediately.

Nowadays most cafes are very accommodating of you bringing your own cup and the cups will either fit under the coffee machine, or they have the shot of coffee process into a little jug and then pour into your cup. It is part of the barista's everyday routine now, and for the cafe owners it helps them feel like they are doing their bit also (plus saves them some money not handing out so many cups and lids that just end up in landfill!)

Choose to reuse and BYO isn't just for the coffee drinkers though. There is absolutely no reason why you cant take your own cup to your local juice or smoothie bar. Doing so can reduce the need for the plastic cup and lid, along with the plastic straw. Most of these places will make your juice or smoothie in a jug, so if they were to pour into your own bottle, again, is really no extra work for them. For this you can use your large coffee cup (it it is a small juice) otherwise you can use any of the plastic, stainless steel or glass water bottles in our store. There are insulated water bottles in store that will keep your smoothie or juice cool till you are ready to drink it which is perfect if you grab one on the way to work in the morning but don't want to drink it till lunch time.

Lastly for all those times that you buy a smoothie, but have forgotten to take your own cup, always try to say no to the straw. Keeping a stainless steel straw (or two) in your handbag is easy enough to do and we even have some available in their own calico bag for storage.