Last updated July 2025
Plastic Free July is back, and whether it’s your first time joining or you’ve been ditching plastic for years, the challenge always comes with fresh questions. What counts as single-use? Do I need to swap everything at once? What’s the point when plastic’s everywhere?
Those are all fair asks. Plastic really is everywhere.
It’s in our shopping bags, food packaging, clothes, cosmetics — even the air we breathe. And despite growing awareness, Australia still throws out an estimated 10 billion pieces of single-use plastic each year. Most of it ends up in landfill, and only 12% gets recycled.
Everything You Need to Know About Plastic Free July (and How to Actually Start)
Plastic Free July is a movement that started in Australia in 2011 by Rebecca Prinze Ruiz, who wanted to start a simple community initiative to help her friends and coworkers reduce plastic. Fourteen years on it’s grown into a global movement that inspired an estimated 326 million participants in 177 countries.
You making a small change will collectively make a massive difference to our communities. You can choose to refuse single-use plastics in July (and beyond!). Best of all, being part of Plastic Free July will help you to find great alternatives that can become new habits forever.
Because this movement isn’t about being perfect.
It’s about reducing where we can, building new habits, and pushing for bigger change. Because the truth is, millions of small shifts, like saying no to plastic cutlery or switching to a shampoo bar, do add up.
That’s why we’ve pulled together every guide, tip, and resource we’ve published over the years in one easy-to-navigate place. From simple swaps to deeper dives on plastic in fashion, it’s all here — so you can start wherever you are and go from there.
Ready to get started?
Tips for getting started
If you have no idea where to start, here are is a beginners guide to learning how to reduce plastic waste. Also, read this guide for some simple swaps and if you’re just time poor or a bit lazy then this guide is for you.
My personal favourite all-rounder is this one with 51 different ways you can reduce plastic, try one or try them all. They also link to some of my favourite products I’ve used over the years.
If you’ve already taken the first steps to reduce plastic and are ready to level up, check out these everyday items you might not know contain plastic and this great piece by Ethically Kate on how to take Plastic Free July to the next level.
And remember, going plastic-free or low waste won’t happen overnight – it’s a process.
It takes time and a little effort, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Do the best you can with what you have available to you, and in the process, you might just inspire the people around you to walk a little lighter on the planet as well.
Image via WWF Australia
A bit of inspiration
When I first wrote this, every major city in Australia had gone into lockdown, and last year in Australia, we were in a similar position. Even though we are now free to go where we please, sometimes home is the nicest place to be, so here are some Plastic Free July challenges you can do from home.
I always say knowledge is power, so here are some resources to help you understand more about plastic pollution and be inspired by the people coming up with some creative solutions:
- Meet the women creating a floating school for adults to learn how to become eco-warriors
- Take 3 for the Sea and other awesome Aussie tackling plastic pollution
- Biodegradable plastic will soon be banned in Australia
- How 10 million Aussies are reducing plastic and trying zero waste living
- The plastic pollution podcast you need to listen to
- Clever inventions solving the plastic pollution crisis
Brands and stores to help you reduce plastic
Use what you already have, the most sustaiabl item is the one we already own. But when you do need supplies, these are my picks for online stores to shop for reusables, food, and beauty to help you go plastic-free.
A special mention for the best reusable coffee cups because many of us use them every day.
Check out our Brand Directory under ‘Plastic Free & Zero Waste” here. We also have some great discounts from some of these brands here.
Some special mentions:
- Naked Asian Grocer is Australia’s first zero-waste Asian grocer bringing you Asian ingredients plastic-free
- Banish is a plastic-free marketplace and also offers an end-to-end solution for some of those hard-to-recycle household items
- Wander Lightly is a low-waste living store and a fantastic resource for learning different ways to reduce waste
These awesome Aussie food brands have made the switch to home-compostable packaging. And these are my favourite alternatives to cling wrap. Cling wrap is a staple in most kitchens, and while it may save your sandwich, it’s also an environmental nightmare. Its such an easy swap to make!
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” – Anne-Marie Bonneau, Zero Waste Chef
Plastic-free haircare, makeup and period products
- Check out these 22 affordable plastic-free beauty brands
- From shampoo to serum – low waste haircare
- Here are some great package free and natural makeup brands
- Sustainable hair removal – if you want to – in no way do I encourage the ridiculous pressures in society for females to be flawless and hairless
- Reusable period products – There is a whole world of alternative menstrual products out there, you just need to choose one that works for you
Ready to learn about plastic in fashion?
It’s a troubling fact considering micro plastics shedding from clothes are allegedly a huge issue to our health and oceans. As the world is now discovering, plastic is not the dream material everyone once thought.
“Australians buy an average of 27 kilograms of new textiles each year and then discard about 23 kilograms* into landfill – and two-thirds of those discards are manmade synthetic/plastic fibres that may never breakdown.” Textile Beat
Some great pieces we’ve published on plastic in fashion:
- What is microfiber pollution?
- 75% of new clothing is made from plastic and it’s not sustainable
- What is Rayon, Modal, and Tencel and are these fabrics eco-friendly?
- How do we solve the microfiber pollution mess?
- Getting to know your materials – which fabrics are the most sustainable?
The ethical and sustainable clothing brands that use natural and recycled fabrics:
- 7 Brands who do gorgeous natural cotton knitwear
- 4 Aussie activewear brands helping clean up ocean plastic
- 7 Sustainable brands who do beautiful linen pieces
And a deep dive on whether plastic-free fashion is actually as clean and green as it seems.
We must reassess and change our attitudes towards our clothing and reform the whole lifecycle of our garments. This means making differently, buying less and buying second hand. It also means owning for longer, repurposing, remaking and mending.
And finally some great education resources
These are some of my favourite documentaries and books if you are feeling like you don’t know where to start or just want some inspiration.
Books
- Plastic-Free – The Inspiring Story of a Global Environmental Movement
- A Zero waste Life and A Zero Waste Family
- I Quit Plastics
Documentaries
And remember, we can’t do everything but we can all do something.
Don’t let it overwhelm you. Start with one thing at a time, find what works for you, your family, your life, and. And most of all, know that your ordinary everyday actions will inspire and influence the people around you to try to make positive changes as well.
