| Re: Shampoo bottles for instance...
How about using natural cleansers, e.g. horse chestnut leaf juice, soapwort et al?
When I had dreadlocks for six years I stopped shampooing them for a while, just rinsed them thoroughly in hot water every few days and added essential oils (e.g. patchouli, rosemary, sandalwood) to the final rinse water. This worked fine until I visited Bolivia, where the humidity started up a bit of an ecosystem in my dreads, so I had to resort to lathering them up again.
Currently I use Aussie Mega shampoo, it's very concentrated so I tend to only get through one or two bottles a year. As I don't buy other products (conditioner, shower gel, make-up remover, hairspray, etc etc) my purchase of plastic bottles is therefore minimal.
I'm sure the Bodyshop once used to let you bring in empty bottles for refills of things like shampoo... But as far as I'm aware, they don't do this any more. Not that I can afford the stupendous prices they charge for stuff, anyway. It does bug me how few shops/companies don't provide this 'container refill' option - our local health food shop does do it for some Ecover and other cleaning products.  |