1000 Flowers for the Planet - #265 Cut Product use In Half

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #265 Cut Product use In Half

Have you noticed the toothpaste advertisements demonstrate a long line of toothpaste being spread onto the whole length of the brush? Did you know you really only need an amount about the size of a pea? This is how suggestive advertising leads to product overuse. We’re given measuring cups with our laundry powders and liquids that make us feel we should use the full cup, and if you push the pump on a liquid soap container it will give you a huge amount to use. Does your shampoo bottle tell you to wash twice?

My thought is that if these products were actually any good at doing their job we’d need less, not more. A hundred years ago women washed their hair once a month – this doesn’t mean they had dirty hair all the time. What this means is the advertising companies have developed so well over the last century that they’ve convinced us of all of these “needs” we have – but they’re usually fantasy. If washing your hair once a month with natural ingredients was so laborious, why are we now washing our hair every day or two. So we’ll use more product and pay for more product.

Cut product use in half – give it a go and see what happens. See how your clothes come out of the washing machine when you use less than the recommended amount of detergent – any difference? Will you still get a mouthful of froth from your toothpaste if you use a pea-sized amount? I bet you do. Only push that liquid soap pump a little bit and check if your hands still come clean. Companies want us to use more product because they want our money, but in the meantime, apart from draining us financially, the cost to the planet is huge as we pour all these chemicals into the environment. Our water systems are affected, hence the food chain is affected, therefore our own health is affected. If you can’t do without these products, try using less, and you’ll help make a difference to the world.