Authors Christine Wong and Brigette Allen Provide the Book’s Origin and What Sets It Apart

Living Without Plastic is a new book from Plastic Oceans International and authors Christine Wong and Brigette Allen. This beautiful guide offers over 100 creative and stylish swaps that allow you to easily reduce you personal plastic footprint.  We are proud to have Brigette and Christine provide this guest blog about their journey with the book.

Pause for a moment after you read this sentence and look around you. Chances are, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you’re surrounded by plastic. Perhaps you’re sipping a drink from a plastic cup through a plastic straw. You may have plastic pens on your desk. Or you’ve just picked up lunch, which you’re eating from a plastic bowl with plastic utensil (or two), which will then get tossed into a trashcan lined with a plastic bag. In our modern lives, plastic is everywhere. It’s seemingly so useful and convenient and it comes in many forms which makes plastic ubiquitous in our daily environment. But now, it is also ever present in our oceans, to disastrous effect.

Living Without Plastic authors Christine Wong and Brigette Allen

Authors Christine Wong and Brigette Allen.

The Inspiration

The “take-action” starting point for the Living Without Plastic authors was from watching A Plastic Ocean. For Brigette Allen, it was the scene that showed an albatross dying from having ingested more than 260 pieces of plastic, opening her eyes to how plastic proliferates into the environment. This was a powerful image that is impossible to unsee. Our plastic usage impacts over 700 species through ingestion or entanglement. While the entire film was eye-opening, Christine Wong’s big “a-ha” moment was the segment where director Craig Leeson goes to various takeout restaurants and asks if there was a way to get the food without the plastic packaging. As a food blogger, she took this moment and shared action steps to create awareness through her instagram community @conscious_cooking and annual #plasticfreefoodie community fundraising project.

Real popcorn as packing, from Living Without Plastic

The added value of real popcorn. Photo: Christine Wong

Why It Matters

While tackling the global plastic problem can seem overwhelming at first, there are so many steps, small and large, that we can each take to change our plastic habits. We can start by educating and engaging people in conversations to rethink plastic and by challenging society’s perception that this “disposable” substance is actually indestructible, and harmful to humans and animals.

The starting point for this book was realizing that there are many ways, beyond just the obvious single-use plastic straw, bottle and bag, for people to greatly reduce their plastic footprint in their daily lives. People don’t even realize how plastic is in almost everything from chewing gum to the clothes we wear; from the BPA in receipts to the lining of paper coffee cups. Switching from single-use plastic to these replacements really adds up!

Living Without Plastic provides over 100 fun and engaging actions – some easy swaps, some slightly more involved, to reduce our dependence on single-use plastic. The book opens with a foreword from Julie Andersen, CEO of Plastic Oceans International, and the authors kick things off with an introduction to the issue: how we got here and the impact of plastic waste on the environment and human health. Knowledge is power, and awareness brings change. Once a reader becomes mindful of the small steps  to avoid using plastic, this can lead to lasting changes. As a global community and through our collective efforts, together we can be a part of the solution.

Leaf confetti from Living Without Plastic

Let’s get leafy in our celebrations! Photo: Christine Wong

What Sets It Apart

Several books within the past decade have confronted our increasing reliance on plastic and the problems associated with it. Living Without Plastic is set apart from these other books in that it provides illustrated actions coupled with snippets of information as to why using those plastic items pose a problem. A 30-day plastic detox as well as a handy resource section. As consumers, we have the power to decide what to stand for. Our book lists companies that are consciously producing goods that are less wasteful and less harmful to the environment.

Through its attractive, illustrated presentation of information and beautifully designed format, this handy hardcover book helps make the information easy to digest, and the action steps accessible and approachable in hopes to bring widespread awareness and have a great impact.

Living Without Plastic • 256 Pages • Artisan Books
Available online and in select bookstores worldwide, as a hardback and eBook.

Make Living Without Plastic Part of Your Year-end Giving

The hardcover edition is your gift with any donation of $100 or more. The eBook is yours with any donation of $50. CLICK HERE.