Every July, millions of people around the world take part in Plastic-Free July — a challenge to cut single-use plastic out of daily life, one habit at a time. And every July, plenty of people give up by week two, because overhauling your whole life at once is exhausting.
So here’s a more honest approach: don’t change everything. Change one room. And make it the bathroom — because no room in the house collects plastic bottles quite like it.
The bathroom problem
Have a look at your shower shelf right now. Shower gel, hand wash, face wash, shampoo, conditioner — almost all of it comes in single-use plastic bottles, most of which are used for a few weeks and thrown away. Multiply that by every household, every month, for years, and the bathroom quietly becomes one of the most plastic-heavy rooms we own.
The good news: it’s also the easiest room to fix — because the plastic-free alternative isn’t some new invention. It’s the thing we all used before the bottles arrived.
The humble bar of soap: the original plastic-free product
A bar of soap needs no pump, no bottle and no plastic at all — just a wrapper (ours is minimal) and a dish to sit on. One well-made natural bar replaces bottle after bottle of shower gel, and a good hard-cured bar like Aleppo soap lasts a remarkably long time, especially if you look after it properly.
It’s also, frankly, the nicer way to wash. Traditional olive-oil soaps clean gently without the synthetic detergents and heavy fragrance of most bottled gels — a swap that’s kinder to your skin and the planet at the same time.
Five easy bathroom swaps for Plastic-Free July
- Shower gel → natural soap bar. The single biggest win. One bar, zero bottles. If you’re new to traditional soap, our Aleppo soap collection is a lovely place to start.
- Plastic loofah → kessa mitt. Those plastic mesh puffs shed microplastics and end up in landfill. A fabric kessa exfoliating mitt does a far better job and lasts much longer — see how it’s used in our hammam guide.
- Buy in multi-packs. Less packaging per bar, fewer deliveries, and you’ll never run out mid-month. Our six-bar sets exist for exactly this reason.
- Use a draining soap dish. Not a swap so much as a habit — it keeps bars dry so they last far longer, which means buying (and shipping) less overall.
- Finish what you have first. The most sustainable product is the one already in your bathroom. Use up the bottles you own, then replace them with better.
Don’t aim for perfect — aim for permanent
The spirit of Plastic-Free July isn’t a flawless month; it’s finding swaps you’ll actually keep after the challenge ends. Swapping bottled gel for a bar of natural soap is about as easy as a habit change gets — no sacrifice, no inconvenience, just a nicer product with far less waste.
Start with one bar this July. If it sticks (and we think it will), the rest of the shelf can follow at its own pace. Browse the full natural soap collection to find yours.