In today's world, plastic has become so normalized that it feels like the background hum of daily life. Walk down a grocery aisle and it's pervasive: clamshell produce boxes, shrink-wrapped cucumbers, entire shelves lined in plastic bottles. And yet, it wasn't always this way. Stores once relied on glass jars, paper wrapping, and sturdy metals. Plastic isn't essential—it's subsidized. It's not cheap because it's inherently affordable; it's cheap because we prop it up with taxes, subsidies, and an entire system built on disposability. If we demand differently, things shift. What feels progressive is often simply a return to common sense: packaging that was reusable, materials that lasted, and food that wasn't wrapped in plastics harmful to our health.

This isn't just an ecological issue—it's a human one. Every year, 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean, threatening ecosystems we rely on. But the same chemicals leaching into waterways are leaching into us: hormone disruptors like BPA and phthalates, linked to fertility and developmental issues, and chronic disease. Microplastics are now in the air we breathe, the food we eat, even our own bloodstreams. To reduce plastic is to reclaim our health, our communities, our planet. It's not about perfection—it's about presence.

What follows are 10 simple but meaningful shifts, broken down into ways to navigate the world outside and the home you return to. Each choice is an act of stewardship. A reminder that care, not convenience, is what endures.

1. Bring Your Own Reusable Water Bottle and Coffee Mug
Plastic water bottles are just wasteful—they leach thousands of microplastics into the water you drink. Disposable coffee cups, too, are lined with plastic that makes them nearly impossible to recycle. A steel or glass water bottle and reusable cup spare hundreds of single-use plastics each year.

2. Say No to Plastic Straws, Cutlery, Excess Packaging and Bags
These lightweight plastics are some of the top ocean polluters. A metal set in your bag or kept in the car makes the swap seamless.

3. Avoid Take-Away Food in Plastic Packaging
Choose to dine in or bring your own reusable container if you plan to pick up food. Most takeaway packaging—even paper boxes—is lined with plastic to keep it from leaking; multiple layers of plastic that go straight to the landfill.

4. Buy in Bulk
Choose dried foods, grains, and beans from bulk bins to avoid prepackaged plastics. Bring your own containers when possible and consider reusing glass bottles for detergent, liquid soap, and household cleaners.

5. Avoid Pre-Packaged Fruits and Vegetables
Opt for loose produce instead of items wrapped in plastic film or clamshell containers. The quickest route to this is to source produce from the farmers market or through a farm CSA program. Bring your own cloth or mesh produce bags.

6. Avoid Plastic Wrap at Home
Replace cling film with beeswax wraps, silicone lids, or glass storage containers over plastic bags.

Photograph (L) of CAP Beauty founder Kerrilyn Pamer's refrigerator via CAP Beauty.

7. Switch to Reusable Kitchen and Household Items
From stainless steel lunch boxes to glass jars, small swaps add up to big reductions in plastic waste.

8. Use Wood, Metal, or Silicone Cooking Utensils
Plastic spatulas and cutting boards can shed microplastics directly into food, especially when exposed to heat or knife edges.

9. Replace Plastic Kettles and Coffee Makers
Hot water in plastic appliances can leach chemicals. Stainless steel or glass kettles and French presses or drip coffee makers are a safer alternative.

10. Choose Natural-Fiber Clothing and Textiles
Synthetic fabrics such as polyester, nylon, and acrylic shed microplastic fibers—particles that can be inhaled, absorbed through our skin, and wash into waterways with every load of laundry. Natural fibers such as cotton, linen, hemp, or wool are gentler on both our bodies and the planet.