An end to the use of single-use plastics was once a far-fetched dream, but with recent laws banning single use plastic bags and businesses like Sunshine Coast’s Go For Zero, this vision could be reality sooner than previously thought.
A finalist in the running for this year’s Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Award for Micro Small Business, Go For Zero’s online store sells toxin-free, waste-free Aussie household products and has grown from strength to strength since launching in November 2018.
This Plastic Free July, founder Ellie Degraeve is urging Coast residents to join the global challenge, and try a toxin-free, low waste alternative to something they use in daily life.
“The choices we make add up,” Ellie said.
“If every person in the world stopped using one single-use piece of plastic for one day, we’d avoid over 7.6 billion items of plastic on that single day.
“At Go For Zero we stop plastic at it source. We simply only sell sustainable alternatives for your everyday products, so you don’t have to even think about plastic (or try to recycle it).
“All of our products are sustainably packaged in reusable, compostable or easily recyclable material that contains little to no plastic.”
More than 30,000 families have chosen to reduce waste and chemicals in their homes with Go For Zero since it launched two and a half years ago.
Ellie began her toxin-free and sustainable journey when her newborn (Gracie) developed rashes using ‘mainstream’ skincare products.
“Determined to help my daughter, I dedicated my time to research product labelling,” Ellie said.
“I was horrified to discover how many harmful ingredients regular hygiene- and household items contained (and it is safe to say that I became a bit of a toxin-free nerd).
“When I researched and tested toxin-free products, I saw a high amount of vendors still producing top quality products in plastic containers. This created a sore spot in my heart and fire in my belly to only provide products that are safe for you and our planet.
“From stinky garlic face masks, extremely ‘turmericy’ drinks and deodorant that stains clothes, I have gone above and beyond to make sure that I test and personally love each product that Go for Zero sells.”
Currimundi resident Becky Tennant discovered Go For Zero at a pop-up store and said it had helped her family of four live a more sustainable lifestyle.
“It’s not as hard as you think,” Becky said.
“Making a few small changes – like using wax wraps in lunch boxes instead of cling wrap, and stainless steel bento boxes. Mine have lasted years, and when they do eventually die, they can be recycled.
“Because you’ve got a website like Go For Zero’s, you don’t have to go to a thousand different websites or shops. It’s there and you can just buy that soap, those sunscreens. I rely on Ellie’s selection of products because it hasn’t failed me yet – they’re always toxin-free, which is very important to me, and always good for the earth.”
