As England’s ban on single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds finally came into effect this month LastSwab has come into its own.
By now there are plenty of reusable options out there to replace plastic straws, not to mention stirrers, but less so for cotton buds.
LastSwab is the first-ever sanitary, reusable Q-tip. In England an estimated 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are used and thrown out each year after just one use, these are one of the most significant ocean pollutants today. Each LastSwab lasts up to 1,000 uses and comes in a biodegradable case that keeps it protected and makes it easy to carry on the go. It comes in two styles, one for cleaning and one for makeup.
Danish eco-startup LastObject have a few different products and each one is brilliant. Frost loves LastObject and the work they are doing. We all need to do as much as we can for the environment, and swapping our tissues, cotton buds and tissues for the reusable ones that LastObject make is a significant step. We have to all stop saying it is ‘just one’. Read this great piece on LastObject’s site. The products are easy to clean and are high quality.
What problem does LastTissue solve?
Every year around 8,000,000 trees are cut down to make facial tissues for the US alone. As individuals we can make a difference by changing our own habits. Every time you blow your nose with a LastTissue, you save 2 liters of water.
What problem does LastSwab solve?
Every day 1.5 billion single-use swabs are created. A vast amount of these end up in our oceans and landfills. By using a reusable swab, you prevent around 1000 single-use swabs from being used and discarded.
LastRound is a reusable cotton round made from 100% renewable raw materials – 70% wood fiber and 30% organic cotton, making it more sustainable than a 100% cotton option. Unlike other reusable cotton pads on the market that are cloth, LastRound feels and looks like single-use rounds used for makeup removal and applying serums. LastRound comes in a case with seven rounds and can be washed and reused over and over again.
Single-use cotton rounds made with non-organic cotton use vast amounts of chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers. According to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), cotton production is the largest use of water among all agricultural commodities; It takes 2,640 gallons of clean drinking water to produce 1,000 regular cotton rounds.
You can buy these great products here. I highly recommend that you do.