Vendor Biography

We are a small business in the heart of Kildare that love all things gifts, handmade and designed!

My Zero Waste Journey

I recently discovered that my beloved country of Ireland does not recycle any waste. Any items in the recycling bin gets sent to the UK if suitable, otherwise it is incinerated in Dublin or worse…sent to Asia for dumping. Ireland, this is not on. Every day I look at the things I print, trying to use less electricity, being economical with my driving and having as many aspects of my business as eco friendly as possible, for what? The majority of packaging in my shopping trolley on my weekly shop was plastic. So from now on I will endeavor to have any packaging come in, has to be reusable, refillable or be able to go into the compost bin.

Now, this wont be a swift change as they say Rome wasn’t built in a day! It will be a journey and I hope to discover new Irish products, old ways of doing things and hopefully, a smaller bin bag.

So I will start with my bathroom. Thanks to my super helpful small business I have many areas of that covered. No more shampoo bottles, no more shower gel bottles and no more lotion bottles! Wahoo! Starting a zero waste lifestyle can be easy with a few swaps. So my sink is currently showing off my curly orange soap bar, my shower has a Lemongrass & Lavender shampoo bar for washing my hair and a Party Soap & Sisal bag for body washing (smells amazing btw) and a gorgeous just me (unscented) lotion bar for body moisturizing. So at least most of my bathroom is plastic free. There are a few things left like hairspray from the last time I was on a night out (yes 2019 I’m looking at you), nail polish remover and sun cream. I am hoping to find refill or homemade options for things like this.

Refill stations are really taking off at the moment! Two have popped up here in Kildare in the past 12 months. Like wow, didn’t think that would happen. They are a really handy way to refill containers and only have one of the dang plastic bottle. My soap has been stocked on one in Wicklow. Jennifer from the Grangecon Store Cupboard brings her marketstand to life every Saturday. She’s got so many things from seeds to flour to washing up liquid. There is quite a selection. It is something I will start to look at to change my households plastic issue.

So for now, I will take a trip to my local refill shop to see what I can swap today!

Get in touch, please email hello@cleodesigns.ie