This week I managed to snag an invite to my first event with other people who write and run their own blogs.
Gemma, the face behind VeganFoodieGems runs an account dedicated to bringing like-minded people together to build networks and friendships, BloggersWhoBrunchGlasgow.
Earlier this week a post appeared to share that they’d be running an event in conjunction with ZeroWasteCIC and encouraged followers to get in touch to find out more.
I enquired as I was feeling bold, but was pretty certain that I would receive a polite, “thanks, but no thanks” in response. However, quite the opposite happened – I was encouraged to come along instead.
As with a lot of things I do, I had a moment of total regret come Saturday night when I wondered whether I should bother going.
I didn’t know anyone, I don’t have a large following, I don’t even think I’m all that interesting, so why the hell was I going along.
In most aspects of my life I really struggle to accept my abilities and worth. I spend a lot of time over-thinking to the point of making myself sick with anxiety.
But I went; and shockingly I enjoyed myself.
The event was to promote ZeroWasteCIC being the benefactors of the Lush charity pot. The dinky little pot which is often upsold at the till points actually comes in a couple of different sizes.
I guess the point of their £1 pot is to highlight that even the smallest amount donated to good causes mounts up.
The girls from ZeroWasteCIC were super keen to chat about their efforts to reduce single-plastic usage, and gave us tips on easy ways we can do the same.
Something I hadn’t known before this event was that on the underside of each black pot from Lush there is a number embossed which tells you how many times the pot has been recycled.
Since my mum became mostly Vegan last year, she’s become an advocate for reducing plastic waste and her environmental impact, her boyfriend has been Vegan much longer so has been able to direct her towards sustainable and purse-friendly alternatives to products she uses all the time.
This is one of the key issues I find with Lush items – although they may last longer if used correctly, the initial outlay can be much more expensive, this makes it a little prohibitive to try to replace products you already have. Even products that aren’t specifically designed to last longer such as liquid shampoos and shower gels are still priced significantly higher than your standard prices, however many of these products that are readily available are in fact vegan.
I really enjoyed getting to hear about Lush’s naked product range, from solid cleansers, to shampoo bars and even solid shower gels – there were crazy.
Apart from the fact that I left with my hands feeling thoroughly cleansed, I learned a lot about sustainability in packaging and which products would work specifically for me due to having dry skin.
I think my favourite product of the day was an alternative to a facial wipe, 7to3 is a cleansing wipe which you can reuse time and time again – and for just £2 it’s a bargain.
Though the event was at the end of the month, so I left with the Charity Pot – although I couldn’t treat myself I can try to give back a little.