Plaine Promoters are individuals who use Plaine Products, love them and want to get others to join in eliminating single-use plastics while enjoying outstanding products. Plaine Promoters spread the word about our products and get 10% from every sale they generate.

Our latest Plaine Promoter highlight is Emma, of Environmental Emma, and her goal is to provide people with environmentally friendly product suggestions, tips for sustainable living, and insights on various environmental issues and concerns.

Tell us about yourself and your message. Why is it so important to you to share that message with others?

These past few years, I have struggled to find good, sustainable products.  Looking up sustainable makeup brands led me to articles with 12 different recommendations.  That is too many and caused me to do my own, painstaking research.  I realized that if I, who care so much about the environment, found the search painstaking, people who don’t care as much are never going to put in the time.   I decided to do something about it, and created a website – www.EnvironmentalEmma.org, with the hopes of making sustainable products accessible and easy to find for everyone.  I regularly post new articles to recommend sustainable products and provide easy tips to save money and energy. I also use my website to share information about important environmental topics in the hope that people will read the articles and become more informed and passionate about their role in sustaining the earth.

Do you have a favorite post or story you want to share?

I was really excited to hear from a few of my followers that they had been meaning to research sustainable products but couldn’t find the time, so my website is helping them to find sustainable products more easily. It’s a simple story, but it really encompasses why I felt called to start this site.  I have also really enjoyed connecting with various businesses and environmentalists on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – like Plaine Products– because it has opened my eyes to so many potential solutions to environmental issues and helped me to develop relationships with inspiring people and organizations.

What’s your one best, easiest tip for minimizing single-use plastics?

One of the things that has helped me the most is having an eco-friendly “go-bag” of sorts in my car at all times.  I always have a reusable grocery bag, a set of reusable utensils, a water bottle, Starbucks cup, and straw, so that I always have sustainable options. I also have sustainable makeup, sanitizer, and sunscreen in my car. I am also looking into getting a container of some sort for eating out, if I decide I want to box the rest of my food.

What do you think is usually the biggest blocker for people in regards to living a more sustainable lifestyle?

Living sustainably is all about thinking ahead. It’s anticipating the need for utensils at lunch so that you don’t have to grab plastic utensils from the cafeteria or food stand.  You see that your shampoo bottle is running low, so you order another set of Plaine Products. It’s the little things that can be a pain to think about at first, but this practice can slowly become our instinctive thought process. We are so used to fulfilling our needs and desires immediately with single-use plastics and too often people will sacrifice their beliefs and environmental concerns for utility.  They know plastic is bad, but the water bottle is right in front of them, and they’re thirsty.

So, the key is to take a step back from the rush of life and take a few minutes at the beginning of the day or before you go out, to assess what your needs are, and what resources are already available to you.  Pack silverware in your lunch and stick a reusable grocery bag in your car. This process will not only help the earth, it will help your wallet when you bring a reusable bottle to work every day, rather than buying a plastic one. Once this process becomes a habit, then you can take it further. When you notice your Windex is running low, have a plan to buy a sustainable and safe cleaning product.  Anticipate this need so that you can order it a week in advance so that you aren’t forced to run to a pharmacy and get another plastic bottle.

When your mascara is starting to run out, choose a sustainable makeup brand and plan to order it so that you don’t find yourself compromising your beliefs for utility.  We live in a society where we can order products with the press of a button and receive it the next day, but for sustainable brands, this isn’t usually an option.  Sustainable companies don’t take shortcuts, but these efforts to protect the environment can seem like an inconvenience for consumers that are used to instant gratification.  So, there are two things to do.  First, we can try to view consumerism from a new perspective and look at the actual cost beyond the vendor-customer transaction.  Or, you can do what I have done, and try to make sustainability as convenient as Amazon.

Do you have a favorite Plaine Product and if so, what is it?

I enjoy all Plaine Products, but I have never found a sustainable face wash until now, so that was definitely exciting for me.  It makes my skin so soft and I only need one little pump, so it lasts a long time before I have to reorder. I am also just thrilled to have a sustainable shampoo and conditioner that work even better than mainstream brands, as opposed to a shampoo bar. I love that I can feel confident that I’m not putting dangerous chemicals in my hair!  I know you only asked for one favorite, but I really just love all the products!  The Beauty Oil has been amazing too with smoothing out my hair!

Any fun projects you’ve been working on during COVID or some sneak peek information on any upcoming projects?