The Long Road to Eliminating Plastic From Our Lives…Thank You, Silikids

Our Philly editor shares her attempts at eliminating plastic from her home and how Silikids has helped move that process forward. If Silikids strikes your fancy after reading this post, grab tickets to our Brooklyn Baby & Family Expo this Saturday and enter for a chance to win lots of Silikids products to try out for yourself!

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Despite what my college wardrobe of peasant skirts, hemp necklaces, Birkenstocks, a healthy dose of patchouli and Army surplus backpack may have indicated, I was never really what you would consider a crunchy hippie. I moved to New York at age 21, discarded my “crunchy” wardrobe, procured as much black clothing as would fit in my closet on a temp worker’s wage, smoked cigarettes, drank red wine, rolled my eyes at “bridge and tunnel” commuters and reveled in the center of the universe attitude adopted by most transplanted New Yorkers of my age in those days. But, then ten years in, I got pregnant with my first child. And I quickly and easily turned into a real crunchy hippie of the highest order. My world exploded with home birth plans, coconut oil (no toxic Vaseline – the horror – for MY baby!), cloth diapers (which I still swear by), organic swaddles (meh), and every other hot button (and usually expensive) item that crossed my path. I eventually became a doula and lactation counselor and started making my own essential oil mixtures, balms and tonics. Seven years later, I guess I’m still channeling that crunchy hippie, but now my “cockamamie” ideas are pretty mainstream, at least out here on the East Coast in my middle class urban bubble.

As the years have passed, I’ve regularly freaked out at the sheer volume of plastic that enters my house, despite my best efforts to stop it. Reusable grocery bags? Check. Glass and aluminum storage containers? Check. Jam jars for the kids’ milk at dinner instead of those disgusting plastic cups that never get clean? Check. But I still throw out plastic bags, containers, bottles, etc, fairly regularly. It’s an endless, uphill slog, so when I find something that actually helps make this a little easier, I have to shout it from the rooftops. Enter Silikids.

There are certainly tons of products on the market these days that purport to be environmentally healthy, sustainable, non-toxic, etc, and I’m often a sucker for many of these. But Silikids products, made from silicone, are not only better than plastic, they’re also just way cooler and super functional.

Let’s start with their universal straw tops. When these came in the mail, I was thoroughly skeptical, because they really did seem too good to be true. I assumed they’d be too small for the girls’ cups, too slippery, leaky, annoyingly difficult to use… and I was wrong. These tops slid right on to the top of our pint sized Mason jar cups, didn’t leak at all, were easy to remove and went through the dishwasher perfectly. High marks all around! I had some fun paper straws to use with the tops for testing purposes (though I have already ordered a set of silicone straws so I always have (non-plastic) straw options on hand) and my four year old was thrilled. If your kids are too young for straw cups and more in the sippy cup age range, Silikids has sippy cup tops as well! I have not tried these, but if the straw tops are any indication, you should be in good hands.

Next (and the product I was most excited about going in), we tried the reusable snack bags. I’ve tried lots of these types of storage bags on the market and have a few that I love, but I was excited about the dishwasher safe feature. I wasn’t disappointed. The bags are sturdy, clean really easily and are the perfect size for sliced fruit and other snacks like edamame or carrots. My only issue with these bags is the seal. Instead of some kind of zipper or spill tight closure, there are several small “buttons” that seal the top together. They’re totally fab for fruits and veggies, but I could never store crackers or nuts or anything that might get a little crumbly when the bag is thrown into the bottom of my purse. We have tested these filled with edamame, carrots, strawberries, and orange slices and they hold up well and stay closed perfectly. But, crackers are a definite messy no no, because if they get broken or smushed in any way, you could end up with a mess in your hand bag or diaper bag.

Silikids has lots of other awesome products, including gorgeous and functional cups encased in a grippy silicone sleeve so those little hands can hang on to them more easily, adorable Silimap placemats that are also grippy and perfect for restaurants or to protect your very own breakfast island or kitchen table. Their line also includes bibs, baby spoons, and silicone cups. The quality is great, the look and feel is cool, and they’re so much better than the crappy plastic alternatives. The retail pricing is really reasonable as well, so these products won’t break the bank.

All in all, I highly recommend Silikids for any environmentally conscious family looking to stem the flow of plastic or disposable products from flying in and out of your house. You have to start somewhere!

 

Mollie Michel is a South Philly resident and a Philadelphia public school parent. A recovering non-profit professional, Mollie is also an experienced birth doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, and the mom of two awesome girls and a sweet pit bull named Princess Cleopatra. In her spare time, she is usually trying to figure out how Pinterest works, training for a(nother) half-marathon with her dog at her side, or simply trying to keep up with her increasingly wily daughters.