About Less Mess
It's easy to say "just use less" or "go green", but the truth is that we're all busy people who don't have the time to research and compare each individual item we need to purchase. At Less Mess, we're making it a little bit easier for you to make zero waste choices by researching and gathering up companies offering zero-waste-by-default and leave the consumer with no plastic. We also look for products within brands that are making their entire lines zero-waste and plastic-free, to avoid green-wash items.
The products we recommend:
- Are free from plastic
- Are free from trash
- May have refillable containers made of glass, metal or cardboard
- May have compostable packaging
- May have recyclable cardboard or paper
- Work well and worth your money
Plastic is the big problem
Even though plastic recycling is more accessible than ever before, just 8.4% of plastics overall[1] in the US are actually successfully recycled. Due to the high volume of plastics that simply can't be recycled, and those that can be but aren't good enough quality[2], most of the plastic that gets put into the recycling system still ends up in landfill.
Not only is recycling not the answer to the problem of plastic waste, but the need for more, new, plastic requires oil - an ever diminishing fossil fuel that pollutes oceans and destroys sealife[3].
Because of this, Less Mess focusses on products that leave you with no plastic at all.
Vote with your wallet
You may think that it's not your fault there's so much plastic - governments allow corporations to use as much trash and plastic as they like with little to no consequences - and you'd be absolutely right!
As an end consumer, you don't have much control over what's allowed to be used and produced, except that you do have purchasing power. By choosing where to spend your money on products you want or need to buy anyway, you can put pressure on companies to make changes to more eco-friendly options. Additionally, by showing your desire to be more green, you're telling the people, and governments, around you that you want better and you'll be showing that in the way you vote and make decisions in other parts of your life.
Is Less Mess being paid to list these products?
No.
This site doesn't take any fees or payment for recommendations, it's simply a list of products and services we know work well for normal people who just want to make less mess in the world.
We don't make any money from the listings and we won't take payment in exchange for a listing.
We carefully review each item, often by buying it and trying it out ourselves, before giving it our seal of approval.
Who is Less Mess?
Less Mess is Frances and friends.
Frances started to make an effort to switch to zero-waste a few years ago, and was keeping a private list of products she found, liked and was continuing to use. Friends started asking Frances for recommendations, so instead of sharing the list privately, she decided to share the list publically as a website. Over time, friends started to recommend products back to her, so now this is a collaborative list of really great zero-waste products tested by normal people in a Less Mess Club!
References
1. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Plastics: Material-Specific Data, 2017
2. "Is This the End of Recycling?", The Atlantic, 2019
3. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce, Ocean Pollution, 2020