THE TRIGGER TO REDUCE PLASTIC WASTE ACCORDING TO BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS

a hand holding a raspberry flavored drink bottle with a green cap, background of a green and blue bag with stuffs inside black text with white background black nup logo

Completely going plastic-free is a daunting thought to many. Convincing others to start reducing plastic waste may be even more difficult. Behavioral economists who study consumer behavior suggest using the EAST framework to trigger behavior change. This acronym means Easy, Attractive, Timely, Social. So whatever the action required to make that first steps to reducing plastic waste, these solutions should be:

1. Easy to use with little to no extra effort
Many plastic-free habits can be intimidating to do at the beginning and sometimes put people off from starting. An example would be bringing your own take-out containers when buying food or bringing your own reusable coffee cup. Some easy first steps are those that happen when most of the work happens in the purchasing phase (purchases generally make people happy). After purchasing, people need to create the habit to use them. These are the easiest when plastic-free alternatives are swapped with daily necessities that are easy to use like Bamboo toothbrushes and shampoo bars. Plastic toothbrushes and shampoo bottles are two of the bigger culprits of household plastic waste. These are easy replacements that don't need much of a behavior change.

Beautifully designed and attractive
To get people to make the switch, having a better, more beautiful designed plastic-free alternatives will encourage people to buy differently.
Feel that it is the right time to switch
Seeing all the destruction of plastic pollution in social media and our surroundings are triggers to make a change.
Knowing that friends and family are doing the same
Joining a community of people and having friends and family around you who are supportive, if not joining you in your journey, is a great way to keep on going.

It also helps when we are accepting and non-judgmental of those who are just starting their journey to reducing plastic waste. It isn't realistic for the majority (or everyone) to be completely plastic-free. Necessary plastic exists in healthcare and life-saving devices. Plastic exists in our home appliances and creature comforts. A big part of our modern world is made of plastic but we can make the conscious choice to use plastic when necessary and avoid plastic when possible. Any manner of avoiding plastic matters and is definitely appreciated.

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See what people are saying...

For our new years resolution we as a family wanted to use less plastic. I chose the Nup toothbrushes together with my 10 year old daughter and she absolutely loves the designs! Great quality and great design!

Linda Grootberg, Nup Customer

I normally have medium bristles so I was a bit skeptical if this toothbrush would clean my teeth properly. Luckily they do a very good job. Will continue to buy here.

Boris Stein, Nup Customer

Love these!!! I bought Bamboo toothbrushes before from other brands but they look so boring. If I am going to help the earth I might as well do it with a fun design on the product!

Miranda Cheung, Nup Customer

I bought a couple for my whole family. What's great about it is each pack has 4 different designs so each of us (family of 4) tell who owns which. This month indicator is a great plus.

Faith Manuel, Nup Customer

Happy with it. First of all, I I would choose these toothbrushes even if sustainability was not a factor. I was really wasn't sure if I was going to like these, but wanted to check them out, because I'm step-by-step working on reducing my trash impact on the world in every way I can, small and large. Now I'm happy to report that I love the way these feel in my hand and in my mouth. The contour of the bristles is effective in getting good surface contact, and they are just the right balance between firm and gentle. I'm not sure what the bristles are made of, but at least my plastic trash has been reduced in a great way.

Louise Zimmerman, Nup Customer

These toothbrushes are fabulous! I can't speak highly enough about them. Perfect adult size tooth brush ... not too stiff not too soft. The handle fits nicely in your hands. So much nicer than plastic! I highly recommend

Jordan Rhodes, Nup Customer

Quality is good. I am buying this for our whole family! This is will be a life changing moment for us.

Edwin Alexander, Nup Customer

I was looking for an environmentally friendly toothbrush for a while. Although, I was afraid that the bristles would be too soft (which most of the bamboo toothbrushes are), but this one was great!! It was much more sturdy than I expected and I LOVE it. It comes with four toothbrushes so I gave one to my brother and hopefully I can convince my other family members to make the switch.

Haley Fuller, Nup Customer

I have been making an effort to be better not only to my body (using less chemicals, more organic, more natural) and also to the environment. When I realized even my toothbrushes can stick around far past their use causing more waste, I wanted to try something better. I found these toothbrushes and, with this one single purchase, have not only done something small to save the planet (hey, every little bit counts, right?) but also have toothbrushes for a solid year. These are great because they have these nice designs- and using one brush for three months each gets me through the year. I think all of my family is about to switch to these! They're great and I'm very happy to be doing my small part.

Opal Waters, Nup Customer

My entire family of 4 has been using these for about a month and I haven't had one complaint, and as anyone with kids and a husband knows, that means A LOT! Getting used to a wooden handle versus a plastic one takes a little getting used to, but the bamboo is of a high quality and it is not at all abrasive and over all, it is relatively smooth. It's not like you feel as if you are going to get splinters in your moth or that it is going to eventually break in half! My youngest is a toothbrush chewer abuses all of her toothbrushes horribly and this one held up great! I was also really impressed with the bristles. I was expecting them to be pretty tough but they were just the right texture to feel like they were really getting the job done but not hurting the gums at all.

Krista Reeves, Nup Customer