Before the Ziploc (TM) came along, there was Glad Flip Top bag. These still exist and can be bought. One side of the bag was longer. The other side featured a longer bit that had been folded down on the outside, and the edges sealed, but the longer bottom edge was open.
Groceries used paper bags. Often the paper bags were reused as garbage bags. Fruit was picked into woven wooded baskets.
Before the days of plastic, we used greaseproof paper or parchment paper to wrap meat in. Take a tip from Grandma's book and use greaseproof paper which you can compost or burn after use. Make sure the meat is wrapped completely airtight to avoid freezer burn.
Containers were made from animal skin, shells, and gourds. Baskets and bags were fashioned out of the grass, wood, and other pliable natural fibers. It was not until new minerals and chemicals were discovered that materials such as fabrics, ceramics, and woodware were used for food packaging.
Colonists commonly buried their trash, burned it, or tossed it onto the street, where garbage overflowed and hogs roamed freely. Farmers fed their garbage to their pigs, chickens, goats, or dogs.
The invention of sliced bread in 1928 ensured the need for specific packaging to keep bread fresh for as long as possible. Moisture-proof waxed wrappers provided the best solution before plastic wrappers were introduced. The first folding cartons were developed in the mid nineteenth-century in America.
Before the Ziploc (TM) came along, there was Glad Flip Top bag. These still exist and can be bought. One side of the bag was longer. The other side featured a longer bit that had been folded down on the outside, and the edges sealed, but the longer bottom edge was open.
Anything liquid would be sold in a glass bottle. Personal hygiene products. Soap was available in bar form and typically sold with paper packaging, if any. Shampoo and other liquid hair care products were available in glass containers.
- Many foods like pasta, rice, legumes, and even some vegetables were stored in bulk. Each person would weigh their food in a brown paper bag and carry it home. The paper bag would be reused as a fire starter. - Meat and chicken were also packed in paper.
Dairy, like sour cream, was still packaged in waxed paper containers in the early 60s. At the checkout, we were still bagging in paper bags. Bread was a mix of plastic bags and waxed paper.” Cheryl: “Where I grew up, we always had our dairy products delivered in a truck.
How was meat packaged before plastic was invented? At the butcher counter, the required amount of meat was chosen and wrapped in paper for the journey home. Cheese was sold in a same manner and was typically wrapped in paper or fabric.
Cloth. In the early 19th century, cheese was preserved by tightly wrapping strips of animal fat-soaked muslin around wheels of cheese. This process held moisture better and allowed for intriguing molds to grow on the cloth without damaging the rind.
Before the availability of mass produced toilet paper in the mid-1800s, humans had to resort to using what was free and available, even if it didn't provide the most effective (or comfortable) results. Options included rocks, leaves, grass, moss, animal fur, corn cobs, coconut husks, sticks, sand, and sea shells.
Reticules were small drawstring bags used by Victorian women to hold necessary objects such as calling cards, money, and toiletries. These small bags were the first kind of handheld purse designed for women. Reticules are beautiful examples of the artistic handiwork at the time.
Building on early candy-wrapping technology first unveiled in 1913, businesses began to experiment with materials other than paper and foil, such as the newly invented cellophane that both protected the candy and let people see it, and varnish-free, moisture resistant wax paper.
Before the advent of modern shampoos, people used a variety of natural ingredients and traditional methods to cleanse and care for their hair, including: Herbs and plant extracts. Natural soaps and oils. Egg and milk mixtures.
Nope, still around. And to make things more interesting is that this is a very polarizing, sometimes controversial shampoo.
Clay Pots: Mostly in use around Mesopotamia, they were a bit bulky but did the job. Gourds: Nature's own water bottle. Light, natural, but not too durable. Bamboo: Used in Asia, these were the eco-friendly bottles of ancient times.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, consumers used an assortment of objects to carry products from the store to their homes. First, there were baskets. Like paper and cotton carrier bags today, baskets came in a range of sizes.
But in general, things were made from metal or wood. There were lead toy soldiers, tin or cast toy cars, sometimes of rubber, wooden bricks that looked like legos. Real cars and appliances would use “bakelight”, a resin invented before WW1 that was used like plastic.
Camping: Before sleeping bags became common, what were some traditional solutions? There was always animal hides, the natives used them long before modern blankets and fabrics.
Learn the WAG bag method
For this method you will go to the bathroom in the WAG bag you have in your poop kit and pack it and any toilet paper used out with you. Depending on where you are, the WAG bag will then be disposed of in a designated receptacle or a trash can.
How can you do it. There are some great alternatives to plastic bin liners and bags, including: Lining the bin with a few sheets of newspaper, flyers or scrap paper. Using the bin as a 'naked bin', and simply washing it out as needed.
Consider not using plastic bags in your small wastebaskets. Using a large plastic bag for your garbage can hold significantly more garbage than plastic shopping bags. Also, some manufacturers offer garbage bags that claim a minimum 60% recycled content.