Plastic. Ugh. This earth-harming packaging material seems more bothersome than ever, so much so that a month has been set aside to eliminate plastic products from our lives. While personal responsibility is only part of the plastic problem (thank you, corporations and governments), limiting plastic use is an easy way for individual consumers to feel like they have some control in the current environmental spiral. [I was thrilled to hear that Emma Roberts attended the Plastic Free Party this past July, as someone who has just turned to a low-waste lifestyle myself. Welcome to the club, young lady. Actress and new mom Emma Roberts partnered with the Grove Collaborative (opens in new tab), a plastic-free cleaning and personal care products company, to raise awareness about personal plastic use by taking the week-long Plastic Free The challenge was to spend a week without plastic. Plastic-free is literally one of my favorite topics, so I was excited to hear about her experience and learn about the products she uses and loves as part of her plastic reduction process.

Marie Claire: Let's get right down to it. Tell us about your plastic-free journey.

Emma Roberts: For me [plastic use] has been a concern ever since I can remember. The amount of plastic I use, and the amount of plastic we all use globally, even though we try to remove plastic (from our daily lives), we make excuses to keep using it. So when Globe Collaborative approached me about helping with Plastic Free July and encouraging others to join, I knew this is what I needed to do. I thought, this is exactly what I need to do.

For years I have tried to make this part of my daily life. One of my excuses is that most of my plastic usage is recycled. My recycling garbage cans are always fuller than the trash cans, so I guess that means nothing is wrong. But when I partnered with Globe, they gave me some useful information and I learned that only 9% of all plastic is actually recycled in the US, no matter how much I put in my recycling bin. I am trying to do the right thing with recycling. That was a real eye opener. I need to do better and do my part. If everyone does it, the world will change. So I looked into my own house and I knew that I wasn't doing as well as I could.

MC: What was the hardest part of the process?

ER: The hardest part, besides the fact that I found it hard at first, was that I like to set achievable goals. That way, I don't beat myself up if I can't make the switch at that moment. So I put a lot of effort into my kitchen and my cleaning supplies. Not only do they look cleaner, they feel better. Plus, I know that not only are they refillable and reusable, but the ingredients are good. Part of my plastic-free journey since giving birth has also been to put better raw materials around the house.

When I started Plastic-Free July, I was shooting in another city, so I was on set a lot and not at home, so I had a lot of take-out food, like take-out coffee and smoothies, and I started noticing that disposable plastics were used in my food and drinks. I started to notice that. So I started noticing disposable plastics used in our meals and drinks. Globe has great silicone straws. I am a straw person and have tried metal straws. But I couldn't use plastic straws when I drink several cups of coffee a day. So I brought these silicone straws to work and I am hooked. One in the car, one at home, and one in the trailer. They are everywhere, so there is no excuse to use plastic straws. We also have re-sealable snack bags that I now bring to work. It is really hard to avoid plastic when you are on set. One day I didn't bring my lunch and noticed that the caterer had paper boxes. I mentioned this to someone at work and it was a great conversation starter and it was nice to know that others were thinking about this too.

MC: How has being a mother affected this way of life?

ER: It's hard to say. In the baby world, there are so many plastic things like bottles and toys, but I try to choose toys that are kind to both the baby and the earth, like wooden toys. It is easy to make excuses when you live in the world on your own, but when you have a child, you start thinking about how you want to leave this world for him or her and what kind of world he or she will grow up in. I want the air and oceans to be clean, and if I can make small changes to leave a better world for my children, that is really important. My mom friends and I talk about this a lot, and when I started using Grove products, I told everyone, and they said, 'I love this. It's so easy and nice to be able to buy from a brand that makes multiple products and have it all in one place.'

MC: What advice do you have for people who want to cut back on their plastic use but don't know where to start?

ER: I think the most important thing to start is not to be afraid. Don't get overwhelmed, look at your life and say, "I can't get rid of all the plastic, I'm not going to do that. Set yourself achievable goals. For example, take a reusable cup with you when you go out for coffee on the first day, or cook more at home. It's little things like that that actually make a difference, even if you don't think they make a difference. That alone makes me feel good; at the end of the day, I feel accomplished, like I didn't put a single thing in the recycling bin.