Frequently Asked Questions

Hi! We're Trina and Charlie the founders of Life Before Plastic. We're two sisters based in Manchester (UK) passionate about improving our environment and helping others to do the same. 

Life Before Plastic is a sister-run plastic-free shop passionate about changing our environment for the better. We're here to help you to make swaps to eco-friendly products but equally importantly to educate and inform along the way. Reducing single use plastic is at the core of what we want to achieve.

Watch our video tips and read our eco blog for more guidance. If you're ever stuck please contact us as we're always more than happy to help.

Life Before Plastic is an eco-friendly shop and it is vital that all of our products are ethical and sustainable. We're here to do the work for you as we research into the brands we stock to ensure they are following sustainable practices. 

Almost all of our products are plastic-free with the exception of certain makeup items. These are the best option on the market but we are always looking for brands who strive to remove plastic completely. 

Almost all of our products are vegan-friendly. Those that are not, are those containing beeswax. Look out for the Vegan icon on our product pages or browse our vegan collection if you're looking solely for vegan swaps.

It is particularly important to us to support smaller brands and the local economy. We're proud to say we primarily stock UK brands and support many local Manchester businesses.

Most importantly, the brands we stock align with our eco-friendly and sustainable values. You can look for the icons on each of our product pages to learn more about the values of the products and read information about each of the brands we stock.

Sorry, not at the moment.

We accept Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Maestro, PayPal and Google Pay.

You are able to split your payments through these Buy Now Pay Later Schemes: PayPal Pay in 3.

To redeem, add your code to the box on the top right hand side of checkout labelled 'Enter gift card or discount code' and click 'Apply'. The discount will then be applied to your cart.

Yes! We sell gift cards from £20-£150 if you'd like the recipient to choose for themselves. The voucher will be sent to you via email to gift on. 

We use Shopify to process card payments. The system is PCI level 1 compliant, adhering to the highest standard of server compliance. All other payment processed through Paypal, Google Pay and Shop Pay are protected through these individual platforms. 

Currently, we only ship to the United Kingdom to reduce our carbon footprint.

At Life Before Plastic we reuse as much packaging as possible. This means that some orders will be received in unusual boxes we are repurposing. Don't be surprised if your order arrives in a old cereal box! 

All orders are wrapped with reused paper, cardboard and taped together with 100% biodegradable paper tape. All packaging can be repurposed or recycled, and we encourage you to keep them in circulation.

For gifts, we recommend using the gift wrapping service to ensure your parcel arrives looking it's best. For the gift wrap we use a recycled cardboard box filled with recycled shredded paper to keep the products safe. The box is tied with organic twine and we add a gift tag. 

You can add a personal note at checkout for a handwritten message, otherwise the gift tag is left blank for your own message.

Our parcels are shipped with Royal Mail. All orders over £50 will receive free Royal Mail 2nd Class delivery. 

UK 24 Tracked is £4.79 and should arrive 1-2 working days after it has been sent. UK 48 Tracked is £3.49 and should arrive 2-4 working days after shipping. UK 2nd Class is £2.99 and should arrive 2-4 working days after shipping. We recommend choosing the 48 or 24 Tracked service to avoid any delays.

For more details on pricing, view our delivery and packaging page.

For all UK orders over £50 you will receive free 2nd Class shipping with Royal Mail.

All orders received before 13:00 PM Monday to Friday will be sent on the same day, with orders placed afterward sent the following working day.

Please let us know as soon as possible by contacting us to let us know the correct address. We are able to amend addressed as long as they haven't already been sent. 

Yes! As we use Royal Mail 24 and 48 Tracked, you will receive a notification with your tracking details in your dispatch email. If your parcel is sent with Royal Mail 2nd Class, your tracking code will only notify us once it has been received, not where it is on the journey.

If your parcel is delayed by over 2 weeks, please contact us so we can investigate.

No. We never include invoices in your parcel, these are sent via email instead. Rest assured, a gift recipient will never receive these details from us.