Finland 2

Plastic used in Finland:
- the backs of luggage labels (and yes, flying anywhere doesn't make sense if you're giving up plastic for environmental reasons)
- a wristband for a museum we visited (I didn't think until it was on my wrist)
- insect repellant, borrowed from someone else, so less like using new plastic? I hadn't read Andrew's comment about sachets before I left, but I wonder if there'd be plastic in the sachet if it had foil in it? I also tried rubbing citronella candles on my skin, which had a negligible effect and smelled odd (not really like citronella), and likewise a plant whose Finnish name I can't remember that was traditionally good against mosquitos, which also didn't appear to work.
- food: I didn't eat any crisps or have yoghurt out of little pots, etc, but the bread and cheese and so on that we were given as guests had originally been wrapped in plastic. This is ok according to the rules but made me think the rules must be wrong.

I think you could actually lead a more sustainable life more easily in Finland than in the UK, although I suppose a fair amount of energy goes into their saunas. There appeared to be a great deal of food growing in the wild, though this must only be true in summer, and I managed to buy soap unwrapped and also food.

When I returned my yoghurt culture appeared to have resurrected itself, and tasted even better than before, which was suspicious, but now it is just a gloopy milky mess again.

I also tried brushing my teeth with ash!- see the original entry about toothbrushing for the full story.