So many changes in so little time. It has been extremely hard for Life Without Plastic to adjust to the constant changes on the US tariff front. We are a small Canadian company shipping carefully curated, healthy, eco-friendly, zero waste products from around the world out of our Canadian office. Unfortunately, many of the countries where our products are made are subject to steep tariff rates in the United States.
The
De Minimis exception allowed us in the past to ship products to our US customers without having to pay cross-border customs duties. It provided a threshold of $800 product value under which parcels could go across the Canada-US border without any complications. In May 2025, the US government eliminated this exception for products made in China and Hong Kong, and on August 29, 2025, all product shipments going to the US will be subject to the payment of tariffs (note that the terms “tariff” and “duty” are often used interchangeably, which works in many contexts - the difference is that a tariff is a type of duty). This creates significant complications for us and extra costs for our US customers.
We are currently evaluating how we will deal with this change, but for now, if you are a US customer and you order products from our store that are not made in China, you can benefit from this exception until August 29, 2025. Most of our back-to-school products are made in India or South Korea, so now is the time to stock up on our back-to-school products before duty costs increase substantially.
The good news is that we are the midst of transitioning to a new website in the coming weeks, which will provide you with more complete and thorough information to help you make simple, tangible changes on your journey to a life with less plastic. Regardless of the outcome on the tariff/duty front, we will continue to provide important information and tools to help you make informed decisions about plastic-free living.
Chantal and Jay, founders of Life Without Plastic
