Earth Friendly Products You Didn't Know You Needed
Take a brief moment to reflect upon your daily morning and nighttime routines. Chances are it is some combination of oral care, hand washing, showering, makeup application, and hair grooming-which comes down to a lot of products! Beyond personal care, home care also involves a wide variety of cleaning products and supplies.
Everyone has a personalized care routine. For some this means a quick brush, floss, and splash of water. For others it may mean a 12 step skin care routine , applying serums and creams methodically every morning and night. Regardless of what your routine emcomposses, taking the time to research and opt for more sustainable products is highly beneficial for the health of you and our planet.
Let’s start with something we all do, brushing our teeth. Instead of brushing your teeth with toothpaste that contains plastic (both in packaging and the paste), try out our toothpaste tablets. We promise there is no plastic in them!
They offer all the same benefits as traditional tube toothpaste,and they are all-natural and biodegradable. In terms of the toothbrush itself, battery-powered plastic toothbrushes are unnecessary and end up piled in landfills. Instead,opt for a completely compostable toothbrush featuring a handle made of Moso Bamboo and bristles composed of castor beans. The bristles are soft, to assure a clean and happy mouth and bamboo handle feels great to the touch as well.
While your morning is just one of many times that we use products throughout the day, this sentiment applies to much more than just toothbrushes. There are more sustainable and eco-friendly options for nearly everything we use on a day-to-day basis.
Before we delve deeper into this list of eco-friendly products, let’s establish what exactly make a product sustainable in the first place.
What Does It Mean for a Product To Be Earth Friendly?
For a product to be earth-friendly, it simply must not do any harm to the earth in any way, shape or form. This definition only becomes complicated when you consider the plethora of ways we can do harm.
For a product to be earth-friendly, it has to fulfill several criteria. At the same time, everyone’s definition of “earth-friendly” or “eco-friendly” might be slightly different. For some, it might be a product that is made of exclusively all-natural ingredients.
For others, it might be a product made by a company committed to being zero waste, never using single-use plastics, and practicing sustainable manufacturing. For others, it could be something made by a company that has decreased its carbon footprint to be totally carbon neutral.
It is important to do your research, educate yourself, and determine the most important factors to you when searching for a sustainable company and an earth-friendly product. These terms are often thrown around as buzz words, so it is essential to truly understand what a product and company are saying.
What Are Eco-Friendly Materials?
Since Eco-Friendly materials originate from the earth, they can be returned back to their origin source when unused. These materials are both strong and can be recycled or composted. For a material to be considered eco-friendly, it must not contain unnatural or harmful chemicals and ingredients such as plastic and polyester both unfortunately abundantly common.
Plastic and polyester are not considered eco-friendly because they are man-made. On top of that, they take a tremendous time to break down.
Plastic can take anywhere from 20 to 500 years to decompose, leaving behind harmful microplastics in its wake. Plastic straws, wrap, and bags are all incredibly common single use items greatly contributing to this staggering amount of time.
Alternatively, look into metal or sustainably harvested bamboo straws for a sustainable (and sleeker) beverage drinking experience Additionally, being on the lookout for BPA-free and phosphate-free products can go a long way as well. Eco-friendly cleaning products and toiletries like toilet paper made from plastic fibers or bamboo can help reduce carbon emissions.
Meanwhile, polyester will take between 20 and 200 years to decompose, meaning that the shirt you wore for just a season could do damage to the planet for centuries. This scope of harm is not even taking into harmful chemical dyes into account.
How Can I Be More Earth-Friendly In My Daily Life?
Now that we understand the issues at hand, we can finally get into some of the best sustainable earth-friendly products on the market that are high quality, and convenient. The main focus when it comes to being eco-friendly is to seek out products that are both usable and biodegradable.
Reusable Water Bottles
It is no secret that a plastic water bottle harms the environment. They are one of the most common single-use plastics around. Chances are, if you are out in public there are plastic water bottles available for purchase within very close proximity.
This convenience may seem hard to beat, but reusable water bottles can really give this dangerous plastic a run for its money. First of all, most schools, offices, and buildings have refillable water stations nowadays, which makes having a reusable water bottle a more practical option.
Also, reusable water bottles made of materials like stainless steel are infinitely more durable, so you can easily pack one in a backpack or carry it around all day without the possibility of damage or a wet bag that resulted from leakage.
Reusable or Mesh Grocery and Produce Bags
This one is easy but still deeply important. Making the one-time investment to buy reusable grocery and produce bags rather than plastic ones is a simple way to make a real difference. If you live somewhere where they charge for plastic bags, you will also save money in the long run and look stylish doing so.
Beeswax Wraps for Food Storage
Instead of using plastic wrap or a plastic bag, beeswax wraps provide a sustainable option for keeping your food fresh for your lunch or sandwich. You can find these wraps available at local grocery stores.
Biodegradable Cutlery
There are situations where silverware or other reusable utensils are not a viable option. When this is the case, it can be our first instinct to reach for the plastic. It is important to fight that urge and instead purchase one of the many biodegradable cutlery options available. These utensils are often made of wood like bamboo and are both useful and compostable.
Organic Cotton Towels and Dish Towels
Rather than using such a tremendous amount of paper towels, we can save some trees by instead utilizing reusable towels made of fair-trade and organic materials.
Green Cleaning Products
We all want our homes to stay clean,this includes the earth when we consider the bigger picture. There are so many natural cleaning products available that lack harsh chemicals and clean just as well. Also, make sure that these formulas are vegan and cruelty-free as animal testing is not part of the Earth-Friendly movement. These are just a few common items that can easily be swapped out for environmentally cleaning products:
- Detergents (like laundry detergent)
- Dish soap
- Window cleaner
- Stainless steel cleaner
- All-purpose cleaner
Reusable Organic Cotton Dryer Balls
When it comes to laundry time, you should ensure you are doing a full load to not wastewater. Once that is done, try a reusable cotton dryer ball instead of using a new dryer sheet every time that will then be disposed of. These can help cut the total drying time, saving you money on electricity.
At the same time, this one-time investment will also save you money when you don’t have to keep buying dryer sheets. Cotton dryer balls are also less irritating to the skin as they are often free of harsh chemicals and fragrances.
Second-hand and Sustainable Clothing
Even if something goes out of style for us (hello low rise jeans), rest assured there is someone else out there who will absolutely love it. Donate your clothes to thrift stores, shelters, or friends. Then, when you are looking for new clothes, you will also find second-hand clothes easily.
If you are buying something new, make sure it is from a company that engages in sustainable practices.
Conclusion
We can all do our part to be more sustainable in our daily lives. From the products we use, to how we use them, to how we dispose of them, and much more, there is always something we can do to improve. By being mindful of what we use and how we can all make a tangible difference and greatly improve the future of our planet.
Sources:
30 Ways To Be More Eco Friendly in 2021 | Green Match
What Is Polyester? Material Guide, Ethics and Sustainability | Good On You
