One of the steps in making your house more sustainable is to change your toiletries to sustainable alternatives. Thankfully these days this is a lot easier, with many more zero-waste toiletries on the market today compared to a few years ago.
And while no product is perfect, these sustainable toiletries are good substitutes to add to your current grooming regime. They're either biodegradable or more eco-friendly than all the plastic containers we so often use.
Eco-Friendly Toiletries
Using these natural toiletries is a great way to go green at home. These plastic-free toiletries include beauty products to keep you looking fabulous from your head to your toes.
Shampoo and Conditioner Bars
Shampoo and conditioner bars aren’t only great environment savers because of the lack of packaging, but they're also great money-savers. These bars are often more concentrated than the traditional watered-down formulas you find in hair care bottles. This means these bars last longer, you’ll take fewer trips to the store and reduce carbon emissions from delivery trucks.
Like any hair product, it can take some time to find the perfect formula that works with your hair type and needs. Results will vary for curly to straight hair. Luckily, if you can’t find a formula that works for you on the market, it is easy to make your own homemade bars with castile soap and a few oils.
Bamboo Toothbrush and Floss
About 99% of a toothbrush is plastic – and that is without the plastic packaging included. A toothbrush is about 25 grams of plastic, and considering how often you have to change your toothbrush a year, that is a lot of plastic that ends up in the landfill.
So a bamboo toothbrush seems like a great alternative. Although they still need to be replaced the same amount of times as plastic toothbrushes, they leave a smaller ecological footprint as they’re biodegradable. The same goes for bamboo floss, which is actually compostable and breaks down in 90 days.
Natural Deodorant
Natural deodorant is an excellent alternative to chemical deodorants because it usually comes in zero-waste packaging. Sometimes it comes in no packaging at all and is sold as a bar, just like bar shampoos and conditioners. While it may take a short period for your body to adjust to this new product, there are a few wonderful options on the market that cater to all customer needs.
Natural deodorants can be costly to some, but there are a few homemade options that yield the same results. You can simply make it by combining coconut oil, baking soda and a bit of essential oil in your desired scent.
Organic Towels
While the products you use on your body are important, what you use to dry yourself off after scrubbing down is just as important. Our organic cotton towels are 100% cotton and weigh 700 grams. This allows it to be 50% thicker than most towels for increased absorption ability.
The towels come in all sizes, from big bath towels to smaller hand and face towels. The fabric is biodegradable and contains no chemicals, dyes or bleaches.
Eco-Friendly Travel Containers
Your sustainable habits don’t have to end when you’re on the road. Incorporate the above-mentioned items into your sustainable travel kit, so you can still help the planet no matter where you go.
Eco-Friendly Toiletries Bag
It’s no use going the extra mile to ensure your toiletries for travel are sustainable and then just chucking them in a cheap all-plastic toiletry bag. So, a sustainable toiletry bag is an eco-travel must-have.
A suitable material for a toiletry bag is cork. Of course, there are a few cork pros and cons, but the biggest pro is that the material is 100% biodegradable and waterproof. Cork comes from the cork oak tree, but doesn’t require the tree to be cut down for the cork to be harvested, which is great news for the eco-conscious consumer.
Other good materials for eco-friendly cosmetic bags are cotton, linen, and recycled plastic. While these aren’t totally biodegradable, it’s better to reuse than buy new products. You might already have a few toiletry bags at home that you can use.
Travel-Sized Plastic-Free Toiletries Containers
If you’re flying, airlines require you to squeeze your toiletry products into smaller travel-sized containers. Unfortunately, most of these on the market are made of not-so eco-friendly materials. Fortunately, there are alternatives you can use as more sustainable travel containers.
You can use metal containers to store your soaps and keep your toiletry bag dry. A metal box like the classic Altoids container will do for smaller bars. Alternatively, you can also wrap your soap in a beeswax wrap – which is also easily homemade.
Toothbrush Case
One often forgotten eco-friendly travel product is a cover for your toothbrush. This small cover is essential to protect your toothbrush from bacteria that could be in the bathroom or your toiletry bag.
You can opt for a bamboo holder to cover the whole toothbrush. Bamboo is a great material because it is lightweight yet incredibly strong, which means it will protect your toothbrush through all of the knocks and bumps that come with traveling.
Another good toothbrush cover is a silicone cover. While the material isn’t biodegradable, it is highly durable. This means you won’t have to replace the cover as often as you would with a bamboo cover. It is also quite easy to sterilize it by simply boiling it in a pot.
Final Thoughts on Biodegradable Toiletries
While on your eco-conscious journey, you might try to get green alternatives to your daily products, like the things you use in the bathroom. While it may seem challenging at first, it doesn’t have to be, as there are many options to add to your home – even as a beginner. You don’t have to spend heaps of cash on them either, as some are easily homemade too.
That said, these biodegradable toiletries don’t have to only be for when you’re in the home. It is also possible to take these on your trips because there are a few organic travel toiletries containers and toiletry bags you can use on the road.
So, whether you’re traveling or at home, try these green bathroom alternatives. The most important thing is that you start today, to help tomorrow.
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.