One of the biggest misconceptions about trying to live more sustainably is that it is a costly affair and needs a lot of money and a total overhaul of your lifestyle. However, making a sustainable decision can be as easy as switching to organic towels, altering your shower curtain, shopping from brands that offer sustainable alternatives or picking businesses that use more environmentally friendly packaging.
Natural, Sustainable & Plastic-Free Options For Your Bathroom
Switching to sustainable and eco-friendly bathroom products and essentials is one way to make your home more environmentally friendly. Thankfully, with increase in consciousness amongst the consumer and rising demand for sustainable products, there are now much more zero-waste, eco-friendly and sustainable products available than there were a few years ago.
And even while no product is perfect, these eco-friendly products make excellent upgrades to your present grooming routine. In comparison to the numerous plastic containers we frequently use, they are either biodegradable or more environmentally friendly.
The best tip we can give is start small and slow. Make one switch at a time. As you run out of one product, such as shampoo, move to a eco-friendly alternative such as a shampoo bar, and so on. Small steps can lead to big changes over time and these eco-friendly bathroom products will have you moving in the right direction in no time.
But first….
Why should you consider switching to eco friendly bathroom products?
It’s obvious that whenever we brush our teeth, take a shower, take a bath, or flush the toilet, we use a lot of single-use plastic containers for things like toothpaste, mouthwash, and shampoo. In addition of that, we are exposed to harsh and toxic chemicals in our skin care as well as cosmetics and cleaning products.
The need of hour is re-evaluating our lifestyle choices to make them less harmful to the environment. Large-scale change is obviously necessary, but a meaningful progress can be made if we all contribute our bits.
Also read an interesting article on Sustainability Swaps for an Eco-friendly Journey
Our best picks for environmentally friendly bathroom items
- Personal Care Product
- Bathroom Accessories
- Water-Saving Devices
- Cleaning Products
Personal Care Products
Personal care items include
- Eco friendly Toiletries – Body Bars, Shampoo Bars & Conditioner Bars
- Bamboo Toothbrush and Floss
- Toothpaste Tablets
- Shaving
- Eco friendly Period essentials
- Natural Deodorant Stick
- Zero waste Make-up
Eco friendly Toiletries – Body Bars, Shampoo Bars & Conditioner Bars
One of the simplest swaps you can make is moving to soap and shampoo bars, which can replace up to three throwaway plastic bottles and provide 80–100 washes. Body & Shampoo bars are convenient, easy to transport, and take up minimal area in your environmentally friendly bathroom.
We absolutely love these vegan soap and shampoo bars, which, like other bars, come in cardboard boxes, little tins, or none at all, saving waste generated from packaging. They also save money as these bars include more concentrated ingredients than the conventional, diluted hair care products. Because of this, the bars will last longer, you’ll make fewer journeys to the store with lower delivery emissions
Bamboo Toothbrush and Floss
Plastic brushes are awful! The handles cannot be recycled because they are made of plastic and rubber.
A toothbrush contains about 99% plastic, and that is without the plastic packaging. Given that you need to replace your toothbrush several times a year and that a toothbrush weighs about 25 grammes, there is a lot of plastic that goes to the garbage each year.
A bamboo toothbrush is much greener and a fantastic substitute; Although they still need to be replaced as frequently as plastic toothbrushes, biodegradable toothbrushes have a smaller environmental impact. Just make sure to take off the nylon bristles before composting the handle.
The same is true of bamboo floss, which is genuinely compostable and decomposes in 90 days.
Toothpaste Tablets
Toothpaste tubes are another waste stream we have to deal with. Instead toothpaste tablets are another great alternative which comes in glass, tin or aluminium container and eliminates the usage of plastic tubes.
Shaving
A eco friendly bathroom must have zero waste shaving cream or shaving bars and reusable steel razors.
Steel razors are easy to use and has a sturdy handle made from solid brass and a single high-quality steel blade. This eco-friendly safety razor removes hair easily without tugging or pulling at the skin, which means fewer razor bumps and ingrown hairs.
The zero-waste shaving cream are organic shave bar which combines natural ingredients and moisturizers like coconut oil and aloe vera to give your razor just the right amount of “slide” for a bump-free, ultra-smooth shave.
Eco friendly Period essentials
The good news is that there is tonne of excellent choices in this category.
Did you know that cotton is the crop with the highest pesticide content on earth? We definitely don’t want that anywhere near our intimate areas, and the same is true of sanitary pads, which are coated with synthetic textiles made of, you guessed it, plastic.
There are menstrual cups, reusable cotton pads, reusable period panties that will not only reduce waste but also costs a tonne less money.
Natural Deodorant Stick
Natural deodorant typically comes in zero-waste packaging, making it a great alternative to chemical deodorants. Like bar shampoos and conditioners, it is sold as a bar with no packaging at all. There are a few great solutions available on the market that address all customer wants, even though it could take your body a short while to become used to this new product.
Some people find natural deodorants to be expensive, but there are a few DIY alternatives that work just as well. You may easily prepare it by mixing baking soda, coconut oil, and a small amount of the essential oil of your choice.
Zero Waste Make up
When it comes to makeup, it can take some time to discover what you love and what works for you, just like with all other forms of personal care.
There are lots of zero waste makeup brands, green beauty brands that are killing it. Many options are available for zero waste mascara, organic lipsticks, all-natural makeup removers, the reusable cotton rounds, zero waste lip balms, organic face wash, zero waste deodorants, affordable natural makeup, and organic moisturizers and many more to chose from
Bathroom Accessories
Bathroom Accessories include
- Sustainable Shower Curtain
- Bath towels & Mats
- Eco friendly Toilet Paper
Sustainable Shower Curtain
Did you know that PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which is typically a very hard type of plastic, is used to make plastic shower curtain liners? Unfortunately, the chemicals added to make PVC soft can off-gas in the home and result in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can worsen indoor air pollution.
It is best to use a toxic-free curtain.
Instead opt for organic and natural bathroom accessories, that are not only attractive but also excellent for the environment. One such alternative is hemp that is naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial, they are non-toxic and leak-proof. They do not require a liner; as a result, you won’t see any of that horrible black stuff on them.
Bath towels & Mats
Nothing compares to slipping out of a hot shower and smothering yourself in a luxurious bath towel.
The products you use on your body are as important as the product you use to dry yourself off after you’ve scrubbed. Sustainable bath towels are available in variety of material like certified organic cotton, bamboo or banana fibre. Moreover, they do not use chemicals, dyes, or bleaches in the cloth and are biodegradable.
Normal cotton is unsustainable. On the other hand, organic cotton is a much better option for your home because it requires less water and resources to produce and can be recycled after its useful life. However, we advise chopping up old towels and reusing them to clean your house.
Bathmats are typically made of synthetic materials, and hazardous glues and formaldehyde are frequently used to hold the padding underneath together. Instead look out for mats made of recycled or upcycled fabrics that are more eco friendly.
Eco friendly Toilet Paper
For the production of disposable tissue goods like toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels, large parts of forests are being cleared. We can’t stand the idea that these items are being thrown away while the damage they cause to the plants is overlooked or forgotten. We can improve!
With paper made with bamboo or recycled paper, its worth giving them a try!
Water-saving devices
Water is a valuable resource, so we want to be sure we are saving (not waste) as much of it as we can. There are several ways to save water in the bathroom, like installing a dual flush toilet and a low-flow showerhead. Replacing old, inefficient toilets, an average household may save 13,000 gallons of water.
According to the type of waste in the toilet, either pee or poo, a dual-flush toilet gives you the option of flushes; there are two distinct buttons that conduct two different kinds of flushes! Instead of the old-style flush systems, which use a whopping 13 litres of water per flush, dual flush toilets normally use 4-6 litres.
Cleaning Products
As we know, we have cleaning supplies for everything — floors, doors, ovens, windows, toilets, glass, countertops, wood — and we use much too many of them. It’s excessive! Really, all you need are one or two excellent ones. We advise having as both a disinfectant and an all-purpose cleaner that you can use anywhere.
A lot of eco friendly cleaners are available in the market. Select cleaning products that are free from toxic chemicals, are cruelty-free, and is good for septic systems and graywater.
Tips to to look for when finding eco-friendly bathroom products.
- For skincare and cleaning products
- The ingredients are sourced sustainably
- They are free of toxic chemicals, parabens and free from palm-oil
- They are vegan and cruelty-free and
- For bathroom accessories –
- They are third-party certified,
- For towels, bath mats and shower curtains, look for fabrics and materials that are eco-friendly, organic and have less of an impact.
- Switching your shower/ faucet fixtures for resource-saving products so as ensure water is not wasted and is released in a controlled manner.
- Fixtures
- look around for cabinets made from environmentally friendly or are recyclable.
A Final Thought
There are many solutions available when striving to make your bathroom more environmentally sustainable.
It is only right that we make a few little but significant adjustments to repurpose these areas in ways that are attractive, sustainable, and less harmful to the environment.
As we previously stated, pick one thing to begin with before moving on to the next. We spent years transforming our house into a lush haven.
Have we forgotten anything? Do let us know in the comment section.
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You would also find interesting read on why you should switch to organic cotton in your daily life!
