Now’s a great time to work on consuming sustainable products to fight COVID-19.
It’s hard to draw a direct line between our instant-gratification/disposable society and the cause of COVID-19. (And yet, is it?)
However, it’s not hard to see that altering our sense of consumer entitlement will help us out of this pandemic.
There are several choices we can make, as a society, that simultaneously reduces our impact on the environment, saves us money, AND fights COVID-19. (And might help with online learning and homeschooling. Ugh.)
Everyone one of the following products is meant to reduce trips to the infected outer world.
Win-win-win, eh?
But also? When you buy them, maybe DON’T go to Amazon (despite embedded links herein).
Try your local retailers or your hardware store.
BARS OF SOAP
You KNOW you don’t actually need to get a plastic bottle for gel soap. Using a bar of soap with your favorite washcloth or loofah or poofy thing is EXACTLY THE SAME. Pretend it’s olden-times. Save a buck. Be as chemically-based, hipstery, or French milled bougie as you wanna be. As a bonus – go LOCAL! The bars last longer, cost less, and serve the same purpose. And when you’re at the end of the bar, you can make your own bars just like your ancestors during the depression!
No more paper towels! Instead: reusable cloths!
Reusable cleaning cloths like this bamboo version or this. These mean no more paper towels. And how amazing is that? No more runs on the Target shelves. They last for many months and are made of natural celluloid, saving trees and money and trips to the store.
No more Swiffer. Instead: simple MOP!
Okay, so it *might* require a bucket, but is it really that big a deal? Same effort, perhaps a tiny bit more water. Folks: we are in pandemic. Plus – you KNOW you have the time to mop. However – a compromise with less waste are these microfiber mops (or turbo mops) with at least washable, reusable pads.
No more Swiffer Dusters: Now: old school dusters
Use an old-fashioned one that can be re-used ad nauseum. Go ahead and do some role-playing as the maid with an old school ostrich feather duster (or a new-school one). Or at LEAST re-use your Swiffer dusters. Here: I’ve made a video demonstrating the complexity of cleaning a swiffer duster. (Argh – swiffer makes me so mad with their disposability. It’s a RUSE, folks! They just want you to buy more unnecessary crap!!!)
No more sponges Instead: well…sponges.
Ultimately, dish sponges aren’t the worst things on the planet, nor do we dispose of them too frequently (do we?) But there are still better alternatives for longer-lasting and less plastic. Like the cotton “unsponges” to the left…or this DIY project upcycling produce bags…or a bunch of rags, folks – you know…like your grandparents used their entire lives?!? Also, natural loofah options are super bougie and worth bragging about on social media to make yourself look a bit more committed to sustainability than your neighbor.
No more dryer sheets. Instead: Dryer Balls
Y’all are totally doing this by now, right? Linen dryer balls are re-usable and don’t gunk up your dryers. Add a couple drops of essential oils to be, well…extra. (And smell super fancy).
No more Purell Now you can DIY sanitizer
Just get you some cheap aloe vera and some VODKA!!! (or cheap 99.9% rubbing alcohol) and make your own! Cut down on the constant purchasing of Purell bottles, refill your little bottles, etc. So much less waste and indubitably better for your hands and the environment, not to mention PRICE GAUGING.
No more need to give more cash to the big cleaning companies like P&G. Instead, make your own sanitizer and cut down on all those disposable mini-bottles of sanitizer.
NO: Sandwich bags And now: Stashers
There are actually tons of alternatives to the disposable sandwich bags of days gone by. Might you need to do a little cleaning and rinsing and drying? Get over it. It’s a pandemic.
DIAPER BAGS
Why not a shameless plug, here? Sustainable? Yes (it’s quality and won’t fall apart and you can use it for years after diapering days are over and you won’t be embarrassed by it and choose to trash it). Stylish? Obvi. Fights COVID-19? I mean…have you SEEN the instant access to wet wipes?
Out with the Saran Wrap……………….. And in with the Beeswax
Talk about the epitome of single-use plastics. No more saran wrap, folks. It’s necessary and wasteful and definitely kills turtles looking for a jellyfish snack. If you still really want to support mega-corporations, at LEAST use Glad or Ziploc containers. But really – beeswax is sustainable and keeps food fresher.
Enough with the mechanical pencils just use #2’s!
Seriously – do we really need to have plastic pencils that get trashed? Like when our little kids discover the intense OCD joy of clicked, extract all the lead, and then you’re too lazy to shove all those fragile lead sticks back into the environmentally unfriendly plastic tubes? Yeah – get you a #2 and a fabulous sharpener like this or this. Put the kids to work sharpening, listen to them complain, and then start to sound like your grandmother when you lecture about how good they have it and that “It’s a pandemic, you little entitled shits!”
We are a consumer society. And thank goodness for delivery. Try to shop locally, check out the hardware stores (it’s a magical place) and get these sustainable products to fight COVID-19. (Can we call it CV19, yet? So much easier.)
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Previously Published on ecknox.com
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The post 10 Sustainable Products to Fight COVID-19 appeared first on The Good Men Project.