Environmental concerns are at the top of a lot of people’s lists. But it might seem as if they’re an expensive, big solution. Things like electric cars might come to mind when you think about environmentally-sustainable solutions. But not everyone can afford an electric car. It might, also, feel like a big jump to make. Instead, make a little step towards sustainability by switching out some environmentally-unfriendly practices, and switch in these five green solutions:
1. The Laundry Egg
The Laundry Egg is the most important purchase I’ve made this year. It’s just so good. I bought mine from the specialbuys bit in Aldi — basically the middle aisle where all manner of treasures is hidden. It’s an amazing place that dreams are made of, and also where I’ve bought a giant 100cm toy sloth that I’ve named Boris (shout-out to my boyfriend who got up really early in the morning and drove me to ALDI so I could buy a giant sloth for £12.99, then put up with all of the doddery elderly people saying, “awww, that’s lovely, is that for your child?” To which I responded with a beaming smile, “no, this is Boris…he’s mine!”)
ecoegg’s Laundry Egg contains no harmful chemicals at all. It’s really kind to your skin. It also reduces single-use plastic and saves you money, too. It works out around 14p a wash, which is insanely cheap. This vegan egg is guaranteed to last you for 10 years — you just refill it with pellets whenever you run out. They offer worldwide delivery, so you can get your egg wherever you are in the world. They have different scents available — spring blossom, fresh linen, or fragrance-free. Each one lasts 70 washes; refill it with pellets and you’re good to go!
2. Shampoo Bar
Shampoo bars are just so good. They’re good for the environment (less packaging = less waste) and good for your hair, too. According to Evening Standard, most shampoos have sodium laurel sulfate in them. That’s the key ingredient that makes liquid shampoos lather up. Most shampoo bars don’t have this ingredient, or they have very little of it, which means they’re good to your scalp and skin.
But wait, you say. What about conditioner? Well, there are conditioning bars available also, although they’re a little tougher to find. LUSH has a really good selection of shampoo bars, available in the U.K. and the U.S. They’re also travel-friendly. LUSH even sells a little tin so you can take your shampoo on adventures with you. There’s a really good looking one called Honey I washed my hair, which just looks amazing. the earthling co. have some really nice shampoo bars, too, although they are a little more expensive than LUSH.
3. LED lighting
Light your home with LED lighting. It’s an environmentally and economically-efficient solution to an age-old problem: how to light your home so you can pet your cat sufficiently. If you can’t see your cat, how are you going to pet it sufficiently? Your cat definitely won’t be happy. Get some LED lighting, and you’re sorted.
Many energy companies use source and luminaire efficacy to assess how productive LED lighting fixtures are. The former refers to how efficient the LED light is in producing light, and the latter refers to how well the device and its fixture combine to provide necessary lighting. LED lights perform well on both counts, meaning that they often last up to 25 times longer than a standard light. Saving you money, and saving the environment at the same time!
4. Skincare
Companies like The Ordinary offer ‘skincare with integrity’. The company refuses to test on animals, and so does not sell products in mainland China (where companies are required to test on our furry friends). The Ordinary basically offers a targeted approach to skincare; it has a lot of products with just one or two ingredients. You might think that’s wasteful. After all, doesn’t that just mean you’ll end up buying more skincare? Not necessarily.
Many of the ingredients in skincare bottles aren’t necessary. They’re added in because customers feel like they’re getting value for money if they buy something with lots of components. How many toothpastes have you seen that promise to offer whitening, deep-cleaning, gum protection, enamel protection, and protection against trolls on Twitter? What you end up with is, especially in skincare, is a watered-down concentration of each component. You don’t actually feel the effects, because the concentration of the ingredient is so low. Also, skincare should be targeted; you don’t need ingredients targeted at dry skin if you don’t have dry skin! Start streamlining your skincare and your wallet, and the environment will thank you.
5. Period pants
Period products like tampons and sanitary pads are super wasteful; they just can’t be recycled, and so they go straight to landfill. Brands like Thinx, however, offer innovative solutions at a reasonable price. Switching to a sustainable solution means you can reduce the waste created by sanitary pads by 99.5%. While £32 is quite a lot to spend on one pair of undies, these aren’t just ordinary undies…they’re undies with a difference. The hip-hugger pants hold up to two tampons’ worth of liquid, which means, if you’ve got a light-medium flow, they’ll see you through most of the day. But, you cry, “I can’t help it if I have a heavy flow and a wide-set vagina” à la that student from Mean Girls, then there are other solutions available for you.
The super hip-hugger is a pantie that means business. Thinx is a size-inclusive brand, offering XXS to 3XL. They hold up to 4 tampons’ worth of liquid. Thinx offers a ‘Know Your Flow’ service where you can work out what kind of underwear you need. If you don’t like the look of Thinx, or you want to try it out before you commit, FLUX undies offer a 60-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. For every purchase you make from FLUX undies, they donate a reusable cloth pad to a girl in need. They’ve donated over 10,000 reusable cloth pads to people with periods all over the world. They’ve also committed to fair wages and good working conditions in their factories. They use eco-friendly TENCEL™ modal, sourced from beech trees, to make their products.
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Previously published on Medium.com.
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Photo credit: Jon Tyson on Unsplash
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