Easy Sustainable Swaps

Over the last few years I’ve been challenging myself to be more considerate of the waste that I create (and more specifically single use plastics). I talk a lot on Instagram about remembering to take your reusable cup to get coffee, but there are other easy sustainable swaps I’ve made. Seeing as it’s Earth Day, I thought I’d share them on here. It’s good time to consider how we can be kinder to our environment. If you can think of any other easy sustainable swaps, let me know in the comments!

I wasn’t really sure how to order this list. By room, by how much I use them, by impact on the environment? So I thought I’d list them by how easy it was for me to do them. Easiest switches up the top, with the ones I’ve found more challenging later on.

Sticky plasters

Bandaids made from bamboo. We don’t need to use these very often, but they are way more gentle on my skin than other sticky plasters I’ve tried in the past. Of course I bought the kids ones with pandas printed on them – would you expect anything less? This was the easiest switch because once my old plasters ran out I bought the Patch plasters. No transition or habit changing needed.

Reusable bags

Largely made easy by the fact that single use plastic shopping bags were banned in New Zealand in 2019. If you don’t BYO bag, you either have to awkwardly try to carry all of your purchases or pay for yet another reusable bag. This was an easy switch for me to make, but Doug kept forgetting to take bags with him for a while. Consequently we have a LOT of reusable bags now. We keep a bunch of reusable tote bags in the car boot, and I also have one that folds up quite small that I carry in my handbag. We also have reusable fruit and vege bags, these are super handy! I always make sure I bring at least one of those with me when I’m travelling, and my fold up bag as well.

Coffee cups

This is a great place to start and I know a lot of us already use these. I try to keep one in my car in case of coffee emergency. I have implemented a personal rule that if I don’t have my reusable cup then I either have to drink my coffee in the cafe or there’s no coffee for me. I’ve tried a couple of different brands but so far prefer the Keep Cups. Oh, and remember these are not just handy for coffee – I know people who keep travel snacks in them!

Face wipes

I was in a bad habit of using these to take off my makeup, and not only did they not do a great job, they are also crap for the environment. So I’ve switched to double cleansing, first with Dermalogica’s Pre-Cleanse and then with Ethique’s Bliss Bar, using a face cloth. My skin is much improved and the money I saved on disposables went back into getting good quality skincare. Reminder – you can use my affiliate discount code MEAGAN10 to get $10 off at Dermalogica.

 

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Period underwear

One of the biggest wakeup calls for me to start thinking about reducing waste was period products. Pads and tampons put so much waste into landfill! I tried a couple of reusable period options (I haven’t got the hang of menstrual cups, and I didn’t like the other period underwear brands I tried) and I’ve been using Modibodi underwear since 2017. I’ve written a whole review of them here if you want to check it out, plus there is a discount code there too. My favourite style is the Classic Full Brief that I’m wearing in this picture – they’re super comfortable during my period and comfy enough to wear on any other day too! If anyone has questions about period underwear I’m always happy to answer, don’t be shy!

Water bottles

I have a reusable bottle and refill it from our kitchen tap at home. We actually have a few reusable water bottles at home – most of them are promo sports bottles or branded ones we’ve received from work events. I’m not super fussy about what they look like, so long as they’re easy to use. This is why I’ve put this one so far down the list, as while it seems easy, finding the right bottle/s to meet specific needs has been a challenge.

I carry one with me at all times but do have a few specific considerations – they must be easy to drink from while driving (no time to fuck around with lids!) and need to have a sipper top for beside my bed at night so I don’t spill it when I’m half asleep. I have two Frank Green ones that I use on the regular, I have one on the go at all times and the other is filled and in the fridge because I prefer chilled water. To be honest we probably have too many bottles but when you have family members that forget and leave them places, having extras comes in handy.

Shampoo and conditioner bars

I tried these years ago but didn’t stick with them. Tried them again in 2020 and have found ones I really love that leave my hair looking glorious. I use the Ethique ones which are cruelty free, vegan, soap free, pH balanced, plastic free and palm oil free, and they’re basically like normal salon products without the unnecessary water and plastic. I started with a discovery pack to figure out which bar worked best for my hair and currently switch between Sweet & Spicy and St Clements shampoo, and use Wonderbar conditioner. I’m planning to write a blog post about this, so stay tuned! Ethique also do a whole bunch of other solid bar products too – I highly rate their deodorant sticks and Bliss Bar face cleanser.

Razor

When I started getting laser hair removal I was bummed to find out that I would have to shave between treatments. But so many of you on Instagram recommended getting the CaliWoods Safety Razor which is plastic free and I love it! Way nicer to use than a disposable plastic razor. I use it with the Ethique Wonderbar which is actually a conditioner but works a treat for shaving as well.

Reusable makeup pads

I used to use cotton rounds for toner and removing eye makeup. Removing my eye makeup alone would usually use two disposable cotton rounds! It makes me cringe when I think about how wasteful that is. Switching to reusable ones that I could wash after use was easy. I was sent these ones from Nappy Needz to try over the last few months and they are honestly so nice on my skin. Plus you can just chuck them in with your washing (I use a garment bag to wash mine).

BYO other reusable containers

Cups and water bottles are an obvious one, but what about other containers? I took my own container to get donuts from Wen & Yen last weekend, nice and easy! Some of you told me you take your own container to get sushi – genius! I felt a bit weird about this for a while but haven’t had anyone say no when I’ve done this so far. I just use containers I already have, but something that fits in my backpack and isn’t made of plastic or glass would be handy. Kinda digging these stainless containers, and I’ll probably invest in a couple of those when my plastic ones have all broken or been lost (both things which happen annoyingly frequently).

Refillables

For around the home I try to use refillable options if I can. I use bulk bins to buy dry goods like flours, lentils and nuts. There are places where you can refill your household cleaning products too!

You don’t need to do all of them at once – as I said these are changes I’ve made over the last few years. However, if you wanted to try some of them, that would be awesome! I’m sure there are more that I’ve thought of that I haven’t included here too – let me know what I’ve missed!

Let me know what easy sustainable swaps you’ve made!
Are there any you’d like to try?