Eco-Friendly Product Swaps You Can Make Now

Here at The 55 Lifestyle, we know there’s no better feeling than doing something good every day. And what better way is there than making small, eco-friendly product swaps that lead to long-term results for both you and the planet? We’ve noticed through social media channels and retailers that new products are coming online and are definitely worth our attention. Don’t worry if you’re not sure where to start, we’ve got you covered, so check out our list of easy eco-friendly products you can make today.

Laundry Detergent Sheets

The product we like most (and use at home) in this piece is the detergent sheet. Recent developments have entirely changed the need for large, plastic jugs of liquids. Laundry detergent sheets are ultra-concentrated, water activated, single-load sheets you simply drop into your washing machine, or add to your detergent bin. Similar in size and shape to a dryer sheet, these sheets come in minimal, recyclable packaging, which results in much less waste than traditional detergent solutions.

Statistics show that over 700 million empty plastic jugs from laundry detergents are thrown out each year in the US alone. Whereas many of these containers are recyclable, most of them don’t make it to the recycling bin or not cleaned properly enough to be recycled when they do.

Paper or Reusable Straws

This one also made our Reducing Plastics At Home blog. Seemingly a given when we order drinks from to-go places, plastic straws have taken a huge toll on our environment and wildlife. This innocuous pieces of plastic persist for roughly two hundred years, getting stuck in the craws and crevices of sea creatures and even consumed by land animals.

The easiest way to swap out traditional plastic straws is to bring your own eco-friendly options wherever you go. There are metal, silicone, and paper straws on the market, as well as a biodegradable straws that mimic the look and feel of plastic. Silicone straws are great for travel, bendable, and often come with their own travel containers.

Reusable Containers For Your Soaps and Shampoos

Not only an effective eco-choice for your home, but a cost effective practice for your home. Instead of purchasing new hand soap, dish soap, or shampoos in plastic containers every month, consider using reusable and refillable containers once they run out. An increasing number of companies are selling their products in bulk bags that contain enough material to refill your containers up to four times. This will help reduce plastic waste and pollution and save you money in the long run.

Continuing on bathroom eco-friendly products, how often do you purchase shampoo, conditioner or body wash? New product offerings consist of highly condensed shampoo or conditioner disks resembling the shape of a hockey puck. Like a bar of soap, simply wet the pod, then massage the product through your hair with your hands just like you would with traditional shampoo/conditioner. These pods will help reduce the amount of plastic shampoo/conditioner bottles being thrown away into year. According to national geographic, in the US alone, that’s 330 million just for shampoo containers.

Bamboo Products

Bamboo is quickly becoming a primary replacement for a host of products because it is easy and quick to grow, requires less water to cultivate, lasts longer, and already used for a wide variety of products.

Bamboo is pesticide free, BPA free and so versatile it’s being used to replace not only paper and kitchen products, but building materials, textiles, metal utensils such as forks and spoons, and common plastic items such as toothbrushes.

Consider switching to bamboo where you can, as these products are 100% biodegradable when not chemically processed, thus safer for the environment when thrown out. With its qualities becoming well-known, bamboo products are becoming less expensive and readily available from retail stores through online vendors.

Canvas Totes

Canvas totes are fast becoming an eco-friendly way to replace polyethylene retail bags, but honestly, they can be used in any situation where you need to “tote” something around. These large, low cost bags are often made from alternative materials such as bamboo, hemp, straw, or from traditional cotton. But the key for this piece is the reusability. Totes are durable and hold considerably more content than plastic bags, are less likely to rip in use, and will last for years.

You can purchase canvas totes online, in convenience stores, even in your local grocery store. On average, they cost $2-$5 but this all depends on the quality of the bag you’re purchasing.

In the Kitchen/Pantry/Picnic

Possibly one of the areas that have seen the most advances in eco-friendly product swaps in your home is in the kitchen. Everything from cookware to paperware is available in reusable, recyclable, or compostable form. (For our purposes, we want to remind our readers that compostable means the items breaks down completely into natural elements and causes little to no impact to the environment.)

• Reusable cups/bottles – if your favorite retailer, coffee shop, or convenience store doesn’t stock reusable cups or bottles, you can certainly buy them easy enough. Don’t go Styrofoam when environmentally options are readily available. You can get a customizable, 15oz. stainless steel travel mug at The 55 Lifestyle Online Store!
• Natural food wraps – instead of wrapping leftovers or lunches in plastic bags or wraps, try for compostable storage bags or natural and reusable wraps made from bee’s wax. Each of these are better for the environment than plastic storage bags.
• Compostable plates and bowls – Similar to the wraps, taking plastics to your picnic (or even home BBQ’s) are no longer necessary. Affordable and relevant, these plates and bowls can go straight to the garbage without the guilt as they’ll break down quickly and leave little footprint to the environment!
• Trash bags – Also making it to our Reducing Plastics at Home blog, trash bags no longer have to be headaches to our landfills. Alternative sugar-cane bags exist that are far more biodegradable than thick plastics.

Final Thoughts on Eco-Friendly Product Swaps You Can Make Now

Making environmentally conscious swaps in your daily life is something that anyone, at any age, can do. It just takes a little rewiring of your habits and thoughts so that you are putting yourself and the environment first. Switching to eco-friendly products like reusable bags, compostable cutlery, and laundry detergent sheets can make a significant deference in the emission of green house gases and better product our environment.

We hope that you’ve found some useful and educational information on our blog – Eco-Friendly Product Swaps You Can Make Now. As always, if you don’t see something here you want, reach out to us through our Contact page or leave a comment below, we read each one. Think green and all the best ~ Glen.