6 Easy Eco Swaps You Can Make RIGHT NOW
These days there are so many ways that you can make your life more environmentally friendly. Some of them require that you change your habits, like becoming vegetarian or vegan, only buying foods without packaging, or riding a bike to work, but here are 10 eco swaps you can make TODAY with minor or no changes at all to your daily routine! Simply swapping out basic items like plastic toothbrushes with bamboo toothbrushes and liquid-based shampoo, conditioner, and body wash with plastic-free, zero-waste bars can make you ECO, sustainable, and guilt-free with no effort at all!
Without further ado, here’s the list!
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6 Easy Eco Swaps You Can Make RIGHT NOW:
- Bamboo Toothbrush
- Reusable Shopping Bags
- Body Wash, Shampoo, and Conditioner Bars
- Reusable Straws
- Reusable Water Bottle
- Reusable Cutlery
Bamboo Toothbrushes
Bamboo toothbrushes are a great alternative to the plastic toothbrushes we use every day. They are made primarily out of bamboo, which, like all trees and plant material are made mostly of CO2 that is pulled out of the air!
There are several different kinds that you can find on the market today. Some are made of 100% biodegradable bamboo and natural fibers, and some are made with all-natural bamboo handles with nylon brushes (There are some types of nylon that a few studies have indicated are biodegradable, but there isn’t scientific consensus on this yet).
I personally have tried these Trilink Bamboo Toothbrushes from Amazon, and I like them a lot, but be warned, wood is not as smooth as plastic and the first couple of days the roughness of the bamboo caused my lip to bleed a little bit and I had to be more careful about how I brush. By day 3, I was completely used to it and haven’t gotten a bloody lip since!
Or, if you want to support me and my blog, you can buy a set of Live ECO Bamboo Toothbrushes from The Eco Swap Shop!
If you want to read more of my thoughts on bamboo toothbrushes and reasons why you should switch, check out my blog post: Bamboo Toothbrushes vs Plastic Toothbrushes: Are Bamboo Toothbrushes REALLY Environmentally-friendly?
Reusable Shopping Bags
Reusable shopping bags are an eco swap that involves a little bit of habit changing. You have to learn to keep them in your car or remember to take them with you every time you go to the supermarket. But for me, once I got used to just having them sitting near my front door so I always remember to take them with me, they’ve been a godsend! Why did I ever use those awful plastic bags that cut into your hand and rip when they brush against the corner of my ice cream packages?!
On an environmentally-friendly note, there are some people that argue that reusable shopping bags are WORSE for the environment than plastic bags, since they require more resources to make and take longer to break down in the environment after they’ve been thrown away. Basically, whether they are less wasteful than plastic bags is entirely dependent on how many times you use them. Do your best to use them for as long as possible! If you can get more than a couple hundred uses out of them (not as hard as you’d think, I’ve been using mine for years), generally you’re in good shape to be more eco than plastic.
My personal favorites are the canvas ones you can buy at Trader Joe’s, but you can also buy some great mesh-based bags online as well!
Body Wash, Shampoo, and Conditioner Bars
This is an easy one! Body soap, shampoo, and conditioner that all come in plastic packages all contribute to plastic waste….So ditch the plastic!
Not to mention the fact that liquid products contain….Wait for it….WATER! And lots of it! So that means you can use a bar for much longer than you can liquid soaps.
The trick here is finding a product that you like the feel of in your hair. I personally use these goat-milk based soaps from Australia for my body soap and these for shampoo and conditioner.
Reusable Straws
Another super easy eco swap! If you’re someone who uses straws a lot, or just feel bad every time McDonalds throws like a handful of them into your bag, get a few reusable straws! The metal ones only cost a few dollars and last a lifetime. Bamboo ones, as well as collapsible silicone ones are also available!
Again, the BEST solution is to just not use straws at all if you can, but if you’re someone who just loves to drink from a straw, definitely consider adding a reusable one to your personal carry! They even have big ones for those of you who like tapioca drinks. (or boba…Whichever term you prefer. Which is the more IN term these days? Comment below…Are you team tapioca or team boba?)
Reusable Water Bottle
If you’ve ever seen my Instagram, you know I love my Contigo water bottle. I always have it with me to satisfy all my water drinking needs! Especially in America, most people don’t drink nearly as much water as they should. Reduce that soda intake and drink water as often as you can for your own body’s sake, as well as the environment’s!
Recently, I started my own eco store, The Eco Swap Shop, and have begun sales on the Verdant Growth Live ECO Water Bottle! Exclusive tip for blog readers only: use coupon code ‘VERDANTSNS‘ at checkout for 15% off!
This is another eco swap that once you buy, you won’t have to replace for 5 to 10 years if you take care of it properly! They come in all different colors, styles, shapes, and sizes so find one that suits you and makes you want to carry it around with you every day!
Reusable Cutlery
I live in Japan. And if you’ve ever been to Japan, you know there is a LOT of chopstick usage, meaning a LOT of disposable chopstick usage. Disposable chopsticks are generally made out of bamboo so they’re better than the plastic cutlery you see a lot in the U.S. , but it’s not just that the products are made out of an environmentally friendly material. In this case, it’s that we’re using something and then immediately throwing it away unnecessarily.
My solution? Carry around chopsticks! I bought them at a 100 yen shop ($1 store) and I carry them around with me everywhere! The same can go for your forks and spoons too! Get a set that “sparks joy” in you and add it to your everyday carry!
At the end of the day, throw em in the washing machine with the rest of your dishes and just like that, you’ve saved the world from a lifetime of plastic forks, spoons, knives, and whatever other single-use stuff you get!
A set like this is great to take with you, but you can always get ones that are smaller and more compact, like these awesome tiny bamboo sporks!!
One final note about ECO SWAPS!
Keep in mind that these are all great environmentally-friendly things you can buy to replace your existing plastic-based products, but you should buy these things ONLY if you actually use them! The only thing that’s more environmentally-friendly than buying eco-friendly products is simply not using a product to begin with!
I hope this was helpful for some of you out there and served as a catalyst to start your eco-friendly lifestyle!
Were there any easy eco swaps I missed? Comment down below if there are! Or are there better products out there than the ones I’m using? Comment those too!