Despite what you might think, living greener doesn’t have to cost a pretty penny. From personal care to items around the home and everything in between, there are countless products with eco-friendly ingredients and packaging, that are made with earth-conscious manufacturing processes. Here are some of my favorite recent finds.
HAIRCARE
Something that is becoming increasingly common is that brands are removing water from their products. The reason is simple – water is heavy and requires bigger outer packaging. One category where we are seeing this is in haircare. Three brands to check out are Viori, BRIXY, and Good Time, which also come in sustainable packaging.
I like Viori’s Travel Shampoo & Conditioner Bars, which are packaged in ornate paper boxes perfectly sized for travel. The combo sets are $39 and come with 4 different shampoo and conditioner bars in 4 scents. These mini bars can be used about 10x each.
BRIXY’s bars are available in shampoo, conditioner, and body wash formulas and have a gender-neutral vibe. They come in three scents, are vegan, Leaping Bunny-certified cruelty-free, and crafted from premium materials that are rainforest friendly. You can get a set of all three for under $30 on Amazon.
Good Time, which is a sister brand to sustainable toilet paper company, Who Gives A Crap (one of my personal faves) uses natural, sustainably harvested ingredients in their bars to cleanse and nourish the hair and skin. They offer shampoo, conditioner, and body bars, which can be purchased separately or in bundles ($48). The long-lasting bars smell fantastic and the shipping is 100 percent carbon-neutral. Both brands donate half of their profits to clean water initiatives.
SKINCARE
There is a dizzying number of skincare brands playing in the eco-friendly space, which is great to see. Here are a few that really stood out in my research.
Green Forest Lady
This brand feels very homegrown, which is what is charming about it. The products are lovingly made with pure and simple ingredients like cold-pressed coconut oil and essential oils and they are packaged in glass jars with wooden tops. A nice intro to the brand is their Body Care Gift Set, which includes their Coco Cleanse facial cleansing balm, Whipped Berry Silk Moisturizer, and your choice of sugar scrub ($70, value $75).
Fig.1
These high-tech products, which are available at CVS, come in refillable, airtight glass bottles with recyclable packaging and discounted refills with high-performing biocompatible ingredients in their formulations. Some of my favorites include a Vitamin C 15% Treatment ($38, refill $33), and Retinol Night Cream No. 1 ($41.99).
Thrive is known for their award-winning, gender-neutral, best-selling SPFs on Amazon ($24.95), but they also have other efficacious products, like their Vitality Revive Eye Stick and Vitality Spot-On Balancing Serum, which are packed with super plants. Thrive uses a regenerative farming process, which not only leads to high-quality, proprietary ingredients, but this process helps to support their Costa Rican farming partners and their land. The packaging is also eco-friendly.
This clean, vegan, cruelty-free skincare brand has an array of products with responsibly and sustainably sourced packaging. Their natural ingredients contain probiotics that help to foster and maintain a healthy microbiome. The brand will not use over 2100 ingredients that they deem to be potentially harmful. I enjoyed trying their new Probiotics + Moringa Oil Makeupmelt Cleansing Balm ($38), which leaves the skin feeling cleansed, but also nourished.
BODY CARE + DENTAL
Healthy skin products are not only for the face! In addition to the body bars from Brixy and Good Time that I mentioned above, here are a few other brands I’d recommend.
Ingreendients
This hair and body care line is comprised entirely of plants and the formulas are made in the US with a minimum carbon footprint. The products are certified biodegradable and reef friendly and the brand bans over 1,400 ingredients. Their gender-neutral packaging is made of 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastics and is fully recyclable. A nice intro to the brand is their Daily Shampoo, Conditioner + Bodywash Bundle ($49.50 on Amazon).
Gntl
This brand currently carries one multi-functional product; the pH balanced Skin Wash ($38), which is designed for men, women, and children. It can be used on the face, body, and hands as a wash, and it can serve as a shaving gel! The wash has a light, refreshing fragrance and is packaged in a large 32oz bio-based, recyclable pouch made using carbon-negative laminates. You are encouraged to dispense the contents into a container that you already have or you can also dispense from the pouch. The brand’s goal is to dispense with multi-step skincare routines and will continue to expand into other universal formulas.
Bite (Because It’s The Earth)
Bite aims to be “the world’s most sustainable personal care company.” A good intro to their dental care is The Starter Kit Gift Set ($40), which has a selection of plastic-free dental floss, bamboo toothbrushes, water-free toothpaste, and mouthwash tablets. The brand has recently branched out into water-free body balm and body cleanser, and plastic-free deodorant (which smells amazing). Their products are tube-free, all-natural, zero-waste, vegan, gluten-free, and cruelty-free.
HOME
From home office essentials to cleaning, fragrance, and storage solutions, there are so many eco-friendly options for the home.
If you’re in the market for a printer or computer for your home office, look for brands with eco-friendly initiatives, like HP. HP offers machines made from recycled and renewable materials that are designed to use less energy and are recyclable after use, like their HP Smart Tank 5000 Series and HP Envy Inspire printers. They also have an ink cartridge recycling program, Planet Partners, with more than 1 billion original HP ink and toner cartridges recycled by customers, which HP uses to make new ones, reducing the fossil fuel used for plastic production by 62%. You can score additional savings during a 3-day flash sale from April 20-22 on HP.com! Please note: I have a financial relationship with HP.
Rugs.com
Rugs.com has an ever-expanding selection of affordable eco-friendly rugs including those made of recycled materials, like plastic bottles and denim. I had a chance to try the Eco Trellis Rug (currently $87, which is 61 percent off) which is made from plastic bottles, and it is as soft as any rug I’ve experienced! For every rug purchased, the company plants a tree with the Eden Restoration Projects, planting more than 400,000 trees so far.
Cloud Paper Spring Cleaning Bundle ($30.99, a $10 savings)
What better time to stock up on green cleaning supplies? This set of all compostable products includes 2 plant-based Coconut Sponges, which are 100 percent biodegradable, 3 Swedish Dishcloths, which are plastic-free and reusable for 4-6 months, and 4 rolls of absorbent paper towels, which are 100 percent FSC-certified, eco-friendly, plastic-free, and recyclable. On Earth Day (April 22) the brand is matching all sales with product donations to sanctuaries that protect wildlife.
ECOS Laundry Detergent Sheets ($24.61 for 114 sheets)
These laundry washing sheets are the latest from women and black-owned sustainable cleaning brand, ECOS. The dermatologist-tested sheets replace traditional detergent and are water-free, fresh smelling, and tough on stains while being gentle on the skin. Toss the 100 percent dissolvable sheet in the washer with your clothes and that’s it!
Good Green Cleaner ($13.99)
Another excellent example of a product that ships water-free, these environmentally friendly, effective home cleaning sprays come with a recyclable pod that you twist on the empty spray bottle and then add water. There are several bio-based, people-safe formulas for a variety of uses around the home. Woman-owned.
APPAREL & ACCESSORIES
Two jewelry favorites are Maison Miru and Catherine Weitzman. Maison Miru’s genderless jewelry collections include their recycled and recyclable Stainless Steel collection ($60 and up), recycled 14K gold pieces, and earrings from recyclable Titanium. Many of the brand’s pieces are customizable, which I always appreciate.
Jeweler, Catherine Weitzman, creates her pieces by hand with recycled metals, casting from natural elements, like her beautiful Plumeria Earrings ($90), which are cast from plumeria leaves. From each piece to the outer packaging, sustainable practices are used. A portion of all sales is donated to the Surfrider Foundation, which helps to protect the oceans.
Jansport
You probably know Jansport for its durable and functional bags and backpacks, but the brand is also on a mission to create products that are kind to the earth. The majority of their styles are made with 100 percent recycled fabrics and the brand is incorporating eco-friendly practices into their supply chain while using 100 percent recycled FSC Paper, which saves 1,338 trees annually, according to the brand. I had a chance to test the cute Restore Tote ($30), which is made from RENU® recycled waste fabric, 100 percent surplus webbing and cording, and a 100 percent recycled polyester label.
Skyway Luggage Ranier Collection
If you need travel gear, check out this new collection of well-designed bags and wheeled cases that are made 100 percent from recycled plastic water bottles. The Simple Backpack (currently ½ off for $49.99), is my go-to for travel. It can be worn and carried several different ways and has tons of pockets, padded sections for electronics, and a suitcase handle sleeve.
TIJN
This on-trend, affordable accessories brand is committed to sustainability, using eco-friendly materials, like recycled yarns and vegan patent leather, for over half of their products with the goal of reaching 80 percent this year. I am a fan of their Larya Recycled Knitted Buckle Flats ($70), which are made with recycled yarn and an eco-friendly rubber sole.
This article originally appeared on TrueTrae and was syndicated by MediaFeed.
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7 ways to be both frugal & eco-friendly
Being frugal and being eco-conscious often work hand-in-hand. Here are some cheap and affordable ways to be a little more eco-conscious.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
The more use we get out of items the more we save money and the more we reduce our footprint on the earth. Less garbage, less energy when getting new items, less waste. All these things go hand-in-hand.
Doing my part to reduce consumption
I am not what you would call a super eco-friendly person. For example, I do use a lot of plastic dishes and silverware, even though it something that I try to cut down on. Going zero-waste or plastic-free is not really in the cards right now but it is something I can aspire to at one point! Of course, being able to make choices like that is a privilege in of itself. I do try to do my part to save the earth and save money at the same time.
Here are seven ways to be frugal and eco-friendly.
BrianAJackson/istockphoto
Cheap, easy, and sustainable. I have an old milk crate (I honestly have no clue where I got it from- possibly from my husband’s previous job) that I fill with all the old papers, leaflets, boxes, etc. that we receive. Plastic packaging, things that we get in the mail, toilet paper rolls, all get dumped into the box. I have also put in some crayons, markers, tape, glue, and safety scissors. My child can sit and play with it for hours. I am always throwing in new materials so there is something new to play with. My kids can sit and create tons of stuff from all the “junk” in there. They rarely get new, white paper to color with. If I have to print out papers for something- the extras and mess-ups get put in as well. Think school notices, old worksheets, etc. all of them have nice clear backs for the kids to color and stick stickers on. The papers from the stickers get colored on or cut when the stickers are gone as well. While a lot of these will still end up in the trash eventually it still gives us a whole entirely new use to it.
NataliaDeriabina / istockphoto
Speaking of crafts, are my kids the only ones who destroy crayons constantly? Every so often I go through eh crayons and collect all the small and broken pieces. These get saved until we have a nice amount. We then put them into muffin tins (I actually have some silicon muffin cups) and melt them to create new crayons. It gives them a new life and is an exciting activity as well. Even when things seem to have finished their usefulness there is still something you can do with them!
lyingv43 / istockphoto
I save my kid’s clothes and try to use them as hand me downs as much as possible. Even if you are very particular about dressing your kids nicely or following strict gender norms out of the house there is no reason why pajamas or play clothes can’t be the “wrong color” or a little faded or out of date. Many of the clothes actually remain in great condition so they are perfectly able to be used from kid to kid. White shirts are particularly able to be passed down as they are easy to bleach and keep clean.
airspa / istockphoto
Speaking of clothes lasting, I try as much as possible not to use a dryer. I hang all my clothes. (I do dry towels, socks, and underwear). This reduces the number of dryer loads I have to do (save on electricity) and the clothes last much longer when hung to dry rather than put in the dryer. Light clothing, in particular, stays shinier and fresh when hung to dry in the sun. Of course, in winter when there is minimal sun this does force us to be more on top of the laundry so that things dry in time for when we need them.
BrianAJackson/istockphoto
Clothes that are beyond repair, ripped or otherwise dead get cut up into rags. I have a drawer full of rags of various sizes and materials. I can cut my paper towel supply significantly using the rags I have in my house. Old undershirts and pajamas work particularly well for this, as do kids’ T-shirts.
zimindmitry / istockphoto
As I said, I do buy stuff in plastic. Since many spices and other items come in plastic jars I try to reuse them as much as possible. I use them for other food or for toys or to organize the junk drawer. If I can’t find a good use for them I give them to my kids to play with. They can play kitchen or use them for dirt or for water pouring activities. I also sometimes give them old shampoo bottles to use as bath toys.
Depositphotos
I wrote about this before but it’s worth re-mentioning. I take fruits and vegetables that are going bad and put them in the freezer for smoothies, pies, or stock. If you save vegetable scraps, like peels or tops and bottoms of vegetables, you can combine it with chicken bones and scraps to make a delicious chicken stock to be used as a base for chicken soup or for other chicken recipes.
luigi giordano / istockphoto
When you live a life of frugality and are intentional with your items and your material needs, then I think you are naturally going to be eco-friendly. I also think that it is OK to do these things just to save money.
There are so many things that naturally frugal people do that are also eco-friendly. Think about things like using reusable water bottles so as not to waste plastic bottles. You may do that because of money but it is also eco-friendly.
This article originally appeared on ADimeSaved.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Prostock-Studio / istockphoto
Featured Image Credit: Depositphotos.com.
