17 Sustainable Swaps For Daily & Travel Life

I love making sustainable and ethical swaps in daily life so I can help save the planet and do my bit. I wanted to share with you guys my favourite ethical and sustainable swaps you can make to benefit both your daily life and your next trip.

You can buy these items for a loved one or for yourself to help save the planet, one product at a time. Go through your bathroom and bedroom and see what items you can easily replace for one of these items. A few of these I still need to buy, but this is a good reminder for me to remember to pick them up.

There are a few items on this list that I am yet to buy and if I find anymore, I will definitely add them to this list to you can buy them yourselves.

Have my sustainable swaps helped you decide what to swap?

01. Final Straw Foldable Metal Straw // Plastic Straws

I hate using plastic straws at the best of times but when I found out how much damage they can cause to the sea, I made the decision to become an ambassador for Final Straw and promote their metal straws. You can choose from so many of their amazing colours which are all inspired by the ocean and marine life and use my discount code to get 10% off your first straw.

SHOP FINAL STRAW HERE

Use my discount code ‘SHANNONB‘ for 10% off

02. Danielle Beauty Erase Your Face Cloth* // Face Wipes

I have recently taken a jump to remove face wipes from my beauty routine and either use biodegradable ones or use my Erase Your Face washable cloth to remove makeup if I don’t use my Cleanse & Polish cleanser from Liz Earle. It’s so much easier to remove makeup and you can wash the cloth after each use to reduce dirt buildable and acne on your face without adding to the landfills.

SHOP DANIELLE BEAUTY HERE

03. Pela Case Biodegradable Phone Case // Plastic Phone Case

I really love my Pela phone case and I am so happy that I made the decision to make the change. It feels so nice in your hands and it has protected my phone from many drops and bangs. They come in a huge range of colours and designs on the back to support various environmental causes. Pela Case also have their own recycling scheme so if you don’t want your phone case anymore, you can either send it back to them or you can chuck it in your garden and it will compost down into the ground to reduce landfill buildup.

SHOP PELA CASE HERE

04. Shampoo & Conditioner Bars // Bottled Shampoo & Conditioner

This Christmas I asked for more eco friendly toiletries including shampoo and conditioner bars for travelling as they are from friendly to the planet, even though I do reuse my bottles from bottled shampoo and conditioners and also it will save me some space in my liquids allowance when I take my bars with me. I chose two bars from LUSH which are their Honey I Washed My Hair shampoo bar and their Jungle conditioner bar (which has sadly had it’s formula changed). I also picked up their Circle and Oval tins to keep my bars in.

SHOP LUSH HERE

05. Washable Pads & Moon Cup // Regular Pads & Tampons

It’s one switch that I’m still toying with on doing but if you want to make the switch, you can cut down on waste of sanitary products by using washable pads and the moon cup as a form of protection when it’s that time of the month. Moon Cups can hold twice the amount of liquid/blood than a regular tampon and is washable, so it will really cut down on the amount of waste during your period cycle.

SHOP WASHABLE PADS HERE

SHOP MOON CUPS HERE

Which sustainable swaps are your favourite? Let me know in the comments.

06. Bamboo Cotton Buds // Plastic Cotton Buds

I have also used up all ofmy plastic cotton buds before replacing them for ones with bamboo in the middle. It’s a slight change, and I’m wondering whether to change again to buds that you can clean and reuse again. I have to admit I do use ear buds quite a lot, so I’m thinking the washable ones will be better.

SHOP BAMBOO COTTON BUDS HERE

07. Washable Cotton Rounds // Single Use Cotton Rounds

I used to use the cotton rounds quite a lot for removing nail polish and applying toner etc. I’m not sure what I’m going to use to remove toe nail polish at the moment, but I’ve been using the washable rounds quite a bit for applying toner and then putting them in the wash after a couple of uses.

SHOP WASHABLE COTTON ROUNDS HERE

08. Metal Bottle // Plastic Bottle

There are so many brands of metal bottles out there for you to choose from so you can buy whichever one takes your fancy. They are so much better to use than plastic bottles and you can use them for both cold and hot drinks. I love the Chillys bottles as they are very chic and come in a wide range of colours and patterns, but there are so many around that come in various colours and patterns to suit your style.

SHOP CHILLYS BOTTLES HERE

09. Foldable Coffee/Hot Drink Cup // Single Use Hot Drink Cups

These foldable hot drink cups are perfect for travelling as you can wash and fold them up after use and put them back in your luggage without taking up too much space and you’ll also be chucking away a lot less. They are also insulated so they keep your drink warm for longer and won’t burn your hands with hot liquid inside.

SHOP FOLDABLE HOT DRINKS CUPS HERE

10. Washable Drinks Tumbler With Straw // Plastic Starbucks Style Tumbler

I recently on holiday made the mistake of ordering a cold drink that comes in the plastic tumblers from Starbucks, and instantly thought – “I need to change this”. So I’ve been on the look out for a similar style tumbler with a straw that I can wash out after every use when ordering cold drinks like that from Starbucks, Costa Coffee etc. There are so many drinks tumblers with straws: whether you want a clear one, a patterned one, a glitter one, an opaque one – so many to choose from.

SHOP TUMBLERS HERE

11. Silicone Zip Lock Bags // Plastic Zip Lock Bags

Plastic zip lock bags are a huge waste especially when you are using it for storing food or putting your liquids in for going through security. I love these silicone zip lock bags as they are so much easier to wash out and reuse once you’ve used them. They can either come in lots of cool colours or clear so you can see what’s inside them.

SHOP SILICONE ZIP LOCK BAGS HERE

12. Reusable Chopsticks // Single Use Chopsticks

The chopsticks I have I admit are made from plastic but they are easy to wash and use again. I love using these as I’m terrible at using normal chopsticks and these ones are joined in the middle for those who can’t use chopsticks. You can also get normal chopsticks that are reusable and get them in lots of different colours.

SHOP REUSEABLE CHOPSTICKS HERE

SHOP TRAINING CHOPSTICKS HERE

13. Reuseable Cutlery Sets // Plastic/Single Use Cutlery Sets

Another awesome thing to buy if you love camping, hiking or eating out and normally use plastic cutlery. You can buy a lunch box with a matching cutlery set to take with you where ever you go to use when eating your lunch/food. I love the oil slick ombre ones! You can also just buy the set of knives, forks and spoons etc if you don’t want to buy the lunch box as well.

SHOP REUSEABLE CUTLERY SETS HERE

14. Eco Friendly Toothbrush* // Plastic Toothbrush

I have been loving my TioCare toothbrush* which is made from recycled materials and plant biopolymers, instead of using a plastic toothbrush that gets chucked away every 6 weeks. I love this toothbrush because it’s made from recycled materials but also because you can switch the brush head once it’s been worn down to save the waste that gets chucked away and it gets recycled down into the ground. Their toothbrushes come in 4 different colours and the bristles come in 2 firmness choices, either soft or medium as well as coming with a travel protection case and you can also purchase 2 replacement heads seperately.

SHOP TIOCARE TOOTHBRUSHES HERE

* My TioCare toothbrush was kindly gifted to me. Please read my previous post How To Survive A Long Haul Flight guide for more information on their toothbrushes.

15. Metal Razors // Plastic Razors

I really need to make this switch and totally get rid of my horrible plastic razors that get blunt so quickly. I’ve been looking into getting a metal handle razor that you can only switch out the razor when it gets blunt to help save the plastic being thrown away. I have seen quite a few companies and brands do these metal razors, I just need to pick one up.

SHOP METAL RAZORS HERE

16. Recycled Material/Other Sustainable Material Washbag // Plastic Washbag

I absolutely love my OneNine5 washbag. This is now my favourite wash bag to take with me when I go travelling. I love that it’s made from recycled materials and is so easy to clean. But it also has so many pockets and storage solutions as well as a removable liquids bag for airport security and a hidden hanging hook so you can hang it up in the bathroom or shower. OneNine5 have also released their grey reusable wash bottles which will fit perfectly in their removeable wash bag. They are set to release Pink and Blue bottles next Spring to match their other wash bags.

SHOP ONENINE5 WASHBAGS HERE

OneNine5 currently have only grey liquid bottles available, but other colours will be released in Spring 2020. Stay tuned for a collaboration.

17. Recycled & Ethical Beach Towels // Regular Beach Towels

I have always wanted to buy an ethical friendly beach towel and one that dries quickly, is compact and comes in so many pretty funky designs tops my list everytime. My beach towel from Tesalate is gorgeous with a beautiful leave print on one side and a monochrome chevron design on the other side.

It is super to easy to shake the sand off even when wet when I visit the beach. It folds up nice and compact into it’s drawstring bag so it doesn’t take up too much space in your suitcase or beach bag. It dries super quickly with it’s microfibre materials as well as being made from recycled materials.

SHOP TESALATE BEACH TOWELS HERE

Note: I do not currently own all of these items. The ones I do not own at the moment, I am due to add to my collection soon. These sustainable swaps will definitely change your life.

READ FULL POST HERE: https://shanylou.co.uk/easy-sustainable-swaps-for-your-next-trip/