This article will be where I add all of my Zero Waste finds that I swear by. An extra bonus – I’ve found that most of my swaps end up saving me money in the end (some more than others). None of these are paid endorsements and all reviews are honest.
Let me preface by saying the best thing you can do when becoming zero waste is to avoid buying anything else. Do everything you can to use what you already have. However, if you’re running out of some essentials, I have you covered. Happy shopping!
Cleaning Supplies
Blueland
Blueland is a company that creates vegan, cruelty-free, and plastic free cleaners. All of their packaging is recyclable or compostable and their ingredients are free of harsh chemicals found in many strong cleaning products. Replacement tablets for cleaners are $2 a pop, which is much less than spending $5+ on an entire new bottle of cleaner each time you run out. I highly recommend making the switch to all of the products I have endorsed below.
Products I Do Endorse:
- Forever Bottles, Tins, and Hand Soap Dispensers – These are honestly just really cute, but you could easily use your old plastic bottles and containers instead.
- All-Purpose Cleaner – Smells good, cleans well.
- Bathroom Cleaner – Smells good, cleans even better than the all-purpose cleaner, and definitely gives you the clean bathroom smell we all look for in a cleaning product.
- Glass Cleaner – Works like a charm.
- Hand Soap – Gets your hands clean and foams up really nicely.
- Dishwasher Tablets – These surprised me… they work just as well as any other dishwasher tablet I’ve used before. These are on the more expensive side, but are still cheaper if you normally buy tablets.
- Laundry Detergent Tablets – These also work great and are made for HE washers! My clothes feel very clean after I wash them and there is not a strange texture like with homemade castille soap based detergents. The only problem is these tablets do not pack much of a scent. This doesn’t bother me, but it is something to consider.
Product I Do Not Endorse:
- Dish Detergent – This is in powder form and doesn’t sud up as much as I’d like. More importantly, the little particles aerate every time I dispense soap and it makes me cough. This product just isn’t quite there yet. I’m still on the hunt for a great dish detergent alternative.
“Unpaper” Towels
These are the best things ever. Instead of using the same dish towel for everything or using a crazy amount of single-use paper towels and having to stock up every time you go to the grocery store, you can have the best of both worlds (cue Hannah Montana theme music). I recommend these. I bought them from Etsy and I absolutely love them. Another bonus: Etsy offsets all carbon emissions related to product shipping. We love an environmentally conscious company!
Pro-tip: Let these air dry. They shrink in the dryer which makes them look slightly less cute.
Shower Swaps
Shampoo & Conditioner Bars – Lush
I love Lush for many reasons. When it comes to sustainability, so many of their products are package free. Any plastic packaging is never virgin plastic (meaning it has been recycled at least one time before). Also, if you return 5 face mask containers for them to recycle, you get a free mask! Bonus points: Lush is a cruelty-free company and they offer many vegan beauty options.
So shampoo bars… maybe you’ve tried them, maybe you haven’t. Before I tried them I had heard that they leave your hair feeling waxy. I was honestly so surprised when I used one for the first time because my hair didn’t feel waxy at all. In fact, it felt cleaner than it ever has. Also, a standard bottle of liquid shampoo that costs $8 usually lasts me about a month, but I’ve found that a $12 shampoo bar lasts me a good 3-4 months. That’s quite a bit of extra cash I end up pocketing when it’s all said and done. I swear by these things.
Conditioner bars on the other hand are a toss up. Lush’s are definitely “good” quality, but using a conditioner bar is a lot more work than using liquid. If your hair is dry like mine, I’m just not convinced you’ll get the hydration you need from a conditioner bar. I have experimented with liquifying Lush’s solid conditioners, and that seemed to work well but I haven’t quite perfected the process. More to come.
Products I Do Endorse:
- Jumping Juniper Shampoo Bar – This smells like Lavender and is very clarifying. Like seriously, if you have oily roots, this one is great for getting your scalp squeaky clean.
- Angel Hair Shampoo Bar – This one has a less potent scent, but it smells like roses to me. I tried this one out since my hair is very dry on the ends and I feel like it still cleans my hair really well but is less “harsh” on my split ends.
Note: I have only tried these two scents, but I have a feeling the other scents are great for different hair types. I doubt you can really go wrong.
Pro-tip: I use one of Lush’s metal tins for storage. Sit the bar on its side so it dries off before your next use. Use these for travel and save liquid space in your carry-on bag.
Product I Do Not Endorse:
- American Cream Conditioner Bar – This smells SO good. I wanted to love this. The problem is the conditioner is labor-intensive to use (think spending 10 minutes rubbing the bar on each section of your hair), does not moisturize effectively, and it does not wash out easily. Liquid conditioner is still better for your hair and easier to use, but for those of you who are okay with the extra labor and potentially dryer ends, it’s a fine product. It will do the job, but there are still some improvements to be made.
Go Forth and Reduce Your Waste
Now that you’ve got some easy swaps you can make, it’s time to go reduce your waste. Please let me know if you have any questions about the products listed or if you would like to recommend a product to add to this list. You can contact me at 10BillionFootprints@gmail.com.