Eco-Conscious Products & Tips
Happy Earth Day! It feels a bit weird to be celebrating this day inside, during a pandemic, but maybe it will force us to really appreciate all that Mother Earth has to offer. And maybe it will even encourage us to take better care of her. Sometimes, at least for me, the fight for our Earth and climate control can seem pretty daunting. It is so discouraging for me to see such resistance to science and progressive change that it can feel defeating. But we can’t let that negativity stop us from supporting positive change and making that change ourselves. There’s a sign in front of a little store in Ballard that says, “One person can o̶n̶l̶y̶ do so much.”
So I encourage you to be that one person today. Learn about factors that contribute to climate change from a science-based documentary or unbiased news source, find environmentally conscious local businesses or companies that you can support, or edit some of your daily habits to make them a bit safer and cleaner. I have been doing those things in the last couple of years and thought I would share what my research and trials have found!
Almost all the products can be found on Amazon (and will be linked), although I encourage you to find a local business to support that carries these products too. If you live in the Seattle area, Eco Collective is a small store in Ballard offering sustainable alternatives to everyday essentials. They have so many of the products I listed below, including Stasher Bags, Bees Wraps, reusable facial rounds, Thinx panties, and menstrual cups. Either way, making these switches are easy and in most cases, cost saving!
Most of my home cleaning and laundry products have been researched through the Environmental Working Group’s research on healthy cleaning. I try to either buy verified products (products with the EWG seal of approval) or products rated as level A, the best rating second to a verification. Cost is always a factor when searching for products, so I make decisions that are also healthy and clean but are also financially reasonable.
Laundry
Molly’s Suds Laundry Powder (unscented)
“A” Rating on EWG
$40.98 for a pack of 2 (240 loads)'
Safe for sensitive skin - confirmed by Jason who has very sensitive skin
“A” Rating on EWG
$20.99 for a pack of two
Works very well!
Made from essential oils versus “natural” fragrances
$40 for 1.7 fluid oz
I have had this for 4 months and the bottle is over 3/4 of the way full!
Molly’s Suds Wool Dryer Balls **
$12.99 for 6 wool dryer balls
Each ball lasts 1,000 loads, totaling to around 3 years for the pack
** My dryer balls were purchased from Trader Joe’s which has 4 for a comparable price
Cleaning
Spray Mop with Refillable Spray Bottle and 2 Washable Pads.
$20.88
Works very well and super easy to use!
Aunt Fannie’s Floor Cleaner Vinegar Wash
“A” Rating on EWG
$10 for 32 oz
Vinegar smell is pretty strong, but the smell dissipates within 20 minutes or so
Seventh Generation Dishwasher Packs - Free & Clear
“A” Rating on EWG
$23.98 for a 2 pack (90 pods total)
Grocery
$14.99 for a canvas bag with 5 mesh produce bags included!
I have a bunch that I have purchased from grocery stores or gotten for free (thank your Lululemon). So use what you have!
$21.49 for 7 produce bags of various sizes
These are zero waste and biodegradable
To-Go Products
$19.97 for a Medium Neoprene lunch bag (various colors)
It can fit a lot and is easy to clean!
Stasher Sandwich and Snack Bags
$21.57 for a set: one 15 oz sandwich size and one 9.9 oz snack size (price varies with size and color on Amazon)
We have two sets, one for each of us
I have tried a couple other cheaper versions and this one is by far the best - more durable, easier to open and close, easier to clean, better sizes.
$16 for a set of 3 (large, medium, and small size)
Natural and sustainable alternative to plastic wrap
$31.22 for an 18-piece set
$20 for 16 oz ceramic travel mug
Personally, the inner ceramic lining tastes so much better and is easier to clean that stainless steel linings!
$32.95 for a 21 oz standard water bottle (prices vary by size)
Beauty
$10 for a pack of 16 with a laundry bag included
Super soft and easy to clean
I have used for toner, makeup remover, and even to clean by dog’s ears!
Skincare & Makeup
Period Products
$34 - Hiphugger in the color Dusk
Holds 2 regular tampons worth
$24 - Thong in Beige
Holds 1/2 regular tampons worth
Tons of different styles and sizes, some that even hold up to 4 tampons worth! I highly recommend this product!
They also sell products specially designed for teens and underwear for bladder leakage.
$28.99 for this brand, but there are many other great brands
Collects as much as 4 tampons and can be worn for 12 hours before emptying. It sounds intimidating, but make the jump - I don’t regret it!
Tampons without the Plastic Applicator
$12.99 for a multipack of 36, 100% cotton tampons
If you prefer an applicator, The Honest Co. sells tampons with a plant-based applicator for $9.75 for 16 tampons.
Thank you for looking through all the products I have used to limit the amount of waste I produce on a daily basis. I truly believe that we can make a difference by making choices to use reusable and recycled products throughout all aspects of our lives. There are also a TON of other ways that can make a significant difference, like eating a more plant-based diet, limiting your amount of car and plane travel, wasting less food by planning your meals, using less energy in your home (appliances, heat, lights), recycling or composting, shopping sustainably (vintage or consignment), and so much more.
I hope you learned a lot and maybe even found an alternative for you! Let me know in the comments below. If you have recommendations or advice for how I can improve - I would love to hear them! Thanks, friends 🤗
Research with Sources
Laundry Detergent and Cleaners: “All-purpose products and dish and laundry detergents often use ethoxlated surfactants for soil removal. These chemicals may contain carcinogenic impurities, such as 1,4-dioxane and ethylene oxide. Some products contain volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that can come from botanical oils and extracts. A group of VOCs, called terpenes, can react with ozone indoors to form formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen. Preservatives that release formaldehyde are also commonly added to multi-use products.” “Many cleaning chemicals are not only harmful to human health, but also put animals and the environment at risk. This includes triclosan, an ingredient approved for use in floor waxes and sealers, as well as many cleaning supplies, like sponges and reusable household wipes… Triclosan is not fully removed by wastewater treatment and can harm aquatic animals like fish and frogs as it is discharged and persists in waterways. The chemical can also breakdown to form toxic, carcinogenic substances, like dioxins and chloroform. Scientists are also concerned about triclosan’s contribution to growing bacterial resistance.” -EWG’s Healthy Home Guide
Wool Dryer Balls with Essential Oils: “In-wash fabric softeners and heat-activated dryer sheets pack a powerful combination of chemicals that can harm your health, damage the environment and pollute the air, both inside and outside your home… Quaternary ammonium compounds make clothes feel soft and wearable right out of the wash, but they’re known to trigger asthma and may be toxic to our reproductive systems… Fragrance mixes can cause allergies, skin irritations such as dermatitis, difficulty breathing and potential reproductive harm… Like fragrance, the terms “preservatives” and “colors” or “colorants” on an ingredient label may refer to any number of chemicals. The most worrisome preservatives in fabric softeners include methylisothiazolinone, a potent skin allergen, and glutaral, known to trigger asthma and skin allergies. Glutaral (or glutaraldehyde) is also toxic to marine life. Among artificial colors, D&C violet 2 has been linked to cancer. Others may contain impurities that can cause cancer.” - Skip the Fabric Softeners by EWG
To-Go Products: “When you save a dollar, you also save around a quarter of that water bottle’s volume worth of petroleum. That’s how much it takes to produce each disposable plastic bottle. It’s estimated that 17 million barrels of oil, which could fuel up to 100,000 cars, are needed to supply the demand of water bottles worldwide. But with all the bottles we buy, a low average of 23% of plastic are recycled each year. The rest ends up in our oceans, landfills, and communities—polluting the environment and killing thousands fish, dolphins, whales, turtles and birds every year. It is estimated that 10-20 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans every year, costing up to $13 billion a year in losses from damage to the marine ecosystems, clean-up costs, financial losses to fisheries and ocean-based tourism.” - Earth Day. “An estimated 8 million metrics tons of plastic trash ends up in our oceans every year. The ocean currents have formed five gigantic, slow moving whirlpools where the plastic collects, called gyres. Most of the plastic debris sinks or remains in the gyres, however a significant percentage of it washes onto our coastlines daily. After sunlight photodegrades the plastic into small pieces, aquatic life and seabirds mistake these fragments for food and ingest it. While it's difficult to know exact figures, a 2012 report from WSPA indicates that between 57,000 and 135,000 whales are entangled by plastic marine debris every year in addition to the inestimable – but likely millions – of birds, turtles, fish and other species affected by plastic marine debris. New studies show that ingested plastic damages the internal organs of fish. This raises the question about the safety of our seafood. If we fail to clean up the plastic and stop the continued pollution of the oceans, we are facing the potential extinction of many sea life species and the interruption of the entire ecosystem. We also risk the health of anyone who eats seafood.” - Parley
Beauty & Skincare: “The Food and Drug Administration has no authority to require companies to test cosmetics products for safety. The agency does not review or approve the vast majority of products or ingredients before they go on the market. FDA conducts pre-market reviews only of certain cosmetics color additives and active ingredients that are classified as over-the-counter drugs (FDA 2005, 2010).” “With the exception of color additives and a few prohibited substances, cosmetics companies may use any ingredient or raw material in their products without government review or approval (FDA 2005). Whereas the European Union has banned more than 1,000 ingredients from use in cosmetics.” - EWG Skin Deep. The FDA has only banned around 8 ingredients, one of those being any cattle materials… yeah you read that right. They had to ban the use of cow parts from companies to use in your skincare and makeup. Gross! “People are exposed to cosmetics ingredients in many ways: breathing in sprays and powders, swallowing chemicals on the lips or hands or absorbing them through the skin. Biomonitoring studies have found that cosmetics ingredients - such as phthalate plasticizers, paraben preservatives, the pesticide triclosan, synthetic musks and sunscreen ingredients - are common pollutants in the bodies of men, women and children. Many of these chemicals are potential hormone disruptors (Gray 1986, Schreurs 2004, Gomez 2005, Veldhoen 2006). Cosmetics frequently contain enhancers that allow ingredients to penetrate deeper into the skin. Studies have found health problems in people exposed to common fragrance and sunscreen ingredients, including increased risk of sperm damage, feminization of the male reproductive system and low birth weight in girls (Duty 2003, Hauser 2007, Swan 2005, Wolff 2008).” “FDA has no authority to require recalls of harmful cosmetics. Furthermore, manufacturers are not required to report cosmetics-related injuries to the agency. FDA relies on companies to report injuries voluntarily (FDA 2005).” “Federal law allows companies to leave some chemical ingredients off their product labels, including those considered to be trade secrets, components of fragrance and nanomaterials (FDA 2011). Fragrance may include any number of the industry's 3,100 stock chemicals (IFRA 2010), none of which is required to be listed on labels. Tests of fragrance ingredients have found an average of 14 hidden compounds per formulation, including ingredients linked to hormone disruption and sperm damage (EWG & CSC 2010).” - EWG Skin Deep
Period Products: “More than 12 billion pads and tampons are thrown out every year, and the average person with a period uses 11,000 pads, tampons, and panty liners in their lifetime.” “It takes 6 months for a tampon to biodegrade, and pads and applicators sit in landfills for centuries!” - Thinx. “Many brands of menstrual pads and disposable diapers contain elevated levels of chemicals linked to developmental and reproductive harm, according to a recent study published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology.” - EWG.