The Best Zero Waste Bathroom Toiletries | Sustainable
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Did you know that 78% of the plastic waste we produce is NOT reclaimed or recycled? Every piece of plastic that has ever been made STILL EXISTS TODAY. Ew Ew Ew! Think about that. Every – single – piece. You can see why zero waste bathroom toiletries would be high on my priority list. Finding sustainable travel toiletries that are TSA-approved was the goal.
Understand that globally, we produce 300 million tons of plastic waste every year, that’s a lot of plastic. Read about the best zero waste bathroom products I’ve tried + used + love.
The Best Zero Waste Toiletries for Travel
Through my travels, I have witnessed firsthand the consequences of our disposable lifestyle with plastic. Plastic has taken over beaches, our oceans, and our lands. After looking around my bathroom I realized how much plastic was in this one room. I started researching zero-waste products.
Looking to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Trying to do my part, and help preserve our planet for future generations. I write about sustainable travel, to help make it easier for others to do the same. I hope you enjoy these zero waste bathroom products as much as I have.
Zero Waste Travel Toothpaste
The tubes are discarded every year and are packed full of ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate, triclosan, artificial dyes, and preservatives: these are harmful to our health!
The first zero-waste bathroom product I switched to was Bites toothpaste. The fresh mint with activated charcoal is my favorite flavor. I get compliments about how white my teeth look, plus my breath stays minty fresh all day.
Bites will change the way you think about toothpaste; you’ll never go back after you try them. Your first order will come with a full jar of the bites. When it’s empty, keep your jar! You will receive refills in a biodegradable package. The best part? They travel well, without the worry of an exploding toothpaste tube. what?
Zero Waste Deodorant
When I ran out of deodorant for the first time during my zero waste journey. I had a mini panic attack. CRAP, deodorant is going to be tricky since I’ve always had issues with wetness more than the smell. It’s embarrassing… seriously, not even the strongest chemical-laden deodorant on the planet could keep me from sweating. Then I remembered why I was doing this… to save our planet.
Zero Waste Deodorant Options
I’ve tried all of the deodorants above – and my favorite without a doubt is the Mood Coconut Matter all-natural, handmade, vegan, aluminum-free zero waste stick. I use the “Spring” scent and it has a beautiful floral smell that doesn’t give me a funky smell the next morning. It was the longest-lasting odor protection of the different types I’ve tried and kept its fresh scent well into the next morning. The downside is it’s not cheap.
Ethique is aluminum-free botanica. It absorbs sweat with magnesium and is vegan, baking soda free, with a lavender vanilla scent. This zero-waste deodorant is the most sustainable of the bunch coming as a naked bar with a compostable box. I loved the smell of Ethique but the bar was hard, and difficult to apply even with warming before use.
Recommended Read: “13 Unique Eco-Friendly Products” by Her Life Adventures
Currently, I’m using the PAPR stick, with the fresh citrusy scent of grapefruit. I like the way the stick application is smooth and easy. But the scent doesn’t last until the next morning, and I HATE waking up with BO. However, they use FSC certified paper from responsibly sourced forests, and for every new subscription, PAPR plants a tree in your name!
Stick Up Natural Deodorant is made with bentonite clay powder, arrowroot, magnesium, zinc, and can last up to 3-4 months. My favorite scent is the black lavender, but I didn’t like how clumpy it was. The stick would cover up the stink for a few hours, but I was having to reapply at least once a day.
What I love about these zero waste deodorants is that they are all TSA friendly like the bites toothpaste.
Zero Waste Toiletries: Shampoo
My next sustainable lifestyle switch was to Plaine Products, a zero-waste bathroom product company that delivers! They and the people that use their products are not adding more plastic bottles to the thousands of pounds of plastic already in our oceans.
Recommended Read: “Zero Waste Cleaning Products“ by Her Life Adventures
I use citrus lavender shampoo & conditioner. They smell amazing and make my hair feel clean and healthy. The shampoo is all-natural and keeps my hair cleaner for longer without getting greasy. This means fewer showers, less water waste. We don’t NEED to shower every day, you’re wasting water. I turn the shower off to soap up and wash my hair. Depending on the season I only shower a few times a week because I’m letting my body naturally balance itself.
The mission: Elimination of single-use plastics. Two sisters developed a vegan, cruelty-free, non-toxic, all-natural beauty product line. The best part? It gets delivered right to your door. For a refill, send the bottles back for recycling and swap out your pump to the new bottles you receive. Rinse your old bottles, and return them with the return label provided. Plaine Products also makes body wash, body lotion, and hand wash to make your transition to zero waste even smoother!
Naked Bar Options
I get my naked bar soaps from Moon River Soap Company, a local shop near my house (they also deliver! Yey!). The naked bar soaps are zero waste and all-natural. Each hand-poured bar from Moon River Soap Company is made with omega-rich olive oil, nurturing botanicals, and certified 100% pure essential oils. Soap is non-GMO, free from petrochemicals + sulfates + synthetic fragrance, or phthalates. The olive oil used in the soaps contains super antioxidants vitamin E + beta carotene that can stimulate cell regeneration.
Zero Waste Shower Accessories
Snag hemp, all-natural pouf, or hemp soap bag to give your skin a healthy glow. The pouf is washable so it will last longer than the plastic ones, plus it feels better on your skin.
Don’t forget to get a Moon River soap to go with your hemp pouf… They offer anti-inflammatory options that can replenish dry and sensitive skin, options to help balance troubled acne, eczema, and psoriasis.
Feminine Products
On average, women use between 11 and 30 tampons per cycle. Over a lifetime, that adds up to between 5,000 and 14,000 tampons per woman. The environmental impact of this is vast. It’s estimated that a woman averaging 20 tampons or pads per cycle burns through 250 to 300 pounds of products, applicators, and wrappers in a lifetime. I stopped using tampons about 3 years ago now. I made the switch to the DivaCup and never looked back. The DivaCup is zero waste, reusable, cost-effective, and can be worn for up to 12 hours!
Toilet Tissue for a Zero Waste Bathroom
If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper (500 sheets) with 100 percent recycled ones, we could save 423,900 trees.
Who Gives A Crap delivers environmentally friendly made toilet paper right to your door. Click HERE to get $10 off your first order! Plus they donate 50% of profits to help build toilets for those in need. To date, they’ve donated over $1,300,000 to charity and saved thousands of trees, water, and energy. Not bad for a toilet paper company!
For the more adventurous consumer, there’s the bidet. Almost 270,000 trees a day are either flushed or dumped into landfills. 10 percent of that total is attributable to toilet paper. Japan was my first international trip + first bidet experience.
Bidets are more popular outside of North America. I prefer using them over toilet paper, so I bought one to use at home. For $30 USD I’ve saved tons of money on toilet paper, and who knows how many trees (probably a lot!) I love how CLEAN I feel after using the bathroom.
We, the Privileged
For those of us who have a choice as a consumer…
It’s time to say NO to single-use plastic.
For those of us with the freedom of speech, it’s time to speak up for environmental justice.
The time to act is YESTERDAY, our planet is dying.
The science is undeniable and WE- the human inhabitants are the ones killing it.
Zero Waste Activism
- Make small changes towards a zero-waste bathroom + single-use plastic-free planet.
- This is no longer a matter of if we WANT to be “environmentally friendly”.
Truthfully it’s not easy. You have to learn what is causing the environmental disasters and how. You have to research the company that makes the product so you know if they use sustainable practices. Shopping locally helps reduce CO2 admissions from shipping. There are so many little things you can do easily that make a huge difference. If our nations and the politicians running them continue to take this environmental emergency seriously- we the people MUST. It’s up to us. Consider others that are suffering at your expense – the plastic waste making it across oceans and polluting drinking water. Think of the future generations. Your kids, your family, your grandkids. They are the ones that will be left to clean up the mess our planet has become.
Will they thank us for the condition we left the planet in 30 years from now?
I can’t imagine they will
Or will they be like my generation? Millennials, Gen Z, we’ve been learning about climate change and the dangers it presents since we were kids. We’ve grown up scared and anxious in a world where the climate crisis it’s not taken seriously. Watching the horrible effects of the lack of action that previous generations have taken, KNOWING what we must do but without the power to make the decisions that could change everything.
Growing up it’s always been “X% emissions reduction in 10 years”…
20 years later – “X% of emissions reductions by 2020”
Today, it’s “achieve a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050.”
Zero Waste Actions Must Take Place Now
SERIOUSLY?! THAT IS 30 YEARS FROM NOW! That is not nearly fast enough. I understand that making systematic changes doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, years. But lowering car emissions isn’t the only solution we should be working towards. Why are companies still using plastic for everything instead of switching to compostable plastic or bamboo? Because of money. Why are toxic chemicals still being used in the makeup and clothing industries?
The solutions are there, it’s a matter of getting companies to make the switch even if they don’t want to because it will hurt the bottom line. The politicians who have the power to make these changes do not act. Instead, we get promises of change that we won’t even be alive to see. These are the same people who have been “working on climate change” since the 80’s when I was born. So I’ll be in my late 60’s IF we meet that goal?!
How many generations will it take to come through on these promises?
How many generations must suffer and clean up the mess of a planet their parent’s left them?
YES. I AM ANGRY. Our planet is dying, and we have the power to heal her. Everyone should be angry. Just as we should all be taking responsibility for contributing and correcting what we have individually done.
What are your favorite zero waste products? I’d love to hear about the switches you’ve made to live a more sustainable lifestyle!
Comment below and let me know your thoughts on the products I’m recommending! Don’t forget to pin it!
