Making Sustainable Swaps for a Better Planet

Many of us want to live in a way that’s better for our planet, but the journey to sustainability can seem overwhelming. How about starting with small steps—sustainability swaps around your home?

Let’s start with plastics. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only about 9% of plastic is ever recycled. And our lifestyles contain a lot of plastic. For example, if we followed the American Dental Association’s recommendation to replace our toothbrushes every 3 to 4 months, more than 1 billion toothbrushes would end up in the trash every year. Add floss, toothpaste, and other dental items, and the amount of waste going to landfills becomes huge.

DENTAL CARE:

• 100% biodegradable dental floss that comes in a refillable glass bottle.
• Replace plastic toothbrushes with bamboo ones.
• Toothpaste tablets, powder and other products that come in refillable glass bottles instead of plastic tubes.
• Mouthwash tablets, powder and concentrate in recyclable glass bottles: You chew some of these products, while other tablets are designed to dissolve in water for gargling.

SHOWER SWAPS:

• Solid shampoo and conditioner bars.
• Bar soap in paper-based packaging, more environmentally friendly than body wash in plastic bottles.
• Plastic-free recyclable, reusable razors made of zinc alloy and stainless steel. Swapping to these would help reduce the 2 billion single-use plastic razors thrown away every year.

LAUNDRY SWAPS:

• Did you know that over 700 million plastic laundry detergent jugs go into U.S. landfills every single year? Use refillable detergent: Buy the container once, and refills arrive in paper bags.
• Avoid the container altogether by switching to 100% biodegradable, all-natural laundry detergent sheets.
• Instead of dryer sheets and liquid fabric softener, use biodegradable wool dryer balls to soften and fluff your laundry.
• Prevent microfibers from synthetic clothing from entering the water supply with products like mesh washing bags and laundry balls. A 2019 study by researchers from the University of Toronto and the Ocean Conservancy found that laundry balls and filters that you install outside your washing machine are effective in keeping microfibers out of rivers and lakes.

These swaps show how you can make your life more sustainable every day. If you want to make your packaging more sustainable as well, contact us!