6 Eco swaps you can try now to get started on your greener journey.

By @Consciously_Harri

I remember starting on my greener, more sustainable journey feeling a little overwhelmed by all the choices out there, not knowing what some of the products were or how to use them. People like Conscious Turtle & I want to help show you that there are some really simple, easy first swaps you can make in your lifestyle that will get you off to a great start & dramatically reduce your plastic consumption & environmental impact immediately.

The purpose of this blog is to show you our Top 6 suggestions for plastic free, eco swaps you can make right now with little to no effort! So don’t hesitate any longer. Head over to the Conscious Turtle store right now, or after you’ve read this blog, & purchase these easy 6 items.

You’ll be on your journey to a more sustainable lifestyle today!

1. Re-usable Cup

Simple right! You would be surprised just how many people don’t use a reusable cup to this day! Or you might not be. Regardless, I think these facts are alarming. This is the first, most basic swap to make when choosing to embark on a greener journey.

“An estimated 2.5bn throwaway coffee cups are used in the UK every year by consumers buying coffee from chains and cafes, creating approximately 25,000 tonnes of waste.”

“Up to 7m coffee cups are thrown away in the UK every day. The plastic film lining the paper cups means they are rarely recyclable.”

Source: TheGuardian 

The Huski Home Travel Cup 400ml - £9.99

“It’s only 1 disposable cup… said 1 billion people”.

 

I have to admit when I saw this quote on Instagram it made me realise WOW, I have been that person that forgot their reusable cup & thought just that. It’s comments like this & the statistics above that motivate me to turn down a coffee on the go unless I have my reusable cup with me. 

The HuskiHome Travel Cup is a fantastic reusable cup made from coffee husk.

The coffee husk is the green external casing of the coffee bean. It’s 100% natural & biodegradable. A material which would otherwise have been waste but has been repurposed into this amazing coffee cup.

The materials used are non-toxic & silicone free. It features a leak-proof flip lid, non-slip base & can be used for hot or cold drinks with it’s insulated twin walled design/

I absolutely love this product for the fact that it is made from sustainable materials. By purchasing this product, you will have an even bigger positive impact on the environment compared to other high street versions on the market that can be made of plastic.

Click Here - link to the product    

2. Toothbrush

According to research carried out by Foreo,1 billion toothbrushes are thrown away each year in the US alone.

Foreo states…

“That’s enough to stretch around the Earth 4 times”

Which equates to approximately 22,679,618 kilograms of toothbrushes added to US landfill every year, according to Foreo.

That’s just the United States of America. So, imagine the plastic toothbrush waste from the rest of the world added to these statistics. That’s a staggering amount, from just one product in your bathroom.

It takes over 500 years for a plastic toothbrush to break down into micro plastics, and for that reason, it never really goes away, but rather then becomes a threat to the environment furthermore with evidence that micro plastics are…

“one of the greatest man-made disasters of our time.”

As quoted by The Natural History Museum.

Hydrophil Bamboo Toothbrush - £3.99

 So help contribute to our planets recovery & make the Hydrophil Bamboo toothbrush the next eco swap on your list.

 This product is made from Moso bamboo which is 100 % biodegradable. The bristles are almost entirely plant based. This is quite normal for most bamboo toothbrushes as 100% plant-based bristles don’t quite do the job… yet. However, this is still a huge reduction in plastic.

When your toothbrush comes to the end of its life, you can either snap the head of the toothbrush off or use some pliers to remove the bristles before putting the handle in your compost.

I’m a huge fan of getting as much life out of our products before they go into compost, so I would recommend using your toothbrush for cleaning those hard-to-reach small areas as well as using them as plant name tags in your veg plot.

I’ll give you a laugh at my expense. I’ve told my followers that they really have no excuse not to make this swap to a bamboo toothbrush when I have had a rather hilarious, to some, phobia of putting wood in my mouth. Yes, I have been the brunt of many jokes in my family, but it is, or was, a real thing. I knew that if I was going to make any impact on the recovery of our planet & take a more sustainable approach to life, then I had to overcome this silly, but rather severe, phobia of mine.

So come on, I challenge you. They really are a great swap & I absolutely love my Hydrophil toothbrush. Help reduce the quantity of plastic & micro plastic on our planet & join the bamboo toothbrush revolution! VIVA LA BAMBOO!

Click Here - link to the product                

3. Soap

Changing your hand soap to a bar soap instead of the plastic pump variety, is possibly one of the easiest, zero hassle eco swaps you could make, whilst at the same time having a huge impact on the environment & drastically reducing your plastic consumption.

An article from the Telegraph shows that bars of soap are making a clear comeback over the plastic pump variety, and the article included this interesting statement…

“Bottled pump soap became popular on the mass market in the late Nineties, as it was seen as a more hygienic alternative to bars, which were viewed as potentially harboring germs and dirt. 

Since then multiple scientific studies have proved this is a myth.” 

Source: The Telegraph 

So there is every reason to make this swap today! Don’t believe everything you are told & always do your own research, is what we can learn from this statement.

Hydrophil Lemongrass Vegan Soap - £4.50

       

This soap has so much going for it.

It is:

• Vegan
• Palm oil free
• Suitable for your hands, body, or hair
• Handmade
• Made using Organic ingredients, such as, olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil & shea butter

It contains essential oils & is 100% plastic free due to it’s craft cardboard box packaging.

Make this easy, affordable & sustainable swap today ensuring your environmental impact is as minimal as possible.

Click Here - link to the product   

4. Deodorant

A quick search on the internet on the effects of high street deodorants will provide you with a plethora of articles detailing research as to how these unsustainable aerosol's and plastic deodorants have a huge negative impact on both your health and the environment.

An article published by Natural Quest states: 

“deodorants do pose a great threat to our environment. Many of you might get stunned with this fact; a conventional deodorant contains triclosan, formaldehyde, parabens, diethanolamine (DEA), aluminium, aerosol (as propellant) etc like chemicals. All of these have bad effect on body as well as environment and most of us are unaware with severe damage caused by deodorants.”

So this next plastic free, sustainable, eco-friendly swap can not only have a positive impact on the environment, but also your own personal health. With even a hint of potential negative effects on your health using high street brands, I think it worthwhile to make this next swap a priority.

Kutis Vegan Natural Deodorant - £6.45 

This deodorant is handmade in the UK with 100% natural ingredients. The smell of these deodorants is lovely & fresh, which I think comes down to the fact that they do not contain any synthetic additives.

This clever cardboard push-up tube design makes it similar to the usual high street brands in terms of use without the mountain of waste. You just push up from the base & the deodorant slides out.

I found this brand to be really effective in terms of its actual job & it also comes with a host of other commendable features:

• Vegan
• Palm oil free
• 100% natural ingredients
• 100% biodegradable packaging
• Very reasonable price

Click Here - link to the product    

5. Safety Razor

Next up on our list of plastic free swaps you can make right now is the shaving razor!

The usual Highstreet disposable, or plastic, razor is a nightmare for our planet as they cannot be recycled due to the way they are made with mixed materials, not to mention their sharp dangerous nature.

Therefore, the waste generated by these throw away products is staggering & something which all of us can stop with an immediate move to a reusable safety razor.

"In 2018 approximately 5.5 million people in the UK were using disposable razors. It doesn’t take much to work out that that is a vast amount of plastic being used and then thrown away each week."

Source: independent.co.uk - report posted in May 2020 

If you’re nervous about making the move to a safety razor, don’t be. However, I can relate as I too was a little apprehensive about making the move due to the sharper more exposed nature of these types of razors. But it’s in the name, “safety razor”. These are perfectly safe & extremely easy to use & I actually think the end result of using this type of razor is far better than the cheap throw away plastic versions.

Jungle Culture Bamboo Safety Razor - £17.99

These safety razors are a great brand for making the move to this sustainable option.

The bamboo handle is great for grip & comfort as well as looking stylish & sleek. The razor comes in a kraft paper box with an organic jute travel pouch, which is a bonus compared to other brands. The razors are double edged & can be used up to 8 times on each side, so that’s 16 uses in one razor!

The razor blades are recyclable & can be disposed of in metal recycling bins. To ensure they are recycled safely, bulk store your blades in a metal recyclable container & then dispose of in your metal recycling.

This really is a great first swap to make at the beginning of your eco journey & one I wish I had made earlier. However, no regrets. We’re all here now doing our bit & that’s what matters. 

Click Here - link to the product   

6. Makeup Removal Pads 

A product that features in most households I expect. Cotton wool pads, which tend to come wrapped in unrecyclable plastic packaging.

Cotton wool pads are not environmentally friendly, despite being made of cotton, due to the huge amounts of water needed in its production.

A report from WWF on the impact of cotton states: 

“Production and processing of cotton uses a large amount of water. Some experts contend that cotton is the largest user of water among all agricultural commodities. Surface and ground waters are often diverted to irrigate cotton fields, leading to freshwater loss through evaporation, and inefficient water management.”

These reusable makeup pads can also replace those pesky makeup wipes that we know of all too well in the UK in the form of a Gigantic Fatberg.

Not only was this a disgusting sight, but the environmental impact from wet wipes is catastrophic with wet wipes contributing to further microplastic pollution in our oceans.

The Evening Express reported the following: 

“Volunteers combing the coastline last year found an average of 18 wet wipes per 100 metres, making them the third most common litter item on UK beaches in 2020.”

So this final eco swap is vital to save & protect our planet’s resources & it really is an easy swap to make. Pair it with your favourite makeup removal product & you’ll be saving water consumption & plastic pollution time & time again with every use.

 Leave No Trace Reusable Hemp & Cotton Makeup Pads - £9.00

These hemp & cotton makeup pads are so soft & extremely durable with their 3-ply material design.  They are absorbent & long lasting & can be washed easily within your usual washing cycles.

These should be washed in a mesh bag to prevent loss in the machine.

They are:

• Handmade in the UK
• Made from 70% Hemp & 30% Cotton
• Come in a pack of 6 or a pack of 8 with a mesh bag.
• Very reasonable price

Click Here - link to the product   

 I hope you can see from the content in this blog that these 6 eco swaps are a great start to any sustainable lifestyle journey & they are swaps that can be made right now with little to no effort. Living a sustainable lifestyle is accessible to everyone & with the awareness of the facts included in this blog & what we are currently doing to our planet, I hope you will see just how important it is to make these small, but ultimately significant sustainable swaps.

It has been a pleasure to write this blog for Conscious Turtle & I hope it will inspire many of you to purchase these fantastic items through the Conscious Turtle shop.

Together we can make great change. We often don’t see the impact we individuals have on the planet, but please know that each single person’s change, is a change in the eco piece of pie as it were.

Times that by all the individuals who are making positive change & it will be felt on a global scale.

Thanks again Amy for asking me to feature as a guest writer for your fantastic site & thank you all for reading. Please do come & follow me on Instagram @Consciously_Harri

Harri

x 

 

Consciously_Harri 

Website 

Consciously_Harri is a blogger & instagrammer who started her journey to a more sustainable lifestyle during the first lockdown in 2020. Seeing the planet flourish & almost heal slightly whilst the human race was forced to pause, gave Harri perspective that she could no longer continue living her life in the same way. It wasn’t sustainable. 

After watching David Attenborough’s latest documentary at the time, she felt compelled to share her journey through her blog & Instagram so that other new comers to this journey may feel supported & inspired to make sustainable lifestyle swaps in their life.