Zero Wastes Swaps For You To Try: Bathroom Edition

There are many different hygiene/bathroom products you may need to use that produce a lot of waste. In this post, I'll show you several eco-friendly products that you may or may not know about. Try making at least one swap every month, while transitioning towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Keep in mind that you should only buy these products once you are finished with what they will be replacing. A big part of sustainability is only buying things you absolutely need and using everything for as long as they can last. You can also reference one of my other posts Why Is Plastic So Bad for more information about why you should try to avoid plastic. Important note: I am not sponsored by or affiliated with any brands I mention.

Now for the swaps:

1. Instead of a plastic toothbrush, try a bamboo toothbrush.

Everyone uses four plastic toothbrushes a year (if you switch it out every three months). That's 1,308,800,000 toothbrushes thrown out every year in the U.S. only. Those toothbrushes will never biodegrade. Consider switching to a bamboo toothbrush. They are usually compostable and can be found at online retailers such as Amazon or Etsy.

2. Instead of conventional (usually plastic) floss, try silk floss.

Normal floss is usually made of plastic or nylon, neither of which will biodegrade, and comes in a plastic container which will also never biodegrade. A more eco-friendly alternative is silk floss. It is 100% biodegradable and it usually comes in a reusable/recyclable glass jar.

3. Instead of toothpaste in a plastic tube, try Lush Toothy Tabs or a homemade toothpaste.

Obviously, the tube that most toothpaste comes in is made of plastic and is not usually recyclable. You can try Lush Toothy Tabs which are tablets that you chew, that foam up when they mix with saliva or a homemade toothpaste which usually consists of coconut oil, baking soda, and essential oils. The Toothy Tabs come in a recyclable/reusable glass bottle, and you can usually find the ingredients for the homemade toothpaste in glass or in bulk. Be advised that neither of these alternative toothpastes contain fluoride, so if fluoride is something you find you need in toothpaste, these may not be best for you.

4. Instead of soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions in plastic bottles, try them in bar form or from refill services.

You can find these products virtually unpackaged in bar form on Lush, Etsy, or other online retailers and some stores too. Some refill services are Loop and Plaine Products. When you order from these services they send you products in metal bottles that can be sent back and refilled.

5. Instead of a normal loofah or sponge in the shower try a natural loofah, a sea sponge, a washcloth, or just your hands.

Sponges and loofahs can collect germs and grow mold, so they have to be replaced frequently which is problematic since conventional ones are made of plastic and won't break down once discarded. Instead, you can try natural loofahs that grow on plants or sea sponges that are harvested from the seafloor. These are both 100% biodegradable. You can also just use a washcloth or your hands.

6. Instead of conventional disposable period products, try cloth pads, a menstrual cup, or sea sponge tampons.

If you think that all that is in a tampon or pad is cotton, you're wrong. Menstrual products can contain many different chemicals, plastics, and fragrances, and companies aren't forced to disclose the ingredients. Pretty sketchy, huh? Also, these chemicals and plastics can be harmful for you and the environment and they will never break down. Every menstruator uses up to 16,000 menstrual products in their lifetime. That's a lot of money you're paying for something you are just throwing away a little while later and a lot of trash you are producing. One eco-friendly alternative is reusable pads, which are cloth menstrual pads that snap around your underwear and can be washed after you use them. Another sustainable alternative is a menstrual cup, a silicone cup that you fold then insert up your vagina like a tampon, that collects blood and can be left in for up to 12 hours before having to empty and rinse it out before reinserting. A last reusable alternative is sea sponge tampons, which are sea sponges that you wet, then insert into you to absorb your menstrual blood, then they can be removed, washed, and reinserted.

You can find all these products online and certain brands or menstrual cups in stores. Although they can be expensive upfront they will save you money in the long run. If you for some reason cannot use any of these products you can use natural disposable products, which while still being disposable they don't contain plastics and harmful chemicals.

7. Instead of normal, plastic-wrapped toilet paper, try paper-wrapped recycled toilet paper or a bidet.

Most toilet paper is wrapped in non-recyclable plastic and requires lots of trees to be cut down in order to make it. Instead of this, you can get paper-wrapped recycled toilet paper at almost any store that sells toilet paper. You can also use a bidet sprayer which is a hose thing that attaches to the clean water part of your toilet that you can use to spray yourself down after you do your business.

I hope you enjoyed this post and that you try some of these eco-friendly alternatives. If you would like me to go into more detail about any of these swaps comment down below. If you liked this post, please click the heart and share it with your friends.

See you soon,

Margo