5 Product Swaps for a Sustainable 2022
One of my favorite quotes says, “We don’t need a few people doing zero-waste perfectly, we need lots of people doing it imperfectly.” The idea of living zero-waste is daunting and seemingly unattainable, which I completely understand. I might spend the whole day composting my food scraps and avoiding plastic, but then when I want takeout, it comes in a Styrofoam container with plastic forks and soy sauce packets that inevitably end up in the garbage.
It is hard to live zero-waste, but no one is asking you to do it perfectly! I mean, yes, ideally we would stop adding to the landfills entirely, but let’s be realistic. With 2022 looming, it is time to think about the basic steps you can take to live a more sustainable lifestyle in the new year and, most importantly, to DO YOUR PART! Swapping out products you use every day for a readily available, cost-effective, and sustainable alternative is the first easy step. We’ll get you set up with your composting system later.
1. Sustainable Shampoo
Do you wash your hair? I hope so. You can do so without buying a new plastic bottle every few months.
Shampoo bars are a favorite of mine. I feel fancy when I use them, they’re cheap, and I give them to everyone when I need a gift idea. More than 500 MILLION shampoo bottles are discarded each year, and yes, some of those are probably yours. If even 10% of us switched to shampoo bars (that come in sustainable packaging), that is 50 MILLION bottles that will not end up in the landfill. You can pick up shampoo bars at
Target or
Trader Joe's or buy them online from some of the sustainable brands that offset their carbon footprint of shipping and use recyclable packaging materials, like
EcoRoots.
2. Hand Soap Alternatives
Do you wash your hands? I REALLY hope so. You can do so without buying a new bottle every time you think about the pandemic.
I used to be
a sucker for the holiday scents and decorative bottles before I started paying attention to my impact. Making this switch was as easy; I spent about $30 on glass soap dispersers for all of my bathrooms and started buying soap in bulk. There is even a company that will ship you soap in recyclable milk cartons
(Clean Cult) to remove plastic from the equation altogether.
3. Compostable Sponges (or Luffas!)
Do you wash dishes? I’m sure you’d rather not, but you probably do.
Most sponges contain plastic, especially on the scrubber part, that eventually breakdown into microplastics and contaminate the planet. Luckily for us and the planet, there are sponges that are fully compostable!
Trader Joe's has sponges made entirely from vegetable cellulose or you can use an all-natural
luffa (which is just a fruit!). I throw my compostable sponges right in my compost, but you can just bury them in your garden or a corner of your yard. As they break down, they will nourish your garden or yard.
4. Dishwasher and Laundry Detergent Pods
Do you have/use a dishwasher or laundry machine? Here’s looking at you!
The biggest issue with the standard detergents is the bottles they come in. Not every city/county can recycle these containers, and even if they can, PLASTIC = BAD. I really do talk about
Dropps every chance I get because they are plastic-free, carbon-neutral, and I literally never run out of detergent because they deliver it right to my door seemingly every time I’m running low. Detergent pods come in cardboard boxes that, you guessed it, can be recycled or composted!
5. Reusable Grocery and Produce Bags
I will say that every time I am at the grocery, I cringe. Not only are the chips wrapped in plastic, but then broccoli and BANANAS (which, guys, doesn’t need to be bagged) go into plastic bags, and then those plastic bags go into more plastic bags. My soul. It’s crushed. But, alas, there are simple solutions. Reusable bags are so inexpensive and easy to keep on hand. Keep some in your car, some in your closet, some in your everywhere, so you will always have them when you need them. And THEN, get yourself some produce bags. You will feel so fancy bagging your broccoli and your conscience will be clear. Now, we just have to work on the chips.
If I could make one blanket suggestion to help you have a more sustainable 2022, I would say to
think about what you do every day. Think about the products you use every day. Odds are there is a sustainable alternative that will save you money and help save the planet. Choose 2022 to be the year you do your part!
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