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Are you always looking for ways to make your life more environmentally friendly? Me too! Once you start, it’s pretty addictive. That’s one reason I love working with Save Money Cut Carbon. They have so many ways to a more eco friendly life.
Last month, I talked about how to make your holiday more eco friendly, and before that, I looked at easy ways to encourage kids to be more environmentally aware. This month I’m talking about easy ways to make your bathroom routine more environmentally friendly.
Now this is an area I’ve been working on for a long time now, so these are not new to me. However as I’ve been on this journey for a long time now, it’s good to get back to basics. So read on for easy ways to make your bathroom routine more environmentally friendly.
1. Stop Throwing Away Cotton Wool
Cotton wool pads are the epitome of waste, in my opinion. Cotton is a very thirsty crop. It also needs pesticides and fertiliser unless it’s organically grown. Plus cotton wool pads come in single use plastic wrapping. So swapping to reusable pads just makes sense. Over time, it also saves money too. Yes, they do end up looking a little manky when you’ve removed your mascara. But for me that’s a very small price to pay.
These Bambaw Reusable Make-up Remover Pads are made of a combination of bamboo and cotton. They come with a little mesh bag to keep them together when you wash them. This 16-pack set contains 12 soft pads for sensitive areas and everyday make-up, plus 4 terry cloth pads which are good for exfoliation. I use the softer ones for removing mascara and then soak the terry cloth ones in warm water to remove my oil cleanser. It feels lush.
I also use one of my old ones to remove nail varnish. As long as you rinse it out really well and wash it quickly with a bit of soap before you pop it in your washing machine, I don’t think there’s any harm in this. It will stain, but that’s good as it means you’ll only use it for nail varnish in future.
2. Swap to Plastic-Free Plasters
Did you know that regular plasters are mostly made of plastic? Well there is another option now – Nutricare Patches are natural bamboo strip bandages that compost in under 3 months.
They come in a robust cardboard tube, which is so much better than those flimsy boxes that get squashed or torn immediately! They fully compost at home in just a few months – 11 weeks to be exact. Plus they are hypoallergenic, so they shouldn’t cause a reaction even on sensitive skin.
Free from latex, plastics, parabens, sulphates and merthiolate, they are also certified as a Class 1 Sterile Medical Device. Made of organic bamboo with aloe vera, coconut oil and activated charcoal, these eco-friendly plasters are naturally breathable.
3. Use Plastic-Free Bamboo Cotton Buds
Thankfully the government has banned plastic-stemmed cotton buds, but that doesn’t mean high street cotton buds are plastic-free. They are packaged in a plastic box or bag, and that means we’re still contributing to the plastic problem when we buy them.
These eco-friendly cotton buds have compostable bamboo sticks, free from coatings, and they come in fully recyclable and compostable packaging. Bamboo is a fast-growing, naturally compostable material and it’s stronger than the paper alternative.
4. Try More Environmentally Friendly Tooth Care
Every plastic toothbrush ever used is still hanging around on the earth. A sobering thought. I made the switch to bamboo toothbrushes a few years ago and have been really happy with this change. But my husband isn’t convinced. He is pretty wedded to his electric toothbrush and I don’t blame him: they make teeth feel so clean don’t they!
So thankfully you can now get these LiveCoco Recyclable Brush Heads, so you can have the best of both worlds. They are also suitable for children over eight years old so we’ve dusted off the kids electric toothbrushes too. They also like their bamboo toothbrushes but I do think an electric one is better if possible for the kids. Live CoCo’s free UK closed-loop recycling scheme means that they can guarantee the recycling of their products.
These brush heads have charcoal-infused bristles too and work brilliantly with our plastic-free toothpaste tablets.
We’ve also been trying plastic-free silk dental floss, which comes on a corn starch reel, in a glass jar with a metal lid. This fully biodegradable, compostable dental floss is made from silk.
Dental floss can tangle and wrap around things when it reaches the sea, so this is a great step forward.
5. Squeeze Away Waste
When you use up every scrap of your products, you’re minimising waste, as well as saving money. Have you ever cut open a tube you think you’ve finished? There is always loads left. My favourite CC Cream is the worst for this, there is usually at least two weeks’ worth of cream left even if it feels empty!
This stainless steel tube squeezer helps get every last drop out of your tube of toothpaste, make-up, face and body creams, even tomato puree and paint! Plus you can use it over and over again.
Just slide the key in at the bottom of the tube and twist, to easily squeeze it out.
You can then recycle your toothpaste tubes at your nearest TerraCycle station (not in your curb side recycling as they don’t accept them.)
A Few Bonus Ways to Make Your Bathroom Routine More Environmentally Friendly
Other things to try are bars. You can get great solid shampoo bars, conditioner bars, body wash, facial cleanser and even body lotion and deodorant bars now.
Choosing toiletries like cleanser and deodorant in glass containers instead of plastic is also something to consider. Buying plastic-free bamboo toilet paper is an easy environmentally friendly bathroom change too.
And swapping plastic scrubbing gloves for sisal exfoliation mitts, or making your own body scrub out of coffee grounds is also one I recommend.
So now you have all the info on easy ways to make your bathroom regime more environmentally friendly, you can check them all out at Save Money Cut Carbon!
Please Pin this guide to making your bathroom routine more environmentally friendly for later, and spread the word about easy eco choices!
