As the circumstances surrounding global warming continue to get worse and worse, it is more crucial than ever that consumers are thinking about the future when buying their products and going with eco-friendly options instead of regular, wasteful items. While the vast majority of consumers are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to climate change, there are still a lot that are not.
Luckily the younger generation is picking up the slack of older generations, with approximately 68 percent of millennials regularly buying eco-friendly products. If you are interested in achieving a lower carbon footprint, then you may want to consider purchasing these ten great eco-friendly alternatives to items that you use every day.
1. Fabric Napkins
An inevitable fact in life is that you will spill something at some point. This is especially true if you live in a household with young children, in which case spills will occur on a daily basis. Rather than going through an entire roll of paper towels every week or so, it is much better for the environment if you instead have a pile of fabric napkins that you can use for these situations.
Unlike the standard paper towels and paper napkins, these fabric napkins are reusable and can often last several years before needing to be replaced. The amount of resources that are required to help wash a pile of fabric napkins every week is a lot less damaging towards the environment than the resources and waste that go toward producing and consuming single-use paper towels.
2. Reusable Water Bottles
It should come as no surprise that one of the biggest threats to our oceans is the ridiculous amount of plastic that is piling up in them. Even with the presence of a nationwide recycling program, it is estimated that over 90 percent of water bottles still end up being dumped in landfills every year. That is why it is a much better option to purchase and use a reusable water bottle rather than drinking from plastic water bottles.
3. Rechargeable Batteries
Since batteries are composed of various chemicals and materials that are not particularly good for the environment, it only makes sense that tossing them into the garbage is not very environmentally friendly. That is why every person should be purchasing a couple sets of rechargeable batteries and regularly charging them up and reusing them instead of going out and purchasing more single-use batteries.
4. Reusable Grocery Bags
With the average person going grocery shopping approximately 1.6 times a week, it is no surprise that Americans use hundreds of billions of plastic bags every year. Unfortunately, the first thing that many homeowners do when they get back from grocery shopping and finish unloading the groceries is throw away the plastic bags or put them into a cupboard where they will never be used and eventually will be thrown out anyway.
Rather than contributing to the already excessive plastic problem that plagues our landfills, a much better option is to purchase a few reusable grocery bags and start taking them with you when you go grocery shopping.
5. Beeswax Wrap
Anyone who has ever attempted to use plastic cling wrap knows the struggle of trying to get it to work properly. So not only is this material is not good for the environment but it is not good for your mental health since it increases your stress rolls any time you attempt to use it. To save both yourself and the environment, start purchasing beeswax wrap instead.
This material is generally constructed using a combination of cotton, beeswax, tree resin, and various oils. The result is a product that works just as well as plastic cling-wrap but it is much easier to use and is able to significantly lower your carbon footprint.
6. Natural Deodorant
When people think of products that are slowly destroying our environment, deodorant is likely not one of the first things that will come to mind. However, a large percentage of deodorants use ingredients that are not particularly eco-friendly, such as aluminum.
If you want to smell good but also be helping the environment at the same time, then you are better off going with a natural deodorant instead. These are made without the use of aluminum and include only natural ingredients that are harmless to the environment.
7. Stainless Steel & Bamboo Straws
One product that has been recently going through a major overhaul is plastic straws. The vast majority of food and beverage businesses are now switching to paper straws rather than plastic ones. However, an even better option for personal use at home is stainless steel straws or bamboo straws. These handy products can be washed and reused rather than thrown away after you are done with them.
8. Natural Cleaning Products
Everyone wants to live in a clean house, which means that every home is typically going to need an arsenal of cleaning products. The problem with the vast majority of cleaning products is that they use harmful ingredients in order to break through tough stains and spills. If you are interested in getting a great clean while also not posing a risk to the environment, then it is worth purchasing some natural cleaning products to start using, which only include eco-friendly materials.
9. Biodegradable Trash Bags
Doing your part and only throwing away items that cannot be recycled or composted is great for the environment, but you are not maximizing your eco-friendly capabilities if you are still using plastic garbage bags. Instead, switch to biodegradable trash bags which are BPI certified and proven to pose no risk to the environment.
10. Compostable K-Cups
Most of the traditional single-use coffee pods are created using plastic that is not recyclable. Therefore, coffee machine owners are forced to throw away pods every single day, adding up to billions of coffee pods being thrown into landfills every year.
Rather than continue to use these harmful single-use coffee pods, you should make the switch to 100 percent compostable coffee pods. By using eco-friendly coffee pods that are made of completely compostable materials, you can throw your used pod into the compost bin and know that it will not be harming the environment.