I have changed many everyday habits over the last three years. Somewhere along the way, I decided to become a more conscious consumer. For me, this means thinking more deeply about the products I buy, and how they are made. I think about three aspects — the impact on the environment, other people and animals.
In practice, this means looking for products which are zero or low-waste, locally produced, ethical and fair-trade, vegan and not tested on animals.
I also try not to buy products I don’t need, from a minimalist and a financial perspective. I want quality items that will not end up in landfill, but I also like things that are cheap! Whilst it can be tricky to tick all of these boxes, I believe the following 13 items can be easily found and swapped.
1. Reusable water bottle
Stainless steel is best as it will last the longest and not break when you inevitably drop it. I put this in my handbag everyday and take this everywhere! You will save money, the environment and wildlife by not buying plastic water bottles. In Australia, we are lucky enough to have tap water that is clean, safe and basically free. Tests have shown that bottled water is the same quality, and in some cases worse, than tap water. Why buy it for 1000x the price?
2. Use a bio-degradable bamboo toothbrush and send your toothpaste tubes to Terracycle
Think about all of those plastic toothbrushes you have used in your life — they are all still sitting in a landfill somewhere! Find yourself a bio-degradable bamboo toothbrush and feel way less guilty. Unfortunately zero-waste toothpaste tablets aren’t available in Australia yet, so in the mean time I collect and send all of my used toothpaste tubes to a company called Terracycle, who recycle them into various products. You can also send other empty beauty and make-up tubes too — check it out here!
3. Reusable razor
Similarly with the toothbrushes, imagine all of those used plastic razors sitting in landfill! I bought this beautiful “safety” razor from The Shaver Shop. The outlay is a little more expensive than a disposable razor, but over time I believe it will work out cheaper. I can’t see the base breaking anytime soon, which hopefully means I will have it for life. The only thing I need to replace is the blades, which I can easily recycle by placing the used ones in a tin and recycle as normal through Council. Zero-waste!
4. Deodorant paste
This stuff is so much healthier than regular deodorant, you could probably eat it! I’ve tried a few different natural deodorants and this one actually works. It is also vegan and not tested on animals — yay. This tin can be re-filled or recycled. Locally made is 10x better so try to find a local business who makes this, or alternatively you could make it yourself. I am not there yet!
5. Shampoo and conditioner bars
I actually haven’t used these yet as I’m still finishing off a few plastic bottles of shampoo, but I am so excited to see how they work! I have heard great things about these bars, and especially this brand Ethique. The shower container is durable, yet compostable at the end of it’s life, the packaging is all cardboard and can be recycled, with not a scrap of plastic in sight. These bars are more expensive than a bottle of shampoo or conditioner, but I have heard they last for ages so in the long run they are not much more than normal. They work wonderfully, they are ethically and sustainably produced, zero-waste and made of natural ingredients — what more could you want?!
6. Good old bi-carb and vinegar!
We use bi-carb and vinegar for most of our cleaning at home. All you need to clean a bathroom is bi-carb, water and a scrubbing brush. I believe this option is way better for the environment and for my health, compared to using lots of different cleaning chemicals PLUS it is much cheaper!
7. Bring your own jars and buy food from bulk bins
Find a local health food shop that sells items in bulk bins to save money and plastic use. Buying from small local businesses is also a win for our communities. Every week, we bring in our own jars, they get weighed and then we fill up with all kinds of staples including rice, flour, sugar, oats, chickpeas, lentils, tea, spices, nuts and dried fruit. Some shops even have things like peanut butter and tahini on tap, laundry and dishwashing powder, as well as liquids including vinegar, shampoo and conditioner. No need for hundreds of plastic packets or bottles, and you can buy the quantity you need. The shop we go to labels where the food is from, so it is easy for us to choose locally produced or grown to reduce our footprint even further. We have compared many products to major supermarkets and in a lot of cases, it is cheaper to buy this way! Win-win.
8. Buy loose leaf tea and use a strainer
Get yourself a strainer or tea pot and buy loose leaf teas (from that handy bulk food shop I just mentioned) to save using thousands of plastic lined tea bags. Better yet, know where your tea comes from and ensure it is ethically produced and fair-trade.
9. Buy second-hand items from op-shops or garage sales
This is true recycling — sharing items within our communities so they can be used over and over again. We needed extra bowls, plates and glasses for a party and instead of buying cheap new ones from a massive unethical chain store or disposable items that would just end up in landfill, we bought second-hand items for the same price. They are in great condition, and it feels so much better to know we are using something that was no longer needed by someone else, rather than unnecessarily creating a demand for a new product.
10. Compostable bin liners
I hate plastic bags with a passion. They are usually completely unnecessary. We no longer line any of our bins except for our compost bin. For this bin, we use these compostable bags supplied by our Council. We then place all of our food and organics waste into our green Council bin to be commercially composted. If your Council offers this “green waste” service, please sign up and use it! You will save so much waste from going to landfill and it means your food scraps can serve a purpose again rather than slowly rotting inside plastic bags and emitting harmful greenhouse gases.
11. Use glass containers and take one with you when buying food out
We have a lovely little collection of these now and I love them. I prefer glass containers as I can heat my food in them with no concern about the effects of heating plastic. I bring leftovers to work in them almost everyday. Alternatively if I know I’m going to get lunch out e.g. sushi, I try to bring my own container. If I forget, I eat in to prevent using wasteful packaging. These are so much better than those awful plastic take-away containers that ultimately end up in landfill. Just like a reusable coffee cup, all you have to do is ask! All of the places I have asked so far have allowed this.
12. Recycled toilet paper and paper towel
It blows my mind that we still cut down beautiful forests just to produce toilet paper…it’s quite sh*t actually. Most of us send our paper and cardboard to be recycled, but we miss one important step — closing the recycling loop! As conscious consumers, we need to buy products like these that are made from waste materials. Buying Naturale supports an amazing environmental organisation Planet Ark, and as an added bonus it is manufactured in Australia, which means it is ethically produced and supports “jobs and growth” ;) The soft plastic packaging is sadly necessary, but it can thankfully be recycled through Redcycle.
13. Girls, this one is for you — a menstrual cup
Don’t worry, this one has not been used! If you don’t know what these are, google it. Menstrual cups are a fantastic invention for girls and women who deal with periods on a regular basis. Unfortunately, for many, it’s not something we can escape. So having an option that is convenient AND zero-waste is so important! Think about all of the wasteful products you could potentially use over a lifetime —I hate to think about all of that plastic piling up somewhere in landfill. Even with the new legislation that removes GST from feminine hygiene products, this cup is way cheaper than buying other products every month as it will last for a long time.
I hope this list inspires you and helps you along your own journey to become a more conscious consumer, whatever that means for you.
