10 Eco-Friendly Products for a More Sustainable Lifestyle
With climate change standing at the forefront of global concerns among world leaders, it’s important to take steps on your own that will help make your lifestyle more sustainable. And doing your part to help the environment doesn't have to be expensive; in fact, you can even save money in the long run by making the switch. Here are some eco-friendly products that will help you cut down on plastics, reduce waste, and lessen your impact on the environment.
1. These reusable shopping bags; $14
According to the United Nations, humans produce more than 330 million tons of plastic waste every year, and those single-use plastic shopping bags you get at grocery stores are one of the worst culprits, with an estimated 5 trillion being used annually. Consider making the switch to these reusable bags, which are actually made from recycled plastic. They're sturdy enough to carry 30 pounds of groceries on their own and big enough to fit a week's worth of food in just one or two of them (three come in each order). Each set comes decked out in National Geographic prints on the sides and are perfect for shopping, storage, and day trips.
Buy it: Amazon
2. Hills & Valleys Reusable coffee cup; $14
To avoid contributing to the cycle of disposable plastic cups in the world, especially as iced coffee season approaches, consider switching to this attractive reusable coffee container made from biodegradable rice husks. If you're making your coffee at home and bringing it on the go, it's a much more eco-friendly alternative than drinking out of something plastic that will get thrown out an hour later. And if you're heading out for coffee, some chains even offer discounts if you bring in your own reusable cup.
Buy it: Amazon
3. Zero Waste Cookbook; $20
Though estimates vary on the exact amount, the average U.S. household wastes a lot of food. According to researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture, Americans throw away about 150,000 tons of food a day, equivalent to wasting 30 million acres of cropland, 4.2 trillion gallons of water, and nearly 2 billion pounds of fertilizer a year. This cookbook aims to help you minimize food waste by providing more than 100 recipes for cooking the food scraps you might normally toss away. Learn how to make vegetable stock from corn husks, biscuits from apple skins, and soup from cauliflower stems and potato skins. Reducing food waste won’t just help the environment—it can also help you save some money in the long run.
Buy it: Uncommon Goods
4. Beeswax reusable food wraps; $22
If you frequently use plastic wrap or plastic bags to store food in the refrigerator, go for these reusable beeswax food wraps, instead. This set comes with three wraps in different sizes that you can use to wrap a sandwich or cover a casserole dish. Once you’re done using them, just wash them with cold water and soap, and they’ll be ready to go again.
Buy it: Uncommon Goods
5. Brita reusable Water Bottle with filter; $36
Globally, more than a million plastic water bottles are sold every minute, National Geographic reports. And in the United States, at least, only about 30 percent of those plastic water bottles are properly recycled. Reduce your plastic waste by opting instead for a reusable water bottle. This insulated stainless steel water bottle from Brita even comes with a built-in filter, keeping your tap water as fresh as it can be.
Buy it: Amazon
6. Water-saving shower head; $40
Standard shower heads emit about 2.5 gallons of water per minute, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. To conserve both money and water, switch to a more efficient low-flow shower head like this one, which uses about 1.5 gallons of water per minute.
Buy it: Amazon
7. Solar portable charger; $37
About 40 percent of all energy in the United States is used to generate electricity, the Environmental Protection Agency reports—meaning that electricity usage is a significant part of a person’s individual carbon footprint. To reduce your own electricity usage, even by a little, switch to this solar-powered portable charger, which can charge two devices at the same time.
Buy it: Amazon
8. Power strip with timer; $26
Even when electronic devices are turned off, they still suck up electricity—and a lot of it. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that about 25 percent of the power used by home electronics is consumed while devices are powered off but still plugged in (according to 2008 data). These so-called “vampire loads” are sometimes unavoidable—appliances like refrigerators are impractical to turn off, after all, and certain TVs and other devices exist in a perpetual standby mode.
But you can conserve electricity by switching to a power strip with an on-and-off-switch that easily cuts off the juice to your other devices. This power strip from BN-LINK comes with a row of four outlets on a programmable timer so you can automatically turn off vampire loads while you’re away from home. The other row consists of always-on outlets for the gadgets that need constant power.
Buy it: Amazon
9. Clothing repair kit; $13
The fashion industry produces about 10 percent of global carbon emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Assembly, and only about .1 percent of clothing donated to charities and take-back programs is ever recycled. By keeping your clothing in wearable condition, you can avoid contributing to a growing trend of textile waste. This miniature sewing kit, which contains scissors, needles, buttons, and 18 spools of thread, will help you take care of most minor repairs, so you're not always replacing your clothes.
Buy it: Amazon
10. Rocket Reusable Notebook; $35
If you're still attached to your traditional pen-and-paper note routine, the Rocketbook is the best compromise for you and the environment. It looks and feels like a regular notebook (it's even spiral-bound), but because of the unique paper used, a single drop of water can erase all the writing, allowing you to keep taking notes without going through book after book of paper in the process. And those notes you erased don't just disappear; the Rocketbook is paired with an app that allows you to scan your pages and send them to cloud storage. This particular model, the Rocketbook Fusion, also includes a calendar template, grids, OKR checklists, and more.
Buy it: Amazon
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