8 Sustainable Products to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Your personal carbon “footprint” is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the production, use and end-of-life of a product or service. This footprint is influenced by how much energy you use at home, your transportation habits and all the small decisions you make daily like… what you buy. But, if basically everything we do, consume and buy nowadays has an impact on the environment, how can we reduce our carbon footprint?

Besides all the obvious choices we can do in our lifestyle there are also some products we can start using, replacing others. We can start making wiser choices. Eco-friendly products are becoming a hot trend for manufacturers and lots of brands are committing more time and attention to better sustainability, whether that’s developing greener products or forging social good partnerships. In other words, it’s becoming easier and more affordable to reduce your carbon footprint.

We’ve rounded up 8 eco-friendly products that have a direct and immediate impact in your carbon footprint that can replace or complement the ones you already use or have at home.

1. Coffee Reusable Capsules

Convenience, ease of use and consistency are surely the reasons for coffee capsules’ enormous success. But the truth is that several billion capsules are going to garbage every year worldwide.

To reduce this waste and continue enjoying your daily coffee, there are lots of brands that create reusable coffee capsules that are compatible with your favorite machines.

Besides reducing waste and your carbon footprint, changing to reusable capsules will also reduce the cost of each coffee cup by 85% so it’s actually a great investment.

Reusable coffee capsules are an example of a wonderful product that is also good for the environment. Here some examples of brands offering reusable capsules if you want to stop using single-use coffee capsules now:

Cafilas Stainless Steel Capsule With Reusable Lid for Nespresso (15.99$ on Amazon)
Seal Pod Stainless Steel Capsule for Nespresso (59.9$ on Amazon)

2. Biodegradable Bamboo Toothbrushes

Did you know that an estimated 3.6 billion plastic toothbrushes are used worldwide every year, with the average person using 300 in their lifetime? With each toothbrush taking up to a thousand years to decompose, there’s an urgency to start replacing the old plastic toothbrushes for more sustainable options.

Bamboo is one of the most popular materials since it’s a fast growing grass, it requires no fertilizer and self-regenerates from its own roots. Below you can find some of the more recommended brands offering bamboo toothbrushes.

Bamboo BPA Free Activated Charcoal Bristles ($9.99 pack of 4 on Amazon)
Lingito Compostable Vegan Toothbrushes ($9.99 pack of 6 on Amazon)

3. Wool Dryer Balls

Clothes dryers use quite a bit of energy because they need to spin and produce heat. The most economical and sustainable way to dry your clothes is definitely to hand them outside. However, if that’s not possible you can always use woold dryer balls.

Wool dryer balls help shorten your drying time and reduce wrinkles and static cling. They bounce around in the dryer separating clothes, allowing hot air to circulate through all the garments. As they tumble, the wool balls fluff your laundry and reduce wrinkles. The more dryer balls you have in a load, the shorter the drying time will be. Using less energy, switching to dryer balls can improve the health and look of your clothing. You can make your own wool dryer balls (it’s quite simple) or take a look at the brands below:

Friendsheep Organic 100% Handmade, Fair Trade, No Lint – Premium Quality ($23.95 pack of 6 on Amazon)
Woolzies Organic XL Dryer Balls New Zealand Wool ($16.95 pack of 6 on Amazon)

4. Beeswax Wrap

Definitely, one of the most popular reusable products of 2019, beeswax wrap is a food wrap that is made by infusing cotton with food-grade beeswax, rosin, coconut oil and jojoba oil. The warmth from your hands will soften the wrap around whatever you want, and the wrap will then cool to create a natural seal. Even though beeswax wrap is not air-tight, it is already a great option to cover bowls, and keep produce and sandwiches snug in a secure wrapping.

The good news is that beeswax wrap is a reusable and compostable product, made from ingredients you can feel good about, so you can start replacing plastic wrap and reducing waste right away. Some of the most popular brands:

GreenCaltura – Artisan, FDA Cert, Organic Beeswax, GOTS Cotton ($10.99 pack of 3 on Amazon)
Bee’s Wrap – Sustainable, Cerified and Ethically Sourced ($18 pack of 3 on Amazon)

5. Biodegradable Waste Bags for Dogs

Have you thought about how you can make a difference by making a simple change in disposing of your dog’s waste? Biodegradable waste bags for dogs will give you peace of mind knowing your pooch’s poo won’t be floating in a plastic bag in the middle of the ocean. There are a lot of brands selling online but pay attention to the labeling to make sure they are really biodegradable. Below the link for my favorite one:

Doogie Do Good – Biodegrable & Give Back (Starting from $9.99 60 units on Amazon)

This is a great product for those that live in densely populated areas, otherwise, scooping is the more sustainable option. Also, you should keep in mind that for biodegradable poop bags to work effectively, they need to be disposed of correctly. The best options would be to use a dog-waste-only composting bin, to flush it or bury it.

6. Reusable Baby Food Pouch

Feeding a baby can be way easier and less messy if you use a baby food pouch. Kid’s love it, they can feed themselves from an early age and it’s a convenient way to feed your baby when you’re not at home. However, it’s not a very friendly option for the environment. Most of the pouches can not be recycled since they are made up of tons of different kinds of plastics that can’t be separated by waste management facilities.

The solution is to quit the store pouches and start using reusable ones. It will save you money, you will be able to continue feeding your baby with homemade food and reduce waste. The best options in the market are easy to fill and clean, and are dishwasher, boil, and freezer safe.

Squooshi ($9.99 pack of 6 pouches on Amazon)
WeeSprout ($16.99 pack of 6 pouches on Amazon)

If you’re always running, it might help if you get a squeeze station like this one from Infantino.

7. Reusable Cleaning Products

If you think about your popular cleaning products, they are a double negative for the planet: plastic bottles full of toxic chemicals. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You don’t have to sacrifice having a clean, tidy home when you go green: you just need to know what kinds of products are better for the environment.

There are several examples of brands that you can start using right away to reduce the amount of plastic and toxic waste.

JAWS (Just Add Water System) Home Cleaning Kit ($44.99 for 6 cleaning products with 2 refills each on Amazon)
BranchBasics ($39.99 for a 5 products pack on Amazon)
BlueLand ($39 for a 5 product pack on BlueLand website; 2$ each refill)

8. Plastic-Free Stick Swabs

It is easy not to think about the impact on the environment of such a small and ordinary product. However, cotton buds are the 8th most common piece of plastic pollution found on our beaches. It is estimated that over 500 billion cotton buds are used per year and the worst is that they cannot be recycled.

An item that is used for less than a minute should be biodegradable. A simple solution is to swap your artificial plastic swabbies with environmentally friendly cotton buds. Most of the available brands offer cotton buds made with bamboo stems and organic cotton.

Bambaw ($7.25 for 400 cotton buds on Amazon)
Subekyu ($9.88 for 100 cotton buds on Amazon)

Last but not least, remember to dispose your plastic free stick swabs properly (instead of flushing them down the toilet).

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