The Ultimate Sustainability Starter Kit
You’ve got your reusable water bottle and your reusable coffee cup, so what’s next? How do you take the next steps into a greener life without sacrificing convenience, quality and style? At Green Salon, we’ve road tested and greenwash-filtered all these sustainable swaps and put together the ultimate Sustainability Starter Kit so that you can step into the new year in green style.
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Every day, over 1 million trees are cut down to make traditional toilet paper. And so swapping to a loo roll that is plastic free and made from 100% recycled paper or renewable bamboo is an easy swap - soft on your bottom and the planet.
Our go-to eco-friendly loo roll is from Who Gives A Crap. We love that they give 50% of profits to help build loos for the 2.3 billion people who don’t have them.
Shop Loo Roll from Who Gives A Crap ❀
Use code TP4EVA for £5 off your first loo roll subscription (valid for new customers only).
Deodorant
At Green Salon we’re huge fans of making the swap to natural deodorants - Imagine never having to throw away a plastic deodorant bottle again! Both brands’ refills are posted through your letterbox whenever you need to restock.
The team’s personal favourite is Fussy! You choose your outer case and they provide you with plastic free, compostable refills made from natural, probiotic ingredients. Their Wavy Days scent keeps us smelling as fresh as they claim.
We also recommend Wild’s refillable deodorants - the only aluminium that goes anywhere near your armpits is the case.
Laundry Products
Ecoegg is a no brainer from a money-saving point of view. By our calculations, their £9.99 laundry egg could save a family of 4 about £200 over its 10 year life time and save you from throwing away around 50 plastic bottles. What’s more they do a good job of cleaning your clothes too.
However, if you’re keen to stick with a laundry detergent, SMOL is a great option, which is still more eco-friendly than traditional options. Plus you can use code GREENSALON4 for 25% off the first two paid packs of laundry tabs (+ free trial pack).
Refillable Body Wash
Refillables are a great way to reduce plastic waste in the bathroom. Bower Collective’s scented Uplifting Orange Bower Body Wash Refill has been tried, tested and loved by Green Salon. Made here in the UK, the shower gel uses naturally derived, ethically sourced and environmentally responsible ingredients including orange oils to leave skin clean, fresh and delicately scented.
Shop Body Wash Refill Uplifting Orange + Dispenser Bundle from Bower Collective ❀
Organic Cotton Produce Bags
Perfect for plastic-free shopping! Reusable produce bags are a great swap - just pop them into your reusable shopping bags and you’ll never forget them. We love this 4-pack that comes in assorted sizes for all your fruits and vegetables. And they’re made from 100% Organic Cotton so they’re a super sustainable option.
Shop 100% Organic Cotton Mesh Drawstring Reusable Bags | 4 Pack from Veo ❀
Lunchbox
Bringing a lunchbox to work can not only save money - but also the single-use plastic associated with buying meals out. We find having a lunchbox that we’re excited to use makes it much easier to meal-prep for ourselves - and so this Stackable Bento Box from Veo is definitely Green Salon approved! It comes with a matching cutlery set - chopsticks included!
Bamboo Toothbrush
Another way to reduce plastic in the bathroom is to switch to bamboo toothbrushes. Organically Epic do a sustainable sonic toothbrush with a replaceable bamboo head and has a charge that lasts for weeks so it’s as low energy as possible. This is oral healthcare that is planet friendly.
Menstrual Products
Every year in the UK, the disposal of single-use menstrual products – pads, tampons and applicators – generates more than 200,000 tonnes of waste. Even more shockingly, 90% of a menstrual pad is made of plastic and menstrual products can take up to 500 years to break down in landfill. That’s why making plastic-free swaps for your menstrual products can make a huge impact.
Dame have produced the world’s first reusable tampon applicator and they sell rather discrete reusable sanitary towels. And use code GREENSALON for 10% off.
Compostable Cleaning Cloths
It’s hard to avoid the bin when using kitchen roll or disposable kitchen cloths, so instead we prefer these compostable cleaning cloths. This set from the Eco-Homemaker are 100% plastic-free and made of natural renewable resources. The cloths don’t release micro-plastic pollution, unlike classic sponge cloths.
Wooden Dish Brush
We love a dish brush made from natural sustainable resources. And with the bonus of this particular one, that when the bristles get old you can remove the head and replace it! Because the bristles are made from cactus, this prevents the release micro plastics into the environment.
This one from Eco-Homemaker removes stubborn and burnt-on foods without scratching cooking surfaces or utensils.
Food Containers
If you’ve tried beeswax and given up on sustainability, we hear you. Beeswax looks pretty and wraps up cheese OK, but it doesn’t stick like clingfilm and you can’t see through it: so, hello epic food waste.
At Green Salon, we’ve been perfecting the art of sustainable food storage and, honestly, the only way is glass. It’s see-through, doesn’t contain any nasty BPA like plastic, you can get Abel & Cole’s ❀ glass storage jars alongside getting their pantry staples delivered to you. What’s not to love?
Charcoal Water Filter
Why not replace your plastic water filter with a black+blum’s charcoal one? Why? Because activated charcoal adds key minerals, like iron, magnesium and calcium, back into the water whilst also removing toxins.
It’s a simple way to filter your water – not only does it use less plastic, but you can also see for yourself the magic of natural solutions, that are also loads cheaper.
An alternative to single use cotton pads. Ideal for removing make up or applying toner as a part of your zero waste beauty routine. These are washable and reusable, making them much more eco-friendly and sustainable.
These pads from Eco-Homemaker have a beautifully soft terry side and a slightly scrubbier waffle side for gentle exfoliation. When you're finally done with them, they're biodegradable!
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