SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL GEAR DOESN'T HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE. IN FACT, USUALLY IN THE LONG RUN, IT IS CHEAPER THAN JUST BUYING SINGLE-USE GOODS. SO DO RIGHT BY THE PLANET AND YOUR WALLET AND FOCUS ON USING SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL GEAR. EXPLORE OUR MUST-HAVES BELOW.
At the heart of it, sustainable travel is all about minimizing your negative impacts and maximizing your positive ones. You can do this in a number of ways: not driving your own personal car and instead using public transportation or just walking around when you need to explore, choosing to only book responsible tours that prioritize helping the environment and the local communities, or just solely buying and using less stuff overall.
But, another easy way to be a more sustainable and responsible traveler is to simply focus on using more eco-friendly goods and gear while abroad. This can be as easy as switching to a reusable water bottle so you don't have to keep buying (and eventually throwing away) plastic bottles every day. Or it can be as complex as focusing on only buying locally made goods and food (and even this doesn't have to be that hard).
By making simple and small changes to your travel gear set-up, you can help make a big positive impact on this world. Below we outline some of our favorite eco-friendly travel goods to help inform and inspire you to make the switch too.
OUR FAVORITE SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL GEAR
\\ Toiletries
SHAMPOO BARS
One of the easiest ways to cut down on your plastic use is to move away from large plastic bottles of shampoo and conditioner and instead invest in an eco-friendly shampoo (and conditioner) bar.
We have been using shampoo bars for about a year now and we already know we will never go back to bottled shampoo. Why? Because bars are just a lot easier to carry (smaller, lighter, TSA-safe), they are very easy to use (just rub it into your scalp and voila), and finally, they work - really well.
Below are two great options if you are looking to make the switch to shampoo bars yourself:
| BUY IT: the Ethique St. Clements shampoo bar is great if you have oily hair.
| BUY IT: the earthling co. citrus sun shampoo bar is plant-based and contains NO sulfates or parabens.
💬 INSIDER TIP: we personally love the smell of the shampoo bar on the left - it's sweet, spicy, and leaves your hair feeling and smelling fresh for days.
NATURAL OILS
Another easy way to reduce your plastic use is to switch over to natural oils that come in glass bottles instead of various lotions. You can use many different types of oils for your skin, hair and nails. We personally enjoy using jojoba oil for our faces, coconut oil for our skin and hair, and tea tree oil for sunburns, acne and bug bites (just be aware that the smell is quiiiiite strong).
| BUY IT: this is the exact jojoba oil we have been using for a while and we really cannot recommend it enough. We found that the Leven Rose jojoba oil felt the best on our skin and caused way less breakouts than other oils. Plus, it comes in a glass bottle with an easy-to-use dropper (super handy).
WOODEN TOOTHBRUSHES
An equally simple eco-friendly switch is to move away from plastic toothbrushes and instead use sustainable bamboo brushes - like the ones below. We have found that bamboo toothbrushes clean our teeth just as well as plastic brushes, while also being a bit softer on our gums.
👀 DID YOU KNOW: approximately 1 billion plastic toothbrushes are thrown out each year in the United States alone (so about 3 brushes per person). This leads to about 50 million pounds of plastic waste a year.
| BUY IT: these fun bamboo toothbrushes are not only easy to use, but the company (Sea Turtle LLC) also donates 10% of every purchase to marine conservation. A real win-win.
💬 INSIDER TIP: we have also gone back and forth with using toothpaste tablets. Sometimes we find some we like, but other times we feel like the tablets aren't cleaning our teeth very well. If you can, consider trying out toothpaste tablets at least once.