This month’s journey to sustainability is all about simple swaps + choices that help you take a step toward a more sustainable future. We partnered with some really amazing companies to review some products and learn more about what makes them so sustainable. Each of these brands all have a focus on sustainability in different ways. Some give back, some are plastic free, some are items that easily replace your plastic products. We spent the month using and enjoying these sustainable products. I’m really excited about this step and now, I’m ready to tell you even more about these specific items and brands!
RICE LOVE: RECYCLED TRAVEL BACKPACK
Rice Love is an amazing brand that not only uses up-cycled rice bags to create these backpacks, but the backpacks and other products do good as well! Each item sold gives a family in need 1 kilo of rice. How cool is that? When you get your Rice Love purchase, you get a number to enter on their website so you can meet the family you helped to feed. I seriously love this part. It makes you really feel the impact of your purchase.
Now, let me tell you a little more about the bag itself. Each travel backpack is unique because it’s made from recycled burlap from Indian rice bags. This keeps these bags out of landfills and makes for some seriously beautiful, unique accessories to store your things while traveling. I have been carrying my backpack for everything from a weekend trip to Arkansas to my daily purse. It’s surprisingly spacious and comfortable to carry. Plus, it’s wicked cute!
J.R. LIGGETT’S: SHAMPOO BARS + TRAVEL POUCHES
I used bar shampoo in 2015 when I was traveling through SE Asia. I really loved it and planned to continue using it when I got back to the states. I’m not sure what happened, but I somehow slipped back into my old habits. Possibly, just out of convenience. (I told you in the first My Journey to Sustainability post that I believe laziness is the biggest, I wasn’t kidding.)
Well, J.R. Liggett’s sent me a slew of products that I’m now truly obsessed with. They come in a wide variety of formulas, a couple of different sizes and they’re 100% perfect for travel and everyday life. J.R. Liggett’s not only a fantastic product, but they also are environmentally focused. Their packaging is made from 100% recycled paper AND it’s 100% biodegradable.
The bars come in the regular size as well as the mini bars. In addition to to the amazing shampoo bars, they have these awesome travel pouches that come with shampoo bars and these really handy little things to stick on the bottom of your bar so they don’t stick in the random showers you’re taking your shampoo bar to.
The biggest question I get about bar shampoo is does it lather? To put it simply, yes! I think a lot of people assume you lather it in your hands then apply to your hair. Instead, I’ve found that if you apply it directly to your hair it lathers beautifully. I do a swipe down the middle, on each side of my part and one underneath. As you can see from the photo in the middle, it lathers really well! I’m a major J.R. Liggett’s fan and I can’t wait to keep using these products.
WOWE LIFESTYLE: BAMBOO TOOTHBRUSHES
Wowe Lifestyle gave us some of these really cool bamboo toothbrushes. The packaging is made from recycled materials, the handle is biodegradable and they’re really comfortable to use. These boxes of toothbrushes come with 4 toothbrushes inside. They’re sleek, have soft bristles and are great for the environment. Wowe Lifestyle is focused on being good to the environment and a portion of every purchase helps plant trees around the world. Their focus on the world being a better place is contagious.
WOWE LIFESTYLE: DOUBLE EDGE SAFETY RAZOR
Wowe Lifestyle also gave us this super snazzy safety razor. This is a brand new product for me, having only ever used the standard razors. It requires a bit of a learning curve that I’ve not quite mastered, but I’m working on it and I know that the issue so far is me. (No shame, here! haha) However, I’m excited to update you the better and better I get! I also love that these razors have a biodegradable bamboo handle and all of the metal parts can be recycled. Each razor comes with 5 blades, so I have plenty of opportunity to keep practicing and master using this much more environmentally friendly and plastic-free razor!
PARKS PROJECT: APPAREL
Parks Project is a shop filled to the brim with apparel, accessories, posters, mugs and so much more. All of it is connected to a passion and love for nature and the U.S. National Parks. Each purchase helps to fund a project within the national lands. For example, both of our shirts are helping to fund youth education within the National Parks. I love the wanderlusty and outdoor-focused themes to the apparel, especially as a major lover of the National Parks. I’m very, very proud of our national lands and think they’re something to be celebrated, defended and explored. The shirts are exceptionally soft and are a really flattering fit. We can’t wait to keep exploring the outdoors, and cities, in our Parks Project shirts.
ILLUMINE COLLECT: APPAREL
Illumine Collect is an apparel brand from the Ozarks that focuses on inspiring adventure. Their designs are focused around nature, adventure and even craft beer. What’s not to love? Well, you’re about to love it even more. As part of inspiring adventure, they donate 20% of each purchase to organizations that use action sports to educate children and inspire success outside of the classroom. Plus, these organizations take part in activities like cleanups and trail building.
These shirts are well-made and insanely comfortable. We love wearing these shirts they gave us out and about and inspiring travel while doing so!
SOLE: FOOTWEAR WITH CORK SOLE
SOLE is an awesome brand that’s doing great things by up-cycling wine corks through a program called ReCORK where you can donate your old corks. They gave us these Beach Flip Flops made with their amazing cork soles. The cork soles only get more and more comfortable as you wear them because they conform to your feet as you continue to wear them. These soles give amazing support and their footbeds that slide into your shoes reduce strain by 33%. I’m really excited to watch SOLE continue to grow. Speaking of which, they’re about to launch their new spring line and I’m dying to see what they’ve come up with!
In addition to recycling corks for their products, they give back too! They work with four different organizations. These organizations focus on health, fitness, climate change and social responsibility. These sandals are perfect for not just the beach, but for city strolls as well.
SOLE: CORK YOGA BLOCKS
Also from the amazing minds of SOLE and RreCORK is the 198 Yoga Block. I’d been wanting some yoga blocks because my yoga practice has lapsed greatly and I desperately needed to be able to modify some poses, but I didn’t want to purchase plastic-based foam blocks. Instead, ReCORK gave me these really cool cork yoga blocks made from 198 wine corks. They’re wonderful! In addition to being a plastic-free solution to something I needed these blocks have re-inspired my yoga practice. ReCORK is such a cool concept. There are ReCork drop-off locations in the US and Canada. These are turned into the awesome products you see here.
BAMBU: BAMBOO STRAWS
In the past, I had purchased metal straws, but I absolutely hated how cold they made all of my beverages. So, I wanted to find a new alternative. That’s when I found Bambu. These bamboo straws are smooth, biodegradable and they come with a nifty little brush so you can be sure to keep these straws clean. I also love that Bambu has options when it comes to the width of their straws. I have an obsession with boba teas and this set of Jumbo Straws has a hole wide enough for boba. Ready to love Bambu products even more? They’re certified organic!
BAMBU: BAMBOO TRAVEL UTENSILS
I think one of the things that I struggle a lot with is getting food to-go and realizing that I don’t have utensils with me and I end up using those plastic ones… that is, until now. Bambu gave me this amazing little bamboo utensil set that’s easy to transport and clean. This fork, knife and spoon set all fit into this durable cork pouch. (The pouches are also available in hemp or fabric.) The other things I love about this set is that the pouch has a little metal chain so you can clip this into a zipper of your backpack or a purse strap so it’s extra-easy to transport.
FOX AND FIR DESIGN: APPAREL
Fox and Fir Design is an Asheville-based brand that specializes in designs that combine a love for nature and nerd-culture. Anyone who has followed this blog at all knows that I have a very real love for Harry Potter (and traveling to Potter-themed destinations). So, when Fox and Fir Design offered me one of their Expecto Arborus tees, I couldn’t say no. Although my patronus is a grey wolf, if a patronus could be something other than an animal, it would be some sort of plant, why not a tree? Each of their designs is tied to an eco-non-profit. For example, Expecto Arborus supports the Dogwood Alliance which protects forests in the Southern US. If you love nature and what Fox and Fir has dubbed nerd-ture, their designs are beautiful and sure to entice you.
BEE’S WRAP: FOOD STORAGE WRAPS
We partnered with Bee’s Wrap last year for part of our Earth Day post. We were looking for a product to take traveling with us that was incredibly lightweight and packable for food storage while on the road. Matt was initially skeptical, but by the end of our big trip we were both firm believers in Bee’s Wrap wraps for food storage. They hold their seal perfectly to store everything from fresh produce to pizza to sandwiches. Plus, once the beeswax eventually wears off they’re compostable!
ALL OF THESE PRODUCTS ARE PERFECT FOR BOTH TRAVEL + LIFESTYLE
It is no secret that travel is my passion, but sometimes it seems like it’s difficult to transition products that you love to use at home that are great for the environment into your life on the road as well. However, these products are perfect examples of products that you can use in your everyday life whether your everyday is in your home or on the road.
All of these brands are amazing examples of brands who are doing business responsibly. I’m so grateful for companies who are reducing plastics, packaging responsibly, using natural ingredients, recycling and giving back to communities.
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Disclaimer: The items in this post were given to me by the brands mentioned. However, all opinions are my own.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase with Amazon.com or RiceLove.org through For the Love of Wanderlust, you will help me stay on the road + keep my site running at no additional cost for you.
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