Sustainability is a very important topic at our house, but especially to me. I am far from perfect, but I love finding simple ways each day to be a little bit better to the earth and have a more eco-friendly lifestyle. This post is all about creating a more sustainable lifestyle in general. These are broken down into the categories: lifestyle, office supplies, clothing + accessories and household products.
Lifestyle Items
Patch Strips Bamboo Bandages
I’m obsessed with these bandages. They’re made from bamboo and they’re completely compostable! These bandages are specialized for specific injuries (like burns, blisters or bites), they stick well without leaving a gross sticky residue and they’re good for the planet! I love to hike and be outside which means that I get a lot of scrapes and blisters (I’m essentially a large toddler). I also love that they’re hypoallergenic which makes me feel better about using these on our little one as well.
You can purchase these on Amazon here!
42 Birds Cork Yoga Mat
This yogi is so in love with the 42 Birds Cork Yoga Mat. I was gifted the Lightweight Robin Mat which I love, especially when I’m on the road because it’s easy to transport + carry. Plus, cork, which is a much more sustainable product than rubber (more on that in a bit), is also naturally anti-microbial so it resists mildew and bad smells. It’s also naturally a non-slip surface, which is great for those of us who do hot yoga! So, back to cork. Cork is harvested, so those trees don’t have to be cut down. Plus, cork is zero waste because it’s 100% natural. My mat is 5mm thick, so it’s easy on my wrists and I really love the functionality of this mat for classes while traveling, my home practice and outdoor yoga.
Get your own 42 Birds Cork Yoga Mat here!
Cork Yoga Blocks
Speaking of a sustainable yoga practice if you’re looking to yoga blocks, you should try these cork yoga blogs. They’re much more sustainable than the typical foam blocks, they work just as well and I can practice guilt-free. These are great for any yogi, but especially those looking to grow. It seems that the brand that gifted mine (SOLE) no longer creates these, but having used my 42 Birds Yoga Mat, I feel confident in recommending their cork yoga blocks as well!
42 Birds Face De-Stress Kit
I love this little kit. I’m a person who carries so much tension in my face and jaw; I’m a serious jaw-clencher. This kit helps me keep that stress tension in-check because the little ball uses reflexology to massage the muscles in my face and you can also use them on your feet or hands! Also, there’s a little biting trapezoid that help soothe those clenched teeth/muscles. I love that they fit together beautifully and come in the perfect little carry pouch. Plus, these too are made of cork! I really love using these just before my shavasana because it gets me fully relaxed and ready for true calm.
CoalaTree Kachula Puffy Adventure Blanket
The Kachula Puffy Adventure Blanket is one of my new favorite items to take with me while hiking. This blanket, can snap into a lightweight sleeping bag, can stuff into its sack to be a pillow and even make it into a hooded pancho. Here are the things I love most about this blanket: One, if we get to a beautiful location where we want to chill and take it in, we can pull it out and sit on it as a family. It allows Charleigh to safely move around and change positions from being carried. Two, if it gets cold on a hike, it’s easy to snap around whoever is holding the Wee One to keep us both warm. Lastly, it’s easy to throw in the car for any impromptu picnics or a rainy day cover for other outdoor events. So, what makes it sustainable? This blanket is made from recycled materials, which is amazing!
Purchase an Adventure Blanket on Amazon here.
Reusable Totes
I’m a huge fan of reusable totes. They’re perfect for shopping, for carrying items to work, on trips, etc. Literally every time I leave my house I have at least one tote with me. You can get them in all different shapes and sizes. I pick them up a lot of times when I’m traveling or from sustainable brands. My new favorite is my Friendsheep tote because it not only practices sustainability, but it also promotes sustainability!
Friendsheep Eco Fresheners
Friendsheep gave me some of these really sweet eco fresheners. I hadn’t used a drawer-freshener in years, but I’ve fallen in love with them. They have a variety of different essential oils, and I chose eucalyptus, which is one of my favorite scents of all time. Now, I pop these little fresheners everywhere. In my car, in my drawers, in my closet and in by bedside table. I just love them!
Office Supplies
Karst Stone Paper Planners
Karst Stone Paper has these amazing planners in three forms (monthly, weekly and daily) and all of them are tree-free! These planners are made up of mostly crushed stone with a non-toxic resin that binds the stone together to create the super-sleek planners. They gifted me a 2022 daily planner and I’m already obsessed with it. This two volume set gives you space to not only plan your daily events, but to journal as well. There are quotes and themes and I am loving using this planner to set intentions and track/achieve goals in 2022. I also love that since it’s a bit of a journal-style they’re meant to be kept and if you don’t wish to keep them, they’re recyclable.
Karst Stone Paper Journals
Like their planners, Karst Stone Paper journals are just as sustainable and wonderful. To keep it fresh, though, here are some more benefits of their paper products that I think are even more important in journals. Especially if you use those journals for document adventures like I do. Their paper is waterproof – need to journal in the rain? As long as your ink doesn’t run, you’re totally set! It’s also tear resistant. So throwing them into a pack with other things won’t rip up your journal – but they’re not crinkle proof. I have their two pack and they’re the perfect size for carrying around with you. Also, I’m obsessed with the feel of the paper, it’s so silky smooth!
Karst Stone Paper Woodless Pencils
Another amazing product by Karst Stone Paper is their woodless pencils. I’m still a pencil lover, but I never really thought about the fact that pencils are either surrounded by wood that I literally slice into shavings that I throw away or, even worse, plastic pencils that, although they are reusable, they don’t last forever. These pencils are simply graphite. That’s it. They have a matte coating to keep your hands clean, but you simply sharpen these like any other pencil and they write so smoothly on the stone paper as well as traditional paper. I love these.
Clothing and Accessories
CoalaTree Trailhead Pants
CoalaTree products are created with a sustainable focus to equip you for your entire life from “Mountain to City”. They graciously sent Matt and I each a pair of Trailhead Pants. While I love these for the trails the most (because, hello, that means I’m hiking) I also love that they’re stylish enough to wear to work or out and about during the day. The material is waterproof which is perfect for anything outdoors and I love it since I work at a brewery when I’m not “momming”, blogging or traveling. They also pack down to a tiny square – perfect for packing and they’re made from recycled materials! Who doesn’t love that?! One thing I will say is, if you’re looking for a cool-weather hiking pant, these are quite thin, so bare that in mind. Coalatree also sent us a couple of hats! Matt has their MTN2CTY Trucker Hat, which is also eco-friendly and I have their fun, stylish tie-dye beanie! I also love that we can switch the hats back and forth with ease because they’re absolutely unisex.
SOLE Footwear and Insoles
Sole created these amazing cork insoles that they’re proud to say are carbon negative. You read that right. Carbon negative! The amount of fossil fuels used in creating traditional shoes or insoles is astronomically higher than carbon negative. While cork is already a sustainable material, when you recycle cork and use it for your footbeds it’s even more sustainable! These insoles are comfortable, but also offer a good amount of support. I love having them in my running shoes for extra support.
Rice Love Backpacks
Rice Love backpacks are recycled Indian rice bags combined with bright, beautiful fabrics to create truly one-of-a-kind product – I get compliments on mine every single time I carry it. In addition to being made from sustainable materials, but each bag sold donates a kilo of rice to a family in India in need. There’s nothing I love more than a sustainable product that also gives back.
Parks Project
Parks Project is a brand that I discovered and partnered with a couple of years ago and I’m still so, so obsessed with their products. They have some of the best U.S. National Park inspired apparel and other goods and the thing I love the most, though, is that for every purchase they give money back to the U.S. National Parks in various ways: volunteer opportunities, volunteer programs and youth initiatives. To date, they’ve given 2 million dollars to these various initiatives
Household Products
Friendsheep Dryer Balls
Friendsheep dryer balls help reduce waste in your laundry care routine. Fabric softener either comes in a plastic jug or sheets that end up in landfills and have a fairly large carbon footprint to produce. These wool dryer balls help you reduce that initial waste and dryer balls cut down of drying time by 20%-40%! That’s pretty substantial if you ask me! I love my Friendsheep dryer balls and their amazing essential oils that you can put a few drops of on the balls to make your laundry smell incredible! As if this wasn’t enough, they also are part of the Eden Reforestation Project which helps to plant trees – one for every single item purchased. How awesome is that?!
You can even purchase these on Amazon!
Branch Basics Cleaning Supplies
I love these cleaning supplies. I love that it creates less plastic waste and I am over the moon that using Branch Basics means that our home is toxin-free! We were gifted their Premium Starter Kit which comes with a large bottle of cleaning concentrate, a tub of oxygen boost and 5 reusable bottles with measuring lines to fill with water and concentrate. Now that we have Charleigh, the idea of rubbing mystery products into my counters, floors and other surfaces makes me super stressed out. Guys, this concentrate contains 7 items. That’s it. Seven. Plus, because you dilute the concentrate with water, the concentrate goes a long way and is actually super cost effective!
Cloud Paper Bamboo Paper Towels
Cloud Paper has made a guilt-free solution for using the convenience of paper towels. They’ve created bamboo paper towels! This is a great alternative to traditional paper towels because they use bamboo for their paper products. Bamboo grows up to 3 feet per day and just re-grows after a harvest. So there is no deforestation needed to create these paper towels. Plus, Cloud Paper uses zero plastic. Their packaging is all 100% compostable! Plus, they carbon offset shipping. My only “con” of these are that they don’t tear on the perforation easily, so you have to be mindful of the way you tear them. (They also have Cloud Paper Toilet Paper that we reviewed in our Personal Products Post!)
These products make it simple to take steps toward a more eco-friendly lifestyle. It’s impossible to do things perfectly, but making switches to some of these items, or choosing them when you need a replacement is a small change that will add up to our collective sustainability effort as a planet. Every journey starts with a single step, and that includes the journey to a more eco-friendly life as well.
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