We just celebrated Earth Day on April 22, but we need to start celebrating Earth Day every day and treat our planet right! Americans, on average, generate 254 million tons of trash a year. There are simple methods we can use to reduce our waste: here, I am going to focus on how we can reduce our waste in the bathroom with these five zero-waste skincare swaps!
1. Makeup Remover
Typically, skin care products are packaged in plastic. Whether you use makeup remover wipes that you throw away after a single use or you use makeup remover from a plastic bottle that you dab on a cotton pad, you still are creating waste. Instead, you could switch to coconut oil! The packaging is glass, which is reusable and recyclable! Additionally, you can just scoop it into your hands and rub it on your face without the need of a cotton pad or wipe.
2. Cleanser
Similar to makeup remover, cleanser often comes in plastic packaging that ends up in a landfill at the end of its use. A simple zero-waste swap for cleanser is a package-free facial cleansing bar, like the Tea Tree Charcoal Facial Bar from Package Free Shop created by Trash Is For Tossers. If ordering online, it is wrapped in recyclable paper so that there is, indeed, zero waste.
3. Exfoliator
I am going to sound redundant, but so much of today’s skincare products are packaged in plastic, including exfoliator. I know my old exfoliator was packaged in a similar way to the image above, but instead of glass, it was plastic. When you recycle glass jars, they get turned into more glass jars: however, when you try to recycle plastic jars, they can’t be turned into more plastics jars because the plastic gets degraded down. So a simple zero-waste swap is to buy exfoliator in glass packaging instead of plastic!
4. Toner
How many times do you go through toner and just throw away the bottle to buy a new one? I am not going to lie, I do it too. But the nice part about this toner from Meow Meow Tweet is you can take the bottle to the Package Free store and get it refilled! What an easy zero waste swap.
5. Moisturizer
For me, moisturizer is the most important step in my skincare routine. A zero waste product you can actually swap out your moisturizer with is coconut oil; however, I find it to be a bit too greasy for my face. So a good substitute for a moisturizer that doesn’t create waste is the Face and Body Cream from Meow Meow Tweet that is packaged in a glass jar.
There are so many ways to live a minimal waste lifestyle, but it is important to take it a little bit at a time! I hope these five zero-waste skincare swaps help you reconsider how much waste you produce in the bathroom and inspire you to try something new!