Now that you’ve booked your holiday, it’s time to start looking into your essentials for packing. Packing can be a daunting experience already, let alone packing sustainably. But doing so will benefit you as a traveller as you’ll see yourself reusing your items and reducing the amount of space you take up in your suitcase. What’s more, you’ll see yourself spending less on unnecessary items when on your holiday.
Packing sustainable items not only helps keep the environment in good order, but it’s also a satisfying experience. From shampoo bars to bamboo utensils, let’s do all we can to improve the condition of the environment.
Here’s a list of five essential eco-friendly items to pack for your next trip:
Eco-Friendly Water Bottle
What can be better than a water bottle that keeps you hydrated and is good for the environment too? With a whopping 400 million tonnes of plastic produced each year, eco-friendly travel water bottles are the way to go! As well as saving you money, reusable water bottles come with filters, are leakproof and can serve as fashion accessories too (if that’s your thing!). Whilst they may cost a little more than a normal water bottle, it all pays off in the long run when you’re no longer buying plastic bottles. What’s more, reusable water bottles can be folded and stored away in your hand luggage and refilled wherever you find a tap or water fountain! We recommend the WakeCup self-cleaning water bottle or the Hip water bottle which is extremely lightweight.
Bamboo Utensils
Whether it’s bamboo straws, bamboo spoons or even bamboo forks, these are a must when travelling. Ditch the plastic utensils and go for these instead. The great about packing your utensils is that you’re never left in a difficult position when eating whilst travelling. As bamboo utensils are easily washable, you can carry them with you when you’re out for the day. Travelling consists of eating in foreign environments, some of which will not have any utensils. This is where your utensils will come into use. As well as being good for the environment, bamboo is usually lighter in weight, smell and stain-proof and cuts outs a lot of UV rays, which is great for warmer climates.
Solid Bars
Ditch your mini toiletries and opt for solid shampoo and soap bars instead. Not only will you save time at security, solid bars often are better in quality than liquid toiletries. Now you can also get your hands on solid face creams, solid moisturisers and even solid hand creams. With no outer packaging and producing zero waste, solid bars make for extremely economical toiletries when travelling. You may have to put them in a container of some sort, but it’s all worth it when there’s no major shampoo explosion. Having said that, many of the solid bars today do come with some sort of reusable packaging.
Bamboo Toothbrush
We can’t get enough of bamboo and for good reason! Not only are they 100% natural, but bamboo is also vegan and anti-microbial. That means using bamboo products can help treat infections whilst brushing your teeth. Those that have started using bamboo toothbrushes have never looked back. With it being friendly to your gums and teeth, bamboo toothbrushes can last longer than plastic ones. If you’re looking to get away from contributing to worldwide waste, choose a bamboo toothbrush instead. Made with plant-based bristles, bamboo toothbrushes are also easily biodegradable.
Eco-Friendly Travel Backpack
No list of eco-friendly travel items is complete without an eco-friendly travel backpack. You may not see much of a difference at face value, but eco-friendly backpacks are usually made from incredible and durable materials. This allows you to keep your backpack longer and allows for more weight even in the most lightweight of bags. We recommend the Osprey Archeon as it can be folded away easily and is fully recycled.
Juber Ahmed is our Digital Editor and travel enthusiast with a keen interest in Islamic history and heritage. He travels with his wife to various places around the world and writes about his experiences.
Juber's favourite Quote...
"The World Is a Book and Those Who Do Not Travel Read Only One Page" [Saint Augustine]
