Faith Swanberg from Explore Zero Waste stopped by to share her tips for going plastic-free in the bathroom.
"You are hearing it everywhere, we need to cut down on our use of plastic. We need to reduce plastic use for our health, for the planet, for the ocean, and for the turtle. One area where we use and dispose of a ton of plastic is in the bathroom. Our shampoo and conditioner, our soap, our toothpaste, our floss, our mouthwash, our lotion. our makeup, our sunscreen, and even our toilet paper come in plastic. But with a few swaps you can go plastic free in your bathroom.
- Toothpaste - You can get tooth tabs, a pill size chewable tooth paste alternative, or toothpaste in a refillable jar at a local shopped called Animalia in the 9th & 9th district (280 900 S, SLC).
- Toothbrush - Bamboo tooth brushes can easily be found at many stores including local shops such as Hello!Bulk Market on the West side (355 N 500 W, SLC) or Animalia.
- Mouth wash - mouth wash tablets that can be dissolved in water and used as normal can be found from companies such as Geoganics.
- Floss - Floss can be found plastic free and refillable at Hello!Bulk and Animalia which also has a vegan option.
- Shampoo and conditioner - The bar forms of these are a great alternative. Shampoo and conditioner bars can be found at our local online store explorezerowaste.com. A shampoo bar from the local company Olio Skin and Beard can be picked up at Hello!Bulk Markets. And if you just cant get behind a shampoo bar refills and available locally at both Hello!Bulk Markets and Animalia or you can get refills in a stainless steel returnable container from services such as https://www.plaineproducts.com/shop/ and get refill straight to your door.
- Soaps - Bar soap again is best for the environment when purchased in bar form. Olio Skin and Beard is a great local soap maker whose soap bars can be found in many places in SLC including Hello!Bulk and they can also be found often at local markets. Liquid refills can again be found at Hello!Bulk and Animalia.
- Lotions - Bar lotions can be found from local makers. You can also refill at Animalia and Hello!Bulk Market.
- Deodorant - your can find refillable glass jars or compostable tubs of deodorant at Animalia. You can also find cut your own deodorant from Olio at Hello!Bulk. There are also a ton of options online including a powder deodorant from Life Stinks that comes in stainless steel and you can get refills in compostable bags.
- Razors - Safety razors are reusable razors with changeable blades. You can find these on explorezerowaste.com .
- Makeup - There are tons of great companies making makeup plastic free. Many options can be found at Animalia including products from Nudi Goods, Fat and The Moon, and many more. Toners can also be found there. Local companies such as EK Bare Beauty @ekbarebeauty are cutting down plastic usage. Elate cosmetics make great plastic free make up options https://elatebeauty.com/ , and Loli is making great things for your face in reuasable food grade glass container, they have toner, masks, and oils that you will love https://lolibeauty.com/ .
- Sunscreen - This one is hard to find but Animalia has a great option from Meow Meow Tweet that comes in stainless steel. We also have a locally made face sunscreen by Plantiful Mama at explorezerowaste.com .
I mentioned several dry options, meaning bar soaps or tooth tabs, but why are these better? It has to with volume when shipping; it takes more resources to ship liquids because they take up more space. So your best options environmentally is to skip the liquids when it comes to your beauty routine."
You can find more from Faith at explorezerowaste.com.
