11 best sustainable bathroom products to replace plastic in 2021
Many people tend to overlook their plastic footprint in the bathroom — here are some plastic-free and zero waste alternatives for an eco-friendly space.
If you’re hoping to cut down on your use of toilet paper altogether, a bidet toilet seat attachment is a sustainable (and more affordable) option. This bidet by TUSHY takes approximately 10 minutes to install and includes a nozzle adjuster and pressure control knob to adjust the angle and water pressure for convenience. The brand claims the bidet cuts your toilet paper usage by 80 percent and leaves you feeling cleaner.
Sanitary pads and tampons tend to incorporate a lot of plastic, both in their packaging and the material used to make them. DivaCup’s menstrual cups are made from medical grade silicone with no chemicals, dyes or plastic, and they’re totally reusable — the brand says the DivaCup can be used for up to a year with routine cleaning, and worn for up to 12 hours depending on your menstrual flow. Menstrual cups like the DivaCup are not only a less wasteful alternative to pads and tampons, but they’re also more affordable. A 2019 study published in peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet found that, over time, menstrual cups cost “a small fraction” of the price of regular tampons and sanitary pads, and they produce much less plastic waste compared to other period products.
This men’s razor by Schick is a fully recyclable disposable razor that comes in recyclable packaging. According to the brand, it’s the first disposable razor on the market made with 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. It features an ergonomic grip without rubber and Aloe lubricant for sensitive skin. Schick also launched a recycling program that lets people mail in their eligible Schick razors for free so that the brand can properly recycle them.
If you’re hoping to eliminate your use of plastic shampoo bottles, these package-free shampoo bars from EcoRoots are offered in seven scents (one unscented option) and last for more than 50 washes each, according to the brand. They're vegan, color-safe, travel friendly and 100 percent plastic-free and package-free. EcoRoots also offers conditioner bars that’ll make your hair care routine more eco-friendly.
While the nylon bristles of this toothbrush aren’t biodegradable (and need to be thrown away separately), the handles on these bamboo toothbrushes will decompose in your home or in an industrial setting, which makes them a great alternative to plastic toothbrushes you throw out every few months. They come in a pack of four and the packaging is 100 percent biodegradable.
“Completely redesigning one’s beauty routine may seem daunting so individuals are encouraged to start with simply swapping out disposable makeup wipes and sponges with durable, multi-use alternatives that can be washed and used again,” suggested TerraCycle’s Alex Payne. These reusable rounds by makeup artist Jenny Patinkin are made from organic bamboo and are fragrance-free, hypoallergenic, antibacterial and antimicrobial. Reusable cosmetic rounds and wipes are also a great alternative for single-use makeup wipes which, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, typically contain non-biodegradable materials that take a long time to break down in a landfill. You can also opt for reusable and gently exfoliating muslin cloths.
Myro offers seven different colored cases that you can refill with your choice of deodorant from nine scented, recyclable deodorant pods. The case is refillable — you can buy another pod and simply snap it in place. The case is dishwasher safe, so you can keep it continuously clean as you reuse it or fill it with a new scent. You can also pick a subscription plan, which costs $10 for your first month’s starter kit, $40 for your first refill box with four deodorant pods of each scent and $30 for all refills after that (which you can get every three, four or six months).
If you’re looking for an alternative to plastic-packaged dental floss, this refillable 33-yard spool of dental floss is made from mulberry silk that is entirely biodegradable and coated with plant-based candelilla wax. The refill spool comes in a polylactide acid bag created from the lactic acid in plants. According to the brand, the floss composts in three to six months at a commercial facility and six to 10 months in homestyle bins.
The Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit advocacy group, reports that 8 million metric tons of plastic went into the ocean in 2020, and single-use plastic-stemmed cotton swabs are part of the problem. Although popular cotton swab brand Q-tips has officially transitioned to biodegradable paper sticks in recent years (its packaging, however, is only partially recyclable), bamboo cotton swabs like these from By Humankind are 100 percent biodegradable and come in a fully recyclable packaging. When you finish the pack, you can recycle the paper tube and compost the cotton swabs at home or in an industrial composting facility.
TerraCycle developed the Zero Waste Box program as an at-home or in-store recycling solution for difficult-to-recycle products. A business or shopper selects a Zero Waste Box from the online shop, fills the box with the appropriate waste stream and then ships the box back to TerraCycle with a prepaid shipping label. While there are 10 different box options depending on the items collected (safety equipment, kitchen items and coffee capsules, for instance), the Bathroom Separation Box allows you to separate bath and shower accessories, cleaning accessories, health care packaging, storage containers, personal care accessories and other packaging for recycling. The collected plastic is cleaned, melted and formed into plastic pellets that can then be recycled into new plastic products such as park benches and picnic tables. Collected metals are smelted and remolded to make other metal-based products. “TerraCycle developed the Zero Waste Box program as a solution to bridge the gap between what is not accepted through local municipal recycling,” said TerraCycle’s Alex Payne. “This gives users the freedom to recycle all brands of a specific waste stream.”
The beauty and personal care industry is a major culprit of our heavy plastic footprint — 7.9 billion units of rigid plastic were made for packaging personal care and beauty products like hand soap, face wash, razors and shampoo in 2018, according to the most recent data from Euromonitor International, a market research company based in London, England. And a study by Zero Waste Europe found that 120 billion units of plastic packaging are produced by the beauty industry globally each year. With the market size of the industry expected to jump from $81.1 billion in 2019 to $128.7 billion by 2030, transitioning to more eco-friendly and zero waste bathroom products can be a worthwhile investment with an eye toward the 51st anniversary of Earth Day.
“The old saying we learned as school children, ‘reduce, reuse and recycle,’ is just as relevant as it was back then,” said Payne. “The most environmentally-conscious decision is always to reduce your overall consumption and buy less when possible.”
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