This post is part of a paid collaboration with Plaine Products and I received product for review.
5 Ways to Zero-Waste Your Morning Routine
1. Buy your coffee or tea in compostable bags.
Check your coffee bag or tea box to see if the packaging used is compostable. Some coffee bags have plastic components or are coated with film, which makes it difficult to recycle or compost them. Likewise, not all tea bags are created equal. Make sure the brand you buy uses natural fiber-based bags and strings instead of nylon.
A few of my favorite sustainable options: Virginia-roasted Red Rooster Coffee | Numi Organic Tea
2. Choose compostable or mesh coffee filters.
Although most paper coffee filters will biodegrade, it’s better for the environment to buy unbleached filters, as bleach filters may carry residual chemicals that can leach into the ground. My preference is to use a mesh, metal filter that simply requires a quick rinse after use each morning.
My favorite sustainable option: Coffee Gator Pour Over Coffee Maker
3. Wash your hands with bar soap.
Bar soap requires far less packaging than liquid pump soaps, and some varieties come completely free of packaging, which makes them zero-waste on the consumer end. Best to stay away from antibacterial hand soaps anyway, as they contribute to the growth of super-bacteria that can become resistant to antibiotics, making us less able to fight serious infections.
We don’t need antibacterial ingredients to rid ourselves of germs: soap works by physically loosening grime and microbes from our bodies and rinsing them away.
My favorite sustainable option: Freedom Soap Company*
4. Buy recycled or Sustainable Forestry Initiative certified toilet paper.
According to Leotie Lovely, US residents alone require about 7 million trees’ worth of toilet paper each year. For a more sustainable option, choose toilet paper made from post-consumer recycled paper (Trader Joe’s sells a version) or, at the very least, find brands that are part of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program.
5. Buy your shower care items in refillable containers from Plaine Products.
The amount of plastic a typical woman requires just to get ready for the day is mind-boggling. I don’t even want to think about how many bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash I’ve purchased over the years, but I’m sure it numbers in the several hundreds.
According to EWG’s Skin Deep, the average adult uses 9 personal care products each morning, most of it packaged in plastic or glass that, even if recyclable, is destined to go through an exorbitantly inefficient system – and probably travel the world a few times – in order to be reused. And plastic never biodegrades.
I’ve been furiously seeking out alternatives, but shampoo bars weren’t working on my thin hair, especially as it grew longer (a bit of residue doesn’t hurt in a pixie cut, but is pretty obvious on fine, straight hair). I needed something gentle, lightweight, and natural.
Plaine Products was, quite honestly, my last hope, and they came through. The company, which produces all natural shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in refillable, stainless steel pump bottles, was founded by sisters, Lindsey McCoy and Alison Webster, after Lindsey had an aha moment in the shower one day. In her words:
I was working at an environmental nonprofit and living in The Bahamas. In the islands there is no “away” to throw your trash. So plastic is everywhere. Overflowing the too-small landfills, on the beaches, in the water, along the side of the road. Once you start to notice single-use plastic you realize it’s everywhere.
Then you start reading. Half of all plastic is used once and thrown away. More than half of all sea turtles have eaten plastic. Over 100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds die from plastic pollution every year. Everyone who has been tested has some residue of plastic chemicals in their body. The list goes on.
Lindsey’s environmental background and Alison’s attention to quality control helped them develop a simple but effective line of products that makes going low-waste possible for everyone. You can buy their products in 16 ounce containers ($30 each) or travel sizes ($5 each) one by one or through a subscription service, which comes every 4 months.
Each time you order, you’ll be given the option to request a return label for your empty bottles, and Plaine Products will reuse them for future orders. You keep the pump bottle from your first order to use with your refill.
Plaine Products sends orders in EcoEnclose packaging, which is made of 100% post-consumer/post-industrial recycled materials.
My favorite sustainable option: Plaine Products Three Pack Subscription
I’ll be doing a full review and giveaway on Plaine Products next week, so come back for more information about the ingredients and my overall experience.
Shop Plaine Products here.
Leah Wise
Leah Wise is the founder of StyleWise Blog. She has been writing, speaking, and consulting on sustainable fashion, the fair trade and secondhand supply chain, and digital marketing for over ten years. An Episcopal priest, Leah holds a B.A. in Religion from Florida State University and an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School. When not working, you can find her looking for treasures at the thrift store.