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As green business owners, it most likely won’t surprise you that we travel with sustainable travel items. While traveling, we make sustainable choices wherever and whenever we can. These choices include our choice of transportation, tours that we decide to visit, and the sustainable travel items we travel with. We travel with a lot of different sustainable travel items. In this blog article, we narrow it down to the 10 sustainable travel items we can’t travel without!
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 1: Deodorant
Honestly, who doesn’t like a nice-smelling armpit? We know we do and for this, we are a huge fan of natural deodorant cream. All jokes aside, this sustainable travel item is animal cruelty-free (and if it’s not, we don’t consider deodorant to be a sustainable item) and doesn’t contain any ingredients of animal origin. Out of our own experiences, we have learned that we like using natural deodorant cream that much, it’s one of the sustainable travel items we can’t travel without anymore. It smells really nice, it’s very easy to apply to the skin, and it is a lot more delicate for the skin in the long run than regular deodorant.
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 2: Shampoo
From the first care product on to the next one! Let’s explain a bit more about shampoo, also a sustainable travel item we travel with. The type of shampoo we bring with us while traveling we buy as a shampoo bar. The fact that it’s not liquid is beneficial to avoid any leakages along the way, and it also lowers the weight you pack drastically. Besides these practical benefits, our recommended shampoo bar is zero-waste, sustainable, and organic. Ever since using a shampoo bar for the first time, we were sold! Therefore this is, in our opinion, the must-have sustainable travel item!
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 3: Conditioner
And when we talk about shampoo being a sustainable travel item, conditioner can not be forgotten. For conditioner, it’s the same principle. The conditioner bar we travel with is plastic-free and all vegan. This sustainable travel item has the same practical benefits as the shampoo bar has.
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 4: Insect repellent
Do you know how there is always this one person who gets stung by all mosquitos? That’s Carmen! Most of the regular insect repellents contain DEET. It’s been said that when the repellent is not directly applied to plants or wildlife the impact on the environment is minimal. But still, the EPA shows that still DEET is slightly toxic to birds and fish. That made us on one hand not want to use insect repellent with DEET. On the other hand, however, desperately wanting to protect ourselves from all the mozzies. Therefore, when we learned about this sustainable travel item, we were over the moon: an insect repellent that is solely created with plant-based ingredients. For all green travelers out there, this is an absolute must-have!
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 5: Organic sunscreen
In all fairness, we needed some convincing when we first laid eyes on this sustainable travel item. Organic sunscreen that is biodegradable and wrapped in recyclable packaging. What else does any green traveler want? We have learned that the organic sunscreen we can’t travel without is a bit thicker when applying. We didn’t experience this to be annoying in any kind of way. The biggest plus when buying organic sunscreen is that the sunscreen itself is reef safe. This (usually) means the sunscreen only contains minerals. Therefore, this sunscreen turns into a sustainable travel item because it’s just as safe and effective. It only is a different feeling when applying to the skin.
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 6: Reusable makeup wipes
When doing laundry people often ask us what that tiny thing actually is. It’s one of (mainly) Carmen’s most favorite sustainable travel items: Bamboo makeup wipes! Because they are made from bamboo, they are reusable, so we haven’t been bought regular makeup wipes for almost 2 years already. Carmen finds these bamboo makeup wipes to be softer for her skin and eyes. This sustainable travel item is usually packed together with a few scrub wipes as well.
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 7: Bamboo toothbrush
Funny inside story: during Christmas 2020, we gave our whole family bamboo toothbrushes simply because we love using them so much! It, therefore, won’t surprise you to find this sustainable travel item in our top 10, right? Besides purchasing a bamboo toothbrush, you can also purchase biodegradable dental floss. When you decide to explore some of these sustainable items, we think it’s best to go all the way!
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 8: Bamboo cotton earbuds
We all use them, so why not change the regular cotton earbuds to bamboo cotton earbuds? Ever since we purchased these a little while ago, we haven’t bought the regular ones anymore. This sustainable travel item is always packed in biodegradable wrapping, which we find much more convenient while traveling. This, because this packaging is more flexible and obviously doesn’t contain any plastics. As simple as this product might sound, this sustainable travel item is an absolute must-have!
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 9: Water bottle with filter
Our water bottle with filter is actually the very first sustainable travel item we bought ourselves. Because we used it that regularly, we purchased a second one as well. We both travel with Lifestraw. Lifestraw’s water bottle reduces the waste of plastic worldwide. By the use of microfilters and purifiers, it changes contaminated water into drinking water. A big, big plus, and a sustainable travel item that can’t miss during your next travel!
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL ITEM 10: Bamboo straws & cutlery
After living in Bali for four months quite recently, bamboo straws and cutlery are now fully integrated into our full-time travel lifestyle. While the phenomenon of bamboo straws and cutlery in Western culture is already quite renowned, still many travel with plastic ones. We, therefore, feel the need to put extra emphasis on these sustainable travel items simply because they aren’t any less compared to plastic ones. If only: they last a whole lot longer! So, when prepping for your next travel, make sure to purchase these sustainable straws & cutlery!
We hope that reading about the 10 sustainable travel items we can’t travel without inspired you. Or no even better, we hope it didn’t because you are already a proud owner of many of these sustainable travel items!
Either way: if you have questions about any of these items, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or question. In case you’re curious for more of the sustainable travel items we travel with, click here.
Written by: Carmen Castricum
