As travelers, we have a responsibility to take care of our world, to leave it in at least the same condition we found it and to not further the damage. If being environmentally responsible is important to you when you travel, you should also look for travel products that are made of recycled or recyclable materials. The most important things to remember are avoiding items that will go to waste or end up in landfills like certain types of plastics and batteries. Here are our picks for the best eco-friendly travel products!
Clothing
When it comes to finding eco-friendly travel clothing, look for those using natural fibers like hemp, organic cotton or bamboo. Brooke swears by the bamboo clothing, which feels like you’re wearing sheets. Yala Designs makes stylish travel clothing for women, also out of bamboo fabrics. And if you’re interested in clothing that has a low carbon footprint, check out Teeki yoga pants, which are made from recycled plastic bottles and come in funky patterns.
>> Check out Yala Designs on Amazon.
>> Check out Teeki yoga pants on Amazon.
Toiletries and Sanitary Items
Once you need to wash your clothes, save water and electricity by hand washing and line drying them. This can also save you money! Just bring along a sink plug, detergent and a clothesline.
Look for sanitary items that you won’t be constantly throwing away and filling up landfills. We’re partial to the Diva Cup, but have also heard great things about sea sponges.
>> Check out the Diva Cup on Amazon.
>> Check out sea sponge tampons on Amazon.
For your toiletries, purchase refillable bottles so you’re not constantly going through travel-sized varieties. GoToobs are BPA free and come with a lifetime warranty and Pitotubes are made of recyclable, shatterproof plastic.
>> Check out GoToobs on Amazon.
>> Check out Pitotubes on Amazon.
In terms of toiletries, there are plenty of options for environmentally-friendly products. We’ve talked about Lush products here, including solid shampoo and perfume, that are made from organic fruits and vegetables, use as little packaging as possible, and never test on animals.
>> Check out Lush products on Amazon.
Burt’s Bees is another company that makes sustainable products from beeswax and other natural ingredients. They sell their famous lip balms, as well as body washes, face cleansers and lotions. Tom’s of Maine makes natural toothpaste, deodorant and other oral hygiene products.
>> Check out Burt’s Bees on Amazon.
>> Check out Tom’s of Main on Amazon.
We’re also massive fans of Dr. Bronner’s products, specifically the Magic Soaps that can be used dozens of ways. The castile soaps are made using vegetable products instead of animal fats and are biodegradable. The organic products are made using sustainable farming practices, making your soaps and shampoos even more green. And of course, if you want so smell nice, try Aroamas solid perfumes, which are made using only coconut oil, beeswax and fragrance oil.
>> Check out Dr. Bronner’s on Amazon.
>> Check out Aroamas here.
Recyclable and Reusable Items
We suggest always traveling with some sort of reusable bag for those shopping trips and transport of snacks on a long train ride, but if it’s made out of recycled materials, that’s even better. The Chico Bag RePETe line is made from recycled materials and fold down into less than half their size. Timbuk2 bags are made with environmentally sound materials and even recycle bags that you no longer use. The fabric and liner are also made from recycled PET plastic.
>> Check out the Chico Bag on Amazon.
>> Check out Timbuk2 bags on Amazon.
Traveling with a water bottle is another way to stay green, as you can refill instead of constantly purchasing water bottles and throwing them away. Bobble makes filtered water bottles that are both made from recycled materials and can be recycled. Kleen Kanteen is another company that produces eco-friendly water bottles.
>> Check out Bobble on Amazon.
>> Check out Kleen Kanteen on Amazon.
And if you frequently drink coffee or other warm beverages when you travel, you might want to invest in a reusable coffee mug that you can bring to coffee shops when you take it to go. This keeps you from throwing away all those paper cups.
Chargers, Tech Gear and The Rest
Electronics have a notoriously low shelf life and therefore inevitably end up being tossed, but there are ways to avoid this. Try solar chargers, which can cost less than $50, for that extra juice when you don’t have access to an outlet.
Sleeping on flights is hard enough, so treat yourself to this bamboo eye mask and blanket set made by PB Travel. It’s silky soft and hypo-allergenic, lulling you off to sleep.
And when you start to record your travel experiences, write them down in a recycled travel journal from Ecosystem, which creates hard bound journals from recycled paper. You can choose your color, size and style.
>> Check out Ecosystem Journals on Amazon.
Oh man, those yoga pants are faaaaabulous! Great post, thanks for sharing.
Happy travels 🙂
I love lush products! Recently, I travelled with the solid shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer in my carry-on … was such a blessing and helped reduce my 100ml load!
My friend from the US makes her Mum ship her bert’s bees lipbalm from New Mexico to Sydney, Australia! She claims that she can’t live without it, but also it costs an arm and a leg to buy it in Aus.
Great list! I love to travel and I HATE all the airline issues nowadays. Having the refillable bottles will help a ton. Also, I wanted to point out that yes! Bamboo clothing is the best to travel in! Cariloha also makes awesome bamboo towels and sheets that are to die for…but when it comes to work out clothes and yoga pants, there is nothing better than bamboo!
Thank you for this list. It’s good to see more eco-friendly travel products. I have some other suggestions.
– Onya makes a reusable barista-friendly coffee cup in silicone.
– Natracare panty liners are plastic-free and made from organic cotton, and not individually wrapped in plastic.
– EO hand sanitizing wipes are plastic-free bamboo wipes
– Crystal deodorant from natural mineral salts in a travel size lasts for months. I took the brand CRYSTAL on my last trip of 2+ months and used no more than a third of a 40-g container.
– I love LUSH. My favourite shampoo bar is Honey I Washed my Hair, in their super lightweight tin.