6 Ways To Choose Environmentally Friendly Products

Posted on June 26, 2020

Caring for your environment is just as important as caring for your health. What you wouldn’t choose to put on your skin, you shouldn’t choose to support.

Living in a world with higher and higher waste production, pollution and deforestation rates, it is extremely important to conserve the environment while we can. You can change habits in your home to reduce your footprint, but there is a lot more you can do to go greener.

With the abundance of products stacking today’s shelves, it can be tricky to navigate an eco-friendly approach to purchasing your essentials. Here are 6 ways to choose environmentally friendly products to do your part in protecting Earth. 

1) Choose products with sustainable ingredients:

Supporting products with unsustainable ingredients is threatening biodiversity and the ecosystem. Always reach for products that use ingredients that are cautiously selected to prevent damage to our ecosystem and natural resource supplies.

But what does sustainable mean? Sustainable ensures that the product is produced and transported in an environmentally conscious way to limit/prevent the negative consequences on climate change and the depletion of resources. 

2) Avoid products with palm oil:

One of the most exploited ingredients in the food and cosmetic industry, producing palm oil is extremely damaging to the environment. Unfortunately, the demand for palm oil production has caused significant deforestation and a threat to the diversity of animals.

Oil palms grow in low-lying tropical rainforests, which are home to many endangered species, such as orangutans and rhinos. When these are utilized for industry, it causes animals to flee their natural habitats, increasing their risk of extinction.

Additionally, the deforestation of rainforests to make way for palm oil plantations emits a serious amount of greenhouse gases that damage the climate and increase pollution.

Therefore, it is important to prevent the purchase of products containing palm oil to ensure you are supporting sustainability and protecting the environment.

3) Avoid products with excess packaging:

More and more products market their products in fancy, elaborate packaging that may look great, but are often not recyclable. Instead, use products that use minimal packaging to ensure you are reducing waste. Always look for the ‘recyclable and reusable’ symbol when purchasing products.

Better yet, try to reuse the packaging at home for different purposes. Get creative and find useful ways to and minimise your waste output.

4) Choose organic:

The organic way is the green way.

Picking organic is not just to protect your skin and health, it’s also necessary to protect the environment. Organic farming practices are more eco-friendly - they use less water and energy, and prevent pesticide poisoning that may threaten the lives of nearby animals.

It is far more sustainable than other farming practices, and protects the soil from erosion and contamination.

5) Watch out for harmful artificial ingredients:

We are all conscious when purchasing skincare products on what ingredients we expect to find, but what about the ingredients we need to avoid?

When it comes to our ecosystem, there are a variety of hidden chemicals in our products that have negative consequences on the environment after they have been rinsed down the drain. 

These are a couple of ingredients to avoid when purchasing skincare:

Sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate should be avoided, as they are believed to damage the coral reefs and marine life. Instead, opt for an ocean-friendly SPF that protects your skin and marine life.

Triclosan is an antibacterial agent found in soaps, face washes and toothpastes. While it sounds great to disinfect, it is very toxic to natural aquatic bacteria and algae. Choose a 100% natural castile soap instead to prevent marine-damaging chemicals.

6) Choose multi-purpose products:

Face wash, shampoo, hand wash, body wash, moisturizer, disinfectant, dish soap and floor cleaner - these are just a few of many commonly stacked products in a standard household. Sounds like your cupboard?

How about you save some space and reduce waste by choosing products that can be used for a variety of purposes? Castile soap is a wonder-worker that can be used in a multitude of ways to care for your skin, health, and home.

Finding versatile products is key to practicing sustainability at home - and doing your part to save your planet.

Also in Health Center