Review - 5 Sustainable Non Toxic Products You Might Want to Try
In this post, I’ll be shining light on 5 sustainable products that I’ve been trying out for a while and my experiences with them. If you’ve been following me, here on my blog or social media, you know I’ve been into sustainable products and low waste lifestyle for decades now. It’s been a journey, always an imperfect but a progressive one. Changing times have no doubt made this journey a lot easier than ever before. It does help to be surrounded by plethora of options in the market today, especially compared to the 90s, and the system has come to embrace low waste businesses more wholeheartedly than ever before. Of course, this is a blessing and a curse considering the fact that we are now bombarded with plethora of choices to blow our minds out. And, to add to this, mainstream mega companies getting into this space and buying out small organic companies out, especially under the radar and keeping a low profile, has given a loud thriving space for loads of low quality ad-promotion heavy products with hidden ingredients, leading to watering down of our favorites and giving rise to greenwashing. The ones who started out on this path early on have seen this covert buy-outs explode from less harmful minor mergers to threatening mega takeovers.
3 Things to Support Sustainable Businesses
While this buying-out of smaller companies out by bigger mega conglomerates is a fact and something we have no control over, here are a list of things you can do if you want to go low waste and help the environment by supporting sustainable businesses –
1. Going vegan or eating as plant based as possible. If you can’t go vegan, try vegetarian or high-vegetarian diet.
2. Reducing consumption – Buy consciously, maintain your products so they last for a long time, and dispose it off in a way that doesn’t damage the environment. Also, try going for natural, compostable or biodegradable products like bamboo or hemp whenever possible.
3. Buy Local and Small – Buying from small local companies you’re familiar with, you can reduce your carbon footprints and help our environment.
Coming down to the product reviews, I’ve been using some of these new sustainable finds and wanted to share my thoughts and experiences here. If you’re trying to adopt a more sustainable and low waste lifestyle, and trying to find ecofriendly swaps, these products might be something you might want to consider. Here is my take on these 5 Sustainable products I’ve been trying out for about two years or so –
Review on 5 Sustainable products
Vitamix Stainless Steel Blenders –
Vitamix finally decided to carry steel blenders! How cool and exciting is that???? Steel is always welcome in our house and for many reasons: steel is strong, durable, easy to clean, and most of all, a sustainable nontoxic material that has been used for hundreds of years unlike synthetic plastics.
Here are my pros and cons about the new steel blender –
Pros –
– Strong, durable and built to last. If you’re into sustainability, this is a major plus.
– Steel is a non toxic, safe and non reactive material so no worrying about chemicals from plastics leaching into your food.
– Steel is also versatile so you can use it for hot or cold food. You don’t have to worry about hot or acidic food leaching toxins out of the container into the food either.
– Super easy to clean up and stays cleaner longer unlike plastic jars. All you need is some baking soda and a bit of dish soap. Yes, it does get stained if you use ingredients such as cocoa or turmeric and needs some good scrubbing but this beats plastic jars any day. The area near the blades is harder to clean and fibers from the brushes can get caught up in it which can be a pain to get rid of.
– No more cloudy, dull and scratched out ugly containers. Considering the fact that plastic jars are transparent, it’s hard to conceal the scratches, food stains or cloudiness. No need to worry about that problem here.
– Less guilt when it’s time to throw out worn out containers. Unlike plastic, metal is recyclable and non toxic to wildlife or the planet. (There are some plastic parts but it doesn’t come in contact with the food. For example – the BPA free lid and the bottom part of the container that attaches to the base)
Cons –
On the not so bright side,
– Sharp edges near the spout and base area of the containers that could cut you off if you’re not careful, especially while cleaning the blender container. The base could scratch your tables if you aren’t careful. It would’ve been better if the sharp edges were rounded off for safety purpose.
– It would be helpful if they had bigger sized jars too for the same price. 48 oz is good for 2 – 2 1/2 cups max but if you’re going to make smoothies for 4, you might not be able to do this in one go using the container.
– Steel can be noisy and some might find it a bit annoying. I know a few in my family who find the noise really annoying.
– Expensive. Why? I don’t know but it shouldn’t be in my opinion.
– Not a Local Made Product – I’m not against globalization or foreign made products but I follow the philosophy – first local, then global. I would prefer locally made products because this reduces our dependency on fossil fuel used for transportation, which means less pollution that leads to climate crisis we currently are in. May be they can have manufacturing in different countries and sell them right there locally? It’s more sustainable and probably economical.
You can buy here –
https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/shop/48-ounce-stainless-steel-container
Banyan Tree Toothpowder –
Toothpastes come housed in plastic tubes and it’s definitely not sustainable nor healthy for us. While on my quest to find a product to replace my Redmond clay toothpaste, I stumbled upon this brand and their toothcare products. Here are my pros and cons –
Pros –
– Easy to use. It can be dusty and go all over if you’re new to powders but with some tricks, this is pretty easy to use. Use a small spoon to pick a pinch of the product into the palms of your hand and go over this with your wet brush. This might take some time to get used to it but once perfected, it becomes second nature in my opinion.
– Cleans well but the lack of strong peppermint overtones might leave some people feeling like the end result is not clean enough.
Cons –
Georganics Floss –
Pros –
– Minty flavored and effective at doing what it is supposed to do.
– Glass jar casing that can be reused.
– Decent quantity of floss which lasts for months (may be three to 4? Haven’t really counted here)
Cons –
– Can’t think of any. I know some hardcore vegans don’t like using even ahimsa silk but if I have to choose between plastic and this, I would honestly prefer this.
If you could use bamboo toothbrushes, you would prevent plastic toothbrushes from ending up in landfills. Considering the fact that millions of toothbrushes land up in our landfills, this is something to think about. Read about toothbrushes pollution here on Fast Company
Kahina Restorative Serum –
Pros
Cons –
Meow Meow Tweet Soaps –
I tried both rosemary and lavender ones for about 2 years. Both work well and decent at cleaning but don’t count on them to remove oil. If you’re into oil treatments, you might require three to 4 – 5 washes to get your hair clean.
Pros
- No extra packaging here – comes wrapped in a compostable paper with zero writing on it.
- Smells delightful, clean and natural.
- Definitely would buy again for regular use.
Herbivore Botanicals Coconut Sea Mist Texturizing Salt Spray & Hair Mist –
Herbivore Mist
Pros
This spray smells like tropical heaven and so versatile to use! While it does give you that most coveted sexy beachy hair, the product use can go beyond haircare.
When summer is over, this can be used as linen or room spray. Considering the fact that salt is detoxifying, this is probably a great use for detoxifying our space while adding that dreamy tropical coconut scent to the air and boost aromatherapy benefits.
Cons
You can buy here:
Something to think about:
~ Henry David Thoreau
