{"id":7542,"date":"2022-03-01T02:45:01","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T02:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heelinmint.com\/?p=7542"},"modified":"2022-09-21T01:57:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T01:57:57","slug":"5-sustainable-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heelinmint.com\/blog\/5-sustainable-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Healin\u2019 Finds – 5 Sustainable NonToxic Products You Must Try"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review - 5 Sustainable Non Toxic Products You Might Want to Try<\/p>


\nIn 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\u2019ve been into sustainable products and low waste lifestyle for decades now. It\u2019s 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. <\/span>
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3 Things to Support Sustainable Businesses<\/span><\/h1>\n

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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 –<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. Going vegan or eating as plant based as possible. If you can\u2019t go vegan, try vegetarian or high-vegetarian diet. <\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Reducing consumption – Buy consciously, maintain your products so they last for a long time, and dispose it off in a way that doesn\u2019t damage the environment. Also, try going for natural, compostable or biodegradable products like bamboo or hemp whenever possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Buy Local and Small – Buying from small local companies you’re familiar with, you can reduce your carbon footprints and help our environment. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Healin\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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Coming down to the product reviews, I\u2019ve been using some of these new sustainable finds and wanted to share my thoughts and experiences here.  If you\u2019re 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\u2019ve been trying out for about two years or so   –<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Review on 5 Sustainable products<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Vitamix Stainless Steel Blenders –<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"Healin\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are my pros and cons about the new steel blender –<\/span><\/p>\n

Pros –<\/span><\/h2>\n

– Strong, durable and built to last. If you\u2019re into sustainability, this is a major plus.<\/span><\/p>\n

– Steel is a non toxic, safe and non reactive material so no worrying about chemicals from plastics leaching into your food.<\/span><\/p>\n

– Steel is also versatile so you can use it for hot or cold food. You don\u2019t have to worry about hot or acidic food leaching toxins out of the container into the food either.<\/span><\/p>\n

–  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. <\/span><\/p>\n


\n– No more cloudy, dull and scratched out ugly containers. Considering the fact that plastic jars are transparent, it\u2019s hard to conceal the scratches, food stains or cloudiness. No need to worry about that problem here. <\/span><\/p>\n

– Less guilt when it\u2019s 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\u2019t come in contact with the food. For example – the BPA free lid and the bottom part of the container that attaches to the base) <\/span><\/p>\n

Cons  –<\/span><\/h2>\n

On the not so bright side,<\/span><\/p>\n

– Sharp edges near the spout and base area of the containers that could cut you off if you\u2019re not careful, especially while cleaning the blender container. The base could scratch your tables if you aren\u2019t careful. It would\u2019ve been better if the sharp edges were rounded off for safety purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

– 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\u2019re going to make smoothies for 4, you might not be able to do this in one go using the container.<\/span><\/p>\n

– 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

– Expensive. Why? I don\u2019t know but it shouldn\u2019t be in my opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n

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– Not a Local Made Product  – I\u2019m 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\u2019s more sustainable and probably economical.<\/span><\/p>\n

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You can buy here –<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vitamix 48 oz. Stainless Steel Container ~<\/a><\/span>
\nhttps:\/\/www.vitamix.com\/us\/en_us\/shop\/48-ounce-stainless-steel-container<\/span><\/div>\n

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Would I recommend it?  Yes, yes and yes!    Here are changes I would like to see –<\/span><\/div>\n
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1) Hope they bring down the price,<\/span><\/div>\n
2) Expand their assortment by adding bigger sized jars to their collection, and..<\/span><\/div>\n
3) Round off the sharp edges for safety purposes.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Banyan Tree Toothpowder –<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"Healin\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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Toothpastes come housed in plastic tubes and it\u2019s 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 –<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Pros –<\/span><\/h2>\n
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– Easy to use. It can be dusty and go all over if you\u2019re 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

– Cleans well but the lack of strong peppermint overtones might leave some people feeling like the end result is not clean enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

– Non <\/span>toxic organic ingredients that have been part of Ayurveda for thousands of years standing the test of time for effectiveness and safety. No unnecessary filler ingredients which is a plus. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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– Lasts about a month plus. I honestly haven\u2019t counted but it feels like it has enough product for a month or plus use (for one person using this on a regular basis 2x a day).<\/span><\/div>\n
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– Comes in a glass jar with a metal lid so yay for that.  No plastic anywhere (except packaging may be).<\/span><\/div>\n
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Cons –<\/span><\/h2>\n
– To some (like my kids), this product might taste like ash and smell like ash but I actually don\u2019t have a problem there. Ash and mud to me are not yucky, plastic derived from fossil fuel is in my opinion \ud83d\ude09<\/span><\/div>\n
– It doesn\u2019t have a strong flavor. Many prefer strong peppermint or cinnamon flavored toothpaste but here the flavor is barely there.<\/span><\/div>\n
– it can stain the teeth a bit. It might be the charcoal in it or something else. It\u2019s not a stain that sticks and is easy to remove using baking soda.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Overall, I love it and would buy again and again. They should think about improving the flavor and make it taste more refreshing (more peppermint-y or cinnamon-y may be). And, find a way to prevent the staining issue.<\/span><\/div>\n
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You can buy here:<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
Banyan Tree Toothpowder<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

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Georganics Floss –<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"Healin\u2019<\/a><\/div>\n
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Single use floss made of plastic to me seems like a bigger problem than plastic toothbrushes that get thrown away after about three – six months of use. Millions of tooth brushes are thrown away each year and land up in our landfills, where they don\u2019t biodegrade for years, polluting our environment. These flosses are made of peace or ahimsa silk and are biodegradable. I would\u2019ve preferred vegan plant based one but that\u2019s pretty hard to find so this is the best option right now. Right now, I\u2019m testing a bamboo based one which I\u2019ll be reviewing in a few months. Here are my pros cons list for this floss –<\/span><\/div>\n
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Pros –<\/span><\/h2>\n

– Minty flavored and effective at doing what it is supposed to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

– Glass jar casing that can be reused.<\/span><\/p>\n

– Decent quantity of floss which lasts for months (may be three to 4? Haven\u2019t really counted here)<\/span><\/p>\n

Cons –<\/span><\/h2>\n

– Can\u2019t think of any. I know some hardcore vegans don\u2019t like using even ahimsa silk but if I have to choose between plastic and this, I would honestly prefer this.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nIf 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<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You can buy here:<\/strong>  Boston General Store <\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
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Kahina Restorative  Serum –<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Healin\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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Pros<\/span><\/h2>\n
– Smells great. Has a luxurious light floral scent to me.<\/span><\/div>\n
– Helps with dryness and extremely nourishing to skin.<\/span><\/div>\n
– Has many Anti-inflammatory and Antioxidant oils such as carrot seed, pomegranate seed and sea buckthorn oils to protect skin from environmental aggressors. With all the Vitamin A, C, E, and Omegas, your skin gets all the nutrients it needs to restore your skin every night.<\/span><\/div>\n
– Good size and content for the price.<\/span><\/div>\n
– Clean and non toxic ingredient profile full of organic ingredients.<\/span><\/div>\n
– Has caffeine in it which I love. Doesn\u2019t smell like coffee but it wakes up my skin in my opinion. I love skin products with caffeine in them. \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/div>\n
– Luxurious dark bottle that looks upscale and protect the ingredients from light induced degradation. Also, the cap creates an airtight seal which helps protect the ingredients from degradation but sometimes it\u2019s a little hard to open the bottle (but I\u2019m fine with that).<\/span><\/div>\n

Cons –<\/span><\/h2>\n
– Expensive but then again when you consider the fact that this is a higher end natural brand, the price tag is not exactly ridiculous. There are many lower end serums that are as good as these so no need to fret if you can\u2019t afford this brand.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Overall, I love this product and would buy again. I don\u2019t use makeup at all so I rely on my skincare and lifestyle to stay makeup free. And, I don\u2019t expect to look photoshopped and completely embrace the look of natural skin.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Buy here –<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
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Kahina Restorative Serum <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Meow Meow Tweet Soaps –<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"Healin\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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I tried both rosemary and lavender ones for about 2 years. Both work well and decent at cleaning but don\u2019t count on them to remove oil. If you\u2019re into oil treatments, you might require three to 4 – 5 washes to get your hair clean.<\/span><\/p>\n

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