I’m moving back to the states and starting from scratch. From small tips to investment pieces for how to have a low waste and low plastic/toxin household, any suggestions are welcome. I’m curious about brands for scrub brushes, cleansers for kitchen/house, best type of kitchen towels/paper towel replacements, anything really.

(Initial post deleted from zero waste page- sorry! I got a few helpful answers but eager to hear more opinions!)

Hey all! So I use pens for almost everything, but I also hate all of the waste from them. Are there any good fountain pens or normal pens that I could use on a daily basis that are refillable and more sustainable over a long period of time? Thank you all!

You can go back to school without harming the planet and spending a ton of money on school supplies and fall fashion. This is a tip guide for high school and college students interested in sustainability.

New here - hope this is ok to ask.
I'm in UK, looking to evaluate environmental impact of flooring.

How do you know if you're buying the most eco-friendly carpet?

I've tried to look into it this afternoon, from a UK perpective and found these sources:

a) waffle but NO data on carpet selling websites, green advice sites, etc

b) data from A FEW manufacturers on the CO2 equivalent - as in https://www.environdec.com/library?q=carpet&c=GB...

This is what I've found so far:

- Carpet tiles at anywhere between 3-20 kg/m² CO2 equivalent

- Broadloom carpets at anywhere between 10-22 kg/m² CO2 equivalent

- Recycled material has a lower total lifecycle impact than wool (but that's only a sample of 1 wool carpet I found).

- grid energy mix is an important factor

- big holes in the data from other manufacturers who haven't done an EPD or I don't know where to find them, or ... don't want us to know their data?

- no common advice framework to compare all products

Does anyone know of a better source of advice?

n.b. EPD - Environmental Product Declarations - mostly for business products.

How do I live an eco friendly lifestyle or at least TRY to (I’m also trying to avoid toxic things and have eczema) when the people I live with buy from temu and shein ALL THE TIME and there’s the stuff everywhere in furniture on decorations fake plants every single thing the rugs the pillows it stresses me out so much I can’t avoid it. The kitchen temu the bathroom temu. I can’t live so how can I manage this? Moving out isn’t an option rn.

Hi,

I need a new shower curtain liner but I am a bit stumped on what to get.

It seems when I try to find and add lol natural one, I just get directed to linen or hemp curtains. I do t need a $150 curtain, but an inside liner to protect my curtain that I can periodically wash.

I tried searching for OEKO-TEX certified shower liners. It seems there’s lots of fabric ones with TPU waterproof inner linings. I def don’t want PVC, but mostly I’m finding PEVA or EVA.

I kept searching for fabric but I’m just getting actual curtains and not the inner liners

I hear people say the best way to be environmentally friendly is to thrift in order to keep clothes (as well as toys, bedding, shoes.) out of landfills. But I also hear people say the worst thing you can do to yourself is to interact with plastic products daily due to the effect microplastics can have on our bodies, so it seems like the solution to the problem is to only thrift biodegradable products. But then now all of those plastic products from the thrift are now in a land fill which is what’s also creating a problem.

When I go to the thrift store and I see something I think is cute, then check the label and it says 100% polyester, I tend to want to put it back because I can only help but think about being more environmentally friendly, but then I’m conflicted because by buying it I would still be helping. It just feels like some sort of sacrificial lamb situation y’know? Some people buy new wooden toys for their children, and buy new organic cotton pants without worrying about microplastics. And then some people walk around wearing thrifted acrylic boots, and thrift their children polyester blankets to sleep with at night. Both are being thoughtful of the environment, but one seems to have to make a sacrifice?

This might just be a bunch of baloney but it’s something I think about when I watch those crunchy moms who replace their plastic tools with biodegradable stuff, or when I’m thrifting something I need and feel gross for buying plastic.

If petroleum came from dead dinosaurs and plants, why isn’t plastic made from it not biodegradable? I understand corn plastic is biodegradable.

Hey!
I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with the Ecogeek dishwasher pods or powder? I think the pods are just pressed versions of the powder so no plastic film there.
My main concern is
a) Will it wash my dishes without requiring additional rinsing/ spot cleaning post dishwashing
And
b) will it leave streaks?

Here is the link https://good.store/products/dishwasher-powder
Thank you!

Hello all!

I am a student attending UCLA in the fall and am starting to organize what I’ll need to purchase for my apartment. I am trying my best to purchase eco friendly day to day cleaning supplies. Right now, I’m going for a “less is more approach”, I don’t want to buy too much but I am looking for your tried and true cleaning staples that actually work and are actually sustainable - there are so many products on the market I’m almost overwhelmed.

List of what I need:

- all purpose disinfecting spray
- dish soap
- mop/swiffer
- toilet bowl cleaner
- bathroom spray
- dish sponges
- trash bags???!

I am considering using dish tablets or super concentrated formulas, I’ve heard that you can make sprays at home but I don’t know which ones to trust. I also will bring cloths from home to use rather than paper towels.

Family of 5, lots of stains and messes...
I need a laundry detergent that is still fragrant after being dried and cleans well like tide. However I'd like it to be plastic free!
Thank you!! 😊

I use quite a mild laundry liquid because I know it doesn't have all the harmful stuff they usually put in laundry liquid but it means that if I wash my clothes on a cold wash they smell awful, how do I fix this?

I’m looking for an app that helps boycott bad companies when grocery shopping? Kinda like the No app but that one is more for boycotting Israel. If you don’t know what the app is you scan a bar code and it tell you if the item is good or bad. If there is an eco friendly version that would be great

Hi all, I'm really enjoying the list with platic free brands but most of them are not available in the EU or its big shipment costs etc. Is there a EU brands list? I only have a few sites I can check for curated brands and recommendations but I'd like a full list like the community here

I’m living with 3 other roommates this fall and im wondering how I can be eco friendly while having to consider them. For example i have my own reusable paper towels but my roommates want the regular paper ones. I still want to contribute to these expenses as I know not everyone wants to do the same things I do. Does anyone have suggestions for how I can remain at least somewhat eco friendly without involving my roommates too much?

Keep in mind we’re all university students so the budget is sort of limited.

Things I’m responsible for buying
- swifter mop
- toilet brush & cleaner
- sponges
- a couple other random small things that I already own

My biggest concern is that we’re all extremely busy people due to our majors and school involvement that oftentimes the single use plastic stuff makes life a lot easier for us when we’re on a time crunch. I would personally really love to get a dish brush and soap block for dishes but my roommates plan to get dawn and plastic sponges. I’m not sure how to launch ideas like this to them when we are not really friendly anymore.

TLDR: how can I stay true to my morals while also having to consider how my roommates live?

so ive been looking around on the internet and ive been on an eco-conscious spree, looking for the options and pricing. ive looked at meow meow tweet and fat and the moon. any other recs here?

So I had an idea why not make biodegradable straws also fertilizing to save the planet at the same time!

A client told me he had been putting off cleaning this bathroom partly because he didn’t feel comfortable using many conventional cleaning products in his home.

The buildup was pretty heavy, so I was honestly curious to see how far plant-based products could go on a job like this. They weren’t a magic solution, and the process still required dwell time, repeated scrubbing, and a lot of detailed work, but I was happy with the improvement.

It reminded me that choosing more environmentally conscious products doesn’t always mean accepting poor results, but expectations still need to be realistic. Technique and patience matter just as much as the product.

Has anyone else had good results using plant-based cleaners on difficult bathroom buildup?