10 eco-friendly products I've tried

This blog has apparently made it to a second post. This one is about eco-friendly products I've tried in attempts to reduce waste and energy consumption. I look at a lot of YouTube videos and articles to find new products, so here's a list of my own! 

1. Bar shampoo (5/10)

The bar shampoo I tried felt like I was just using soap to wash my hair. I'm still convinced it wasn't just a bar of soap. My hair felt clean, but I had to wash it daily instead of 2-3 times a week like I usually do with normal shampoo. 

2. The Good Fill refillable shampoo and conditioner (7/10)

The shampoo and conditioner I use now is from The Good Fill! I use the unscented shampoo and have tried the sweet pea and peppermint flavours of conditioner so far. 

The way the Good Fill works is you first buy the shampoo in a glass or aluminum bottle. After you use that up, you can buy refill pouches for a lower price. You could actually also just buy refills to put into your own bottles. I honestly wish I'd thought of that earlier. Each refill is shipped with a prepaid envelope so it's easy to return the pouch after you empty the refill into your bottle. It's decent quality and very convenient, but the products are more expensive than the typical shampoo and conditioner, and there's the inevitable environmental impact of shipping.

I like that the Good Fill is consistent in caring about the environment (using USPS because "they already come to your residence on a daily basis") but ideally, I'd want to find a local refill shop for my products someday.

3. The Good Fill laundry detergent (10/10)

I am not an expert on laundry, but this detergent is functional. My clothes feel crisp. I bought the 64 loads of laundry detergent for $16.50 before coming to college and won't be worried about laundry detergent any time soon.

4. Bamboo toothbrushes 7/10

I bought these bamboo toothbrushes online from Amazon. The bristles hurt a bit for the first few uses, but after breaking it in, it felt like a normal toothbrush. Recently I've been using normal plastic toothbrushes because it has been too much effort to buy them online, but I know bamboo toothbrushes can be found in department stores now.

Bamboo toothbrushes are eco-friendly because the bamboo can be composted if you remove the bristles. Although I couldn't find a conclusive source on whether bamboo takes less energy to produce than plastic, bamboo grows quickly and doesn't need fertilizer or pesticides, so I'm going to trust it for now. I'd buy some next time I see them!

5. Thinx period underwear 6/10 and GladRags cloth pads 8/10 

These are the sustainable period products I use. To be honest I'd rather use the Divacup  if I wasn't scared of insertion, but alas. 

If you're like me and prefer pads, period underwear and cloth pads are both solid options! 

I like cloth pads better because you can carry them around like regular pads. Overall, they're more like the normal period experience. Thinx underwear works too, but I feel like changing underwear in the middle of the day would be inconvenient. By handwashing and letting pads dry overnight, I get through my periods with 2 cloth pad holders, 2 inserts, and a pair of period underwear. If you want to try using reusable period products, I recommend keeping disposable pads with you for the first months until you figure out how many work for you. 

6. Reusable metal straw 10/10

I use a metal straw at home when I drink tea and it prevents my teeth from getting stained. I have no complaints. If you want a straw, get a straw!

7. Beeswrap 2/10

My grandma uses a lot of Saran wrap, so I thought it'd be a good idea to buy her the reusable version. She has since thrown it all away. I was really upset , but she told me the Beeswrap was stiff and didn't really stick to watermelon or the tops of plates going in the fridge. It was also hard to wash, and hot water melted the wax. 

I might try it again in my own household someday, but this was a pretty sad experience. 

8. Reusable Ziploc bags 7/10

Long time use can lead to some lasting stains, but otherwise these work just like Ziploc bags you have to wash.

9. Decomposable plastic bags 6/10

What makes decomposable plastic bags eco-friendly is that plant based plastics take less energy to produce and break down faster. These bags aren't noticeably less durable than normal plastic bags, and work well as trash bags. Note that composters generally don't accept decomposable bags though.

10. YOESOID Solar powered phone charger 2/10

This product is one that I really wanted to have work out. I feel like charging my phone is one of my bigger uses of energy, so reading the good reviews of this charger made me hopeful. I was even planning on buying a solar power generator to charge my laptop.

Unfortunately, I have yet to charge my phone once with this charger. It's far from the reliable source of energy I thought it'd be. This thing sits in the windowsill all day, but besides the flashlight feature working for 5 minutes every few months, it hasn't done much.