Hi friends! So are you guys know (or maybe know) I’ve been trying my best this year to only buy items that are sustainable/sustainably made. As far as eco-friendliness goes, I do try hard to do good for the earth. Am I perfect? Nah, there are people far better than me out there. I’m sure theres a good mix people who would think I’m great in terms of eco-friendliness and a good amount of people who would snark on it haha. But I do little things here and there– trying hard to do my best, while working on keeping my sanity 🙂 We’re still disposable paper/products free here, with the exception of toilet paper of course. We recycle like its our job. (Serious question: how does recycling work in the way of zero-trash living. Do those people not have any recycling? or does recycling not count?).
So here we are… a list of all my favorite eco-friendly travel essentials. Well, more specific for a tropical vacation… cause those are my favorite 🙂
Also, can I say, none of these brands asked me to write about them– they are all items I’ve found/purchased with love 🙂
Necessities I always pack:
–Two small reusable (foldable) tote bags
Why two? Well, a few reasons! You They’re small enough where it’s not a problem at all to bring at least two (sometimes three, if I’m being honest). They’re great for any shopping you might decide to do. Or if you end up out on a day trip and you’re not sure what the weather is like, you might need an extra lightweight bag to pack a coat /umbrella/ or whatever bottles, whatever! Also, they are great to carry wet stuff in. I like to use my smaller tote bag to carry back wet bathing suits! And then at the end of trip I can very easily put all the dirty stuff in the large bag to keep it separate from the clean stuff. So many uses!
–Reusable water bottle
This is a no brainer. Why keep buying plastic water bottles when you can easily fill up a reusable water. Pro tip: don’t put just or smoothies in it unless you bring an easy tool to clean them. I like this bottle best for everyday water use. But I also love these more wide mouth bottles because I can store fruit in them too. So smart, right? Its especially useful for an early morning flight/trip— fill it with chopped fruit the morning before and then snack on it on the way out. Once you get to your plane/ship you can fill it up with water 🙂
–Tiny glass bottles
Well, filled with stuff. You can buy them online, but I just have a stash from cleaned out old beauty products and things. I pack my coconut oil, witch hazel, and face soap in tiny glass bottles. I have a stash of them in my kitchen for rotation. Sometimes they’re used for travel, sometimes for food things, whatever I need! They’re so handy! And if the trip is shorter and Iw not need to wash my hair much, I’ll pack my shampoo in them there.
-Eco friendly laundry packs.
They’re so small, it makes sense to pack them JUST IN CASE. If you don’t want to send your clothes to the laundry service (it can be pricey) and maybe you just want to wash one thing you own, you can use a tiny bit of the laundry pack in the sink or shower, no problem. And it’s eco-friendly and non toxic so theres no worries 🙂
–Chopsticks!
This might sound crazy, but I often travel with chop sticks haha. I mean, the reusable bamboo utensil sets are great too! But I’m a chop stick girl 🙂 Even at home I reach for chopsticks before a fork 😉 I wasn’t able to find a link to my cute zebra ones online, but here is a pair of fair trade elephant chop sticks 🙂
The fun stuff I pack:
-A sustainably made bathing suit!
I been loving this site for all sustainable made + organic clothes and bathing suits.You can find my bathing suit (top/ bottom) on sale now 🙂 I bought Marlowe the matching suit (also on sale) but it was too big. Cant wait till she fits in it!
-Vegan huaraches!
Yes! You read that right! I was so excited to find that my favorite shoes could be made vegan. Handmade by artisans in Guatemala. You can check the shops ethitcally made vegan section here— but you’ll have to email and ask if you have a specific show preference that you want made vegan.
A tote bag/large purse:
Duh, to stash everything! I LOVE this tote (I bought Marlowe a romper in the matching print). The tote pictured above is ethically made in Bali. Bring all the things mentioned + maybe a homemade bug spray and sunscreen (if you need it) For sunscreen, I’ve been buying this eco-friendly sunscreen for YEARS. I love it because it’s reef safe and not toxic like most stuff out there.
-An all purpose textile!
By now you guys have seen me with this piece on every trip I go on. On the beaches of mexico, in the mountains of Asheville. And soon in the chilly city of Bogota. I take it everywhere. I LOVE multifunctional pieces and this certainly fits that. It can be used for everything: a towel/scarf/blanket/head wrap/sarong/everything. The one I have is hand man by woman in guatemala. Fair trade + sustainable practices. The best.
A good hat, duh.
You guys can check out my how to pack a hat post here, if you’re interested in learning more on how I pack them 🙂 I’ll be honest, there are not a lot of good sustainably made hat companies out there– at least not online that I’ve found. My best bet for finding hats is usually while traveling. But this hat is adorable. And this company makes sustainable hats. I’ve only bought one from the, and didn’t LOVE it, but it wasn’t bad either 🙂
And voila! You’re ready to enjoy the sunshine, cool breeze, and good vibes of your tropical vacation! The besttttt.
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