Sustainable Bathroom Products For a Zero Waste Morning Routine
Discover eco friendly bathroom products to make your morning routine more sustainable. This extensive guide includes zero waste personal care, sustainable cosmetics, reusable period products, eco-friendly cleaners & more.
Go take a look in your bathroom waste basket. No really! Humor me for a minute and go take a look!
Some of the things in your bathroom trash may include used cotton balls and Q-tips, an empty toothpaste tube, a disposable razor, used tampons and pads (ewwww! I know, sorry!), empty plastic deodorant containers, pumps from lotion bottles, plastic wrappers and more.
All those bathroom essentials from your daily routine can add up to a pretty big pile of trash, plastic waste and recycling each month – and much of it is avoidable.
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Best Eco-Friendly Bathroom Products
That’s why I created this guide to all the eco-friendly bathroom products and swaps that I’ve disovered over the years. This extensive list includes sustainable products like plastic-free deodorant, shampoo bars, zero waste toothpaste, consciously packaged cosmetics, reusable period products, eco-friendly cleaners & more.
You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make the switch to sustainable bathroom products – from personal care and showering, to cosmetics and women’s monthly needs. Some minor product swaps and a change in habit is all it takes for you to become a zero waste bathroom rockstar!
RELATED: Best Zero Waste Shops
Sustainable Personal Care Products
Your daily personal care routine can be more eco-friendly by switching from disposable to reusable, and from single-use plastics to more sustainable materials.
Toothbrush – Instead of plastic toothbrushes, switch to biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes. You can even send them to the city compost if you cut off the head first – the bristles are not compostable.
Toothpaste – Instead of a non-recyclable tube of toothpaste, switch to a toothpaste powder in a reusable tin, toothpaste tablets or homemade toothpaste in a reusable jar.
Dental Floss – Instead of traditional floss in a plastic box, switch to Dental Lace, a biodegradable dental floss in a refillable, reusable container.
Cotton Swabs – Instead of single-use cotton swabs, switch to Last Swab, a reusable alternative made from durable but safe plastic that is washable. Available in basic, beauty and baby versions, and comes with a reusable carrying case.
Razors – Instead of disposable razors, switch to a reusable safety razor and just switch out the blades, or a try a straight-edge razor like the Leaf Razor. I also like the Preserve razor, made from recycled plastic.
Deodorant – Instead of natural deodorants in the traditional non-recyclable, plastic packaging , switch to a deodorant cream in a glass container, a plastic-free deodorant stick in paperboard packaging or a refillable deodorant. Better yet, make your own homemade deodorant!
Brushes – Instead of plastic brushes and combs, switch to an all-natural hairbrush made with beechwood and plant fiber bristles, and a handcrafted wooden comb. They are much nicer to use and easier on your hair.
Toilet paper – Skip the traditional toilet paper and make the switch to eco-friendly recycled toilet paper or bamboo toilet paper instead.
Low Waste Haircare & Shower Products
Imagine a shower without any plastic bottles in it – believe it or not, it’s possible! Plastic-free versions of most haircare, and eco-friendly alternatives to shower products are easily found in local stores or online.
Soap – Instead of body wash in a plastic bottle, switch to bar soap. Better yet, buy soap without any packaging – it’s often available at natural food stores and Whole Foods.
Shampoo – Instead of shampoo in a plastic bottle, switch to shampoo bars or dry shampoo. Or refill your shampoo bottle at your local co-op!
Conditioner – Instead of conditioner in a plastic bottle, switch to conditioner bars or use an apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse, or condition your hair post shower with a tiny bit of organic coconut oil or argan oil.
This 3-in-1 bar is good for wash, shower and shave – all in one bar!
Bath Brushes & Scrubbers – Continue your zero waste mission by using eco-friendly bathroom accessories like natural loofahs, agave cloths, beechwood bath brushes and dry body brushes.
Shower head – While you’re at it, switch to low-flow shower heads that use less water, so you can cut down on your overall water usage.
Discover my favorite zero-waste kitchen products too!
Eco-Friendly Cosmetics & Skincare Products
Skin care and makeup products typically involve plenty of waste including cotton balls, single-use wipes and non-recyclable product packaging. Let’s see how we can reduce that!
Body Lotion – Instead of lotion in a plastic bottle, switch to a lotion bar made from natural ingredients. Or refill your lotion bottle at your local co-op. Here are some of my favorite natural lotions.
Face Moisturizer – Instead of a moisturizer in a plastic bottle, switch to products in glass jars that can be reused. (I reuse small glass jars for my own DIY beauty products!) Find my favorite natural facial moisturizers here.
Lip Balm – Instead of lip balm in a throw-away plastic container, switch to lip balm in a plastic-free cardboard tube or make homemade lip balm in a reusable tin.
Cosmetics – Instead of makeup in mostly plastic containers (non-recyclable), switch to makeup that comes in sustainable packaging like cardboard, glass, metal or wood containers. Favorite brands include: RMS Beauty, Oceanly & Elate. Find even more sustainable makeup brands here.
Makeup Remover – Instead of disposable makeup remover cloths or cotton balls, switch to reusable makeup remover pads. My homemade makeup remover in a repurposed glass bottle is also great!
Cleansing Cloths – Instead of disposable face wipes or rounds, switch to reusable muslin cleansing cloths or LastRound reusable pads. They are perfect for wiping off my homemade cleansing balm!
Reusable Period Products
Your monthly period is always gonna be a bit messy and awkward, but it doesn’t have to be so wasteful – there are plenty of reusable alternatives to disposable period products.
Menstrual Cups – Instead of traditional tampons that go in the trash and may contain harmful chemicals, switch to a reusable menstrual cup. Popular brands include: DivaCup and Lena.
Reusable Pads – Instead of traditional menstrual pads made with plastic and fragrance, switch to reusable cloth pads.
Period Panties – Instead of risking a leak in your undies, switch to reusable period panties for backup and medium to light flow days.
Zero Waste Bathroom Cleaning Products
Cleaning the bathroom can be a wasteful endeavor as well but it’s easy to switch to more eco-friendly cleaning options.
Bathroom Cleaner – Instead of cleaning products made with toxic chemicals that are packaged in plastic bottles, switch to a refillable all purpose cleaning spray or other naturally derived cleaning products that are refillable or make your own homemade cleaning products out of plant-based ingredients and essential oils.
Toilet Cleaner – Instead of toxic toilet bowl cleaner, switch to a safer toilet bowl cleaner and supplement with my homemade fizzy toilet bombs, so you won’t have to clean so often!
Cleaning Cloths – Instead of disposable paper towels, switch to reusable paperless towels or use old t-shirts as rags for cleaning.
Discover my favorite zero waste cleaning products and more!
Why Strive for Zero Waste?
You may be wondering – what does a zero-waste lifestyle mean anyway?
As I’ve mentioned in other articles about reducing waste, zero waste is more of an aspirational goal than an actual fact. Zero waste is a shift in mindset that helps us evaluate what we buy and bring into our homes in terms of its effect on the planet. The end result is a lot less trash and that’s a good thing no matter how imperfect you are in meeting your zero waste goals!
By focusing on making zero waste swaps and living a more sustainable lifestyle whenever you can – whether it’s in the bathroom (like we are talking about today), the reusable products for the kitchen, the sustainable products for the laundry room or on-the-go, you’ll be helping to keep plastic out of the oceans and reducing the amount of garbage in landfills and incinerators.
Less demand for stuff = lower pollution and fewer greenhouse gasses – and we know this planet needs our help with this!
What are your favorite sustainable bathroom products?
Wow that was interesting.. my favorite is the women’s period needs; menstrual cups especially. Also those in personal care. It’s nice to know that there are so many ways to easily switch into zero-waste. I love your blog!
Those are such great ideas! Thank you! I totally agree with Thrive Market! I have gotten such great deals there, even things for my dog! I definitely want to try the fizzy toilet bombs!
So glad to hear you love Thrive Market! We have a new puppy so I need to check out their dog stuff! Hope you love the fizzy toilet bombs! I need to make a new batch!
I don’t have a bamboo brush! How have I overlooked this? Thanks for the reminder!
You’re welcome! Of course no need to throw something out if it is still working for you!
Exactly what I was looking for! I’m trying to switch from less plastic to more ecofriendly bathroom stuff. The period cups are very interesting, though, I’d rather go for the reusable cloth pads. To think that women in poor countries actually use rags (wash them and reuse) during their menses and they are the ones who suffer more from the trash that we throw away. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Elna
I have switched to shampoo bars and bamboo toothbrush together with other things to use in my kitchen and when I’m on the go. I got all my things from a website called http://www.pureosophy.com and I love them all.
I will definitely do some of the swaps you have suggested!
A safety razor would be best instead of any type of disposable razor. They’re made of stainless steel and last forever. You can send the blades in after they’re no longer sharp, to be recycled into another item
Yes, safety razors are a great idea! If you can’t swing one, a durable, reusable plastic razor with replaceable blades is a good choice too!
I’ve started my zero waste journey few months ago and your article is very useful.
I like the idea about homemade fizzy toilet bombs. Thanks.
Glad you find it helpful!