Eco-Friendly Products For the Home

Are you looking to be more eco-friendly in your home? One way is to use eco-friendly products in your day-to-day life. What are some examples of eco-friendly products? First off, let’s reiterate the fact that being eco-friendly means causing little to no harm to the environment. It’s different than the term “sustainable” which focuses on the future. 

It may be hard to believe, but many household products contribute to environmental destruction. If you’re wondering how you may be contributing, here are some sobering facts:

• Over 11 million tons of recyclable items make their way to landfills each year. This includes clothes, shoes, fabrics, and more.
• Plastic cause over 80% of the negative effects on marine life.
• Americans use about 650 pounds of paper per year (individually).
• 1 trillion pages of paper is equal to 8.5 million acres of trees.
• The energy it takes to make 1.5 million tons of plastic could power 250,000 homes.

This is just a small sampling of the negative impact on the environment that home waste can have. So what can you do to help reduce your impact? There are plenty of ways. First, you can start out with creating a more eco-friendly home by swapping out some of the products you use in your day-to-day life.

Eco-friendly products at home are items you can use to minimize environmental impact. Luckily, many eco-friendly products aren’t expensive or even “special” things you have to buy. Many times, it’s just a matter of swapping out less friendly products with more friendly alternatives! Technically, any item can be more eco-friendly if you include these factors:

• Reusability
• Durability
• Energy Efficiency
• Material
• Recyclable
• Packaging
• Manufacturing process
• Where it’s made
• And lastly, according to the FTC Green Guides, a product must explain why it is environmentally responsible on its packaging in order to be considered eco-friendly.

What are some examples of eco-friendly products you can use in your home?

A first example is replacing paper towels with reusable cotton towels. An incredible fact is that if each family swapped one roll of disposable paper towels for reusable, we could save over 54,000 trees.

Reusable grocery bags and reusable food storage bags are an easy way to reduce plastic use in the home.

In reference to water conservation, you can install a low-flow showerhead (If you’re looking for other ways to preserve water in the home, we’ve got you covered!).

Something else you do is use rechargeable batteries. Batteries contain harmful chemicals such as lead, and they are complicated to recycle. Using rechargeable batteries will save you money in the long run, as well as save waste.

Reusable straws are a great alternative to plastic straws. In the United States alone, 7.5 million straws were found on the country’s shorelines. Reusable straws can be made out of materials such as bamboo, silicon, and stainless steel.

If you’re looking minimize usage of saran wrap, you can use beeswax wraps. It washable and reusable. It’s great for items such as sandwiches and vegetables. Beeswax wrap can last up to year, and when it’s done, it’s compostable.

Speaking of compostable items, there is such a thing as compostable trash bags. Plastic trash bags take over 1,000 years to decompose, but compostable trash bags take only a few weeks.

Another way to store your food is to use either silicon or glass food containers. They’ll last a lot longer, and won’t stain either. You can also use glass mason jars as well for storage!

LED lightbulbs, in comparison to incandescent and fluorescent lightbulbs, save a lot more money on energy, and cut carbon emissions.

Eco-friendly cleaning products such as Branch Basics cleaning products. There are also brands such as Thrive Market, Blueland x Reformation, Eco-Me, and more.

Or…if you don’t want to use store-bought products, there are always options for homemade solutions. Vinegar is great for cleaning. It’s a natural solution to kill bacteria, germs, and mold.

There are thousands of eco-friendly products. So here’s a few to help get you started!

Earthwise Hauling is Here to Help!

If you’re looking to clean your space, Earthwise Hauling is an eco-friendly service that is environmentally conscious along with you! Some ways that we’re eco-friendly along with our clients:

• Our uniform shirts and hats are made from recycled water bottles.
• We use paperless systems for our scheduling and invoicing.
• We have a no-landfill guarantee, meaning we never take your junk to a landfill.
• We help to recycle, repurpose, or use items such as e-waste, furniture, clothes, household goods, toys, computers, and more!