37 Eco-Friendly Items That’ll Help You Go Green This Spring
Updated: Apr. 08, 2021
Make your kitchen, bathroom and garden more sustainable with these durable and charming replacements for plastic and single-use items.
Make Sustainable Swaps
Enjoy lunch alfresco: Pack your favourite hot or cold foods in this stainless-steel duo.
OUI Stainless-Steel Lunch Box Duo Fern, $40, indigo.ca
Fill this little pod with ground coffee beans from your favourite coffee shop, and use it like a K-Cup for an eco-friendly and affordable brew at home.
Perfect Pod ECO-Fill 4-Pack, $12, bedbathandbeyond.ca
Shower time just got more satisfying. Get to those hard-to-reach places and give your back a scrub with this bamboo sisal wash strap.
Bamboo & Sisal Back Wash Strap: $6, Marshalls
Mix a drink, grab some garnish, and use these handmade recycled glass tumblers to serve spring mocktails.
LSA International Mia Tumbler (set of 4), $45, goodeeworld.com
Ditch the single-use plastic produce bags in favour of these organic mesh options for a waste-free veggie haul.
Produce Bag 3 Pack, $28, credobags.com
Sweep up small messes in your kitchen, workspace and kids’ space with this Dutch-style hand broom that’s chic enough to put on display.
Redecker Dutch Style Hand Broom, $14 USD, kinsfolkshop.com
Heading to the bakery? Making sourdough? Keep that carb cargo fresh in this handmade cotton bread bag.
Dans le Sac Reusable Bread Bag, $18, etsy.ca
Keep leftovers fresh and ready to be reheated with these glass containers, which come with bamboo lids for plastic-free storage.
Ikea Food container with Lid, starting at $5, ikea.com
(Related: 11 Important Single-Use Plastic Swaps to Make for 2021)
The New Green Garden
There’s a reason we can’t get enough of this market bag, aside from its French-girl charm—it expands greatly to fit all your fruits, veggies, cheese, and of course, baguette.
Market String Bag 2 Pack (2 pack), $32, credobags.com
This glass watering can features a display-worthy silhouette, making it a chic (not to mention sustainable) upgrade to the plastic alternative.
Arlo Glass Watering Can, $35, indigo.ca
Use these pots, made out of wood fibre, peat and limestone, to grow your seedlings, then plant them directly in the soil, where the exterior will break down, allowing roots to grow.
Fiber Pots, from $4, leevalley.com
Make your own starter pots out of newspaper with the help of this wooden device. The pots will decompose when planted, making them a very eco-friendly option.
Potmaker, $19, leevalley.com
Made out of stainless-steel and boasting curved, lacquered handles, these tools make gardening a little bit easier, and a little more comfortable.
Set of 3 Lee Valley Garden Tools, $100, leevalley.com
Add a sprinkle of glitz to your garden with these copper plant tags. Use a pen to engrave them with the names of flowers, fruits, or veggies, or each plant’s water requirements.
Copper Plant Tags, $22, leevalley.com
(Related: Don’t Have a Green Thumb? These Hacks Can Revive Almost Any Dead Houseplant)
Grow On
Grow herbs and small veggies in your own kitchen year-round with this small indoor gardening device. Worried about your not-so-green thumb? It comes with an automatic lighting system that makes it easier to keep plants alive.
The Jardin, $100, thevegehome.com
(Related: 10 Easy Plants You Can Grow in Containers)
Better Beauty Buys
Out with the toothpaste tube, in with the toothpaste tab. Just place one of the toothpaste bites in your mouth, crush it with your teeth, grab a wet toothbrush, and clean your pearly whites, waste-free.
Bamboo jar + Toothpaste with Nano-Hydroxyapatite, $22, tanit.co
This certified organic bamboo toothbrush is anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and antibacterial, making it a healthy and eco-friendly pick.
Brush with Bamboo, $11, kmhtouches.com
With soft bristles and a compostable bamboo base, this toothbrush makes a sustainable option.
Bamboo Toothbrushes, starting at $7, bohoandhobo.ca
We love this shampoo for its good-for-the-environment ingredients, but also because of its packaging: instead of coming in plastic, it’s delivered in a recyclable aluminum tube.
Waterless Shampoo Concentrate, $28, helloeverist.com
This hand wash is a sustainable pick—from its package to its formula—that also satisfies. Featuring all-natural ingredients, it has anti-bacterial properties and keeps hands moisturized.
Elva’s Blend Thieves & Thyme Hand Soap & Body Wash, starting at $18, elvasallnaturals.com
At first, we fell in love with these lipsticks/eyeshadows for being completely plastic-free. Then, we fell in love with their vibrant hue, shimmer finish and creamy texture.
Axiology Cotton Candy Skies, $46, thedetoxmarket.ca
These divine-smelling natural deodorants come in various formulas, including one for sensitive skin and one made with activated charcoal. Once you’ve used it up, bring the jar to one of their many stockists across Canada, and have it refilled.
Routine deodorant, $28, routinecream.com
We love our cotton buds (how do you do a cat-eye without one?) but most are bad for the environment. Thank Gaia for this bamboo alternative.
Bamboo Cotton Buds: $6, Marshalls
Made out of silk and packaged in a reusable glass jar, floss just got the eco-friendly (and high-end) treatment. Extra luxe points for its sleek silver carrying case.
Flosspot Travel Case, $15, kmhtouches.com
(Related: Everything You Need to Know About Reusable Q-tips)
Upgrade to Eco-Essentials
If you’re not using a linen towel, you’re missing out. This blush pick from Flax Sleep is super soft, antimicrobial, and dries quickly—what more could you want post-soak?
Flax Sleep The Bath Towel, $78, flaxsleep.com
Ditch detergent jugs in favour of these pre-portioned, concentrated strips, which come in scented and unscented. Every 30 strips save a 1-litre plastic jug from being added to a landfill.
Good Juju Laundry Detergent Strips (30-pack), $15, hellogoodjuju.com
Abandon plastic applicators for good with this silicone menstrual cup, which holds up to four tampons-worth of liquid.
Nixit Menstrual Cup, $54, letsnixit.ca
Featuring a Japanese Cypress handle and made with palm fibres, this handcrafted broom will last up to 20 years. Plus, its petite shape makes it apartment-friendly.
Takada Handy Broom with Japanese Cypress Handle, $70, goodeeworld.com
The Swedes have been using sponge cloths for cleaning for over 60 years—and for good reason: They’re biodegradable, last up to a year, and can replace up to 17 rolls of paper towel.
Ten + Co, Vintage Fruit Sponge Cloth, $6 each, rosecitygoods.com
The 2021 dustpan is not like the plastic variety of yore. It’s handcrafted, made of wood, and sustainable.
Takada Natural Wood Dustpan (Small), $50, goodeeworld.com
Swap plastic food wraps for beeswax covers that can be easily secured onto glass bowls, wiped-clean, and used over and over again.
Patterned Beeswax Wraps (set of 3), $17, Winners
Dryer balls cut down on the time needed to machine-dry clothes, which cuts down on energy and saves you money. These biodegradable wool ones make your clothes softer, too.
EWE Went ECO Dryer Balls (6-pack, $22), elvasallnaturals.com
(Related: What Canada’s Ban on Single-Use Plastics Will Mean For Canadians—and the Environment)
Pep Up the Prep Station
The perfect size for crudité dip, baby food or a yogurt parfait on-the go, these little spill-proof containers will become your go-tos for storing liquids.
Ekobo, 8 Oz Store & Go, $12 each, goodeeworld.com
Keep a serving of your homemade soup, pasta, or stir fry in this pretty little container, and be set for lunch the following day. It features double-walled BPA-free glass, which helps keep food warm and free from chemicals.
Porter Seal Tight Bowl, $25, wandpdesign.com
These durable containers are the stars of Meal Prep Sunday. We love them because they come with a tight seal to keep food fresh—but also: won’t they look so pretty piled up in your fridge?
25 Oz Store & Go, $17, goodeeworld.com
This shallow bowl is perfect for a hearty salad made with colourful in-season goodies. It’ll keep your veg fresh, crisp and ready to enjoy.
Porter bowl, $40, wandpdesign.com
Swap single-use plastic bottles in favour of this pretty stainless-steel pick, which features a built-in replaceable filter. Another reason it’s worth the switch? It keeps water cold all day long.
Brita Stainless Steel Water Bottle with Filter, $40, walmart.ca
Perfect for salty snacks, apple slices, and frozen veggies, these bags are bound to get a lot of play. They’re made with food-grade silicone and can conveniently be thrown into the dishwasher, freezer or microwave.
Porter Bags, Flat Bundle, 3 for $42, wandpdesign.com
Hit the Market
Bring your fruits and veggies home from the market in this one-of-a-kind quilted and waxed tote bag made with African textiles, which is sure to brighten up your spring look.
Reversible Wax Print Quilted Tote Bag, $65, etsy.com
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