Hello and Welcome!
Firstly, I’m sorry that I haven’t been posting as much. I’ve had a few different things going on and time has just been getting away from me. I still think about blogging all of the time but translating that into actually writing posts just hasn’t been happening. I love my blog, and I love blogging, I’m just trying to get back into it and balance my time better.
Anyway, today’s post is going to contain a selection of different items/product types that help you be a little more sustainable. This isn’t one of those posts that’s going to be super aggressive telling you what to do, no one is perfect and I’m certainly not the most sustainable person. However, I do think it’s important to try to be a little more conscious of what you’re using and where you can switch to more sustainable alternatives.
Most of these products have been gifted to me and all links to the WAKEcup website are affiliate links which means I’d earn a small commission should you purchase through the links – this is no extra charge to you.
Sustainable Bags
I personally would say that sustainable and reusable bags are the most useful items you can get. Not only do they help the planet but you don’t have to worry about getting that extra bag charge all of the time. They’re a simple and easy way to be sustainable.
My absolute favourite bag has to be this ‘WAKEbag Rucksack’ (£33) it’s a really cool alternative to a backpack and provides way more space than a regular reusable tote bag (plus your belongings aren’t going to get wet). I find this bag much easier to remember when I’m going shopping than a tote and it’s surprisingly spacious. When I’m shopping I usually only need this backpack, and one reusable tote to carry what I’m buying.
I’ve also had many compliments and questions about this bag because of its cool design (who said being sustainable has to be boring?!). As you can see from the photo above, the backpack looks like a paper bag. However, unlike a paper bag, it’s waterproof, has adjustable straps, is 100% vegan, and accessible via the buckle, or popper, at the top of the bag or via a zip on the side (the zip is super useful for quick access).
I’d really recommend this bag if you’re looking for a more exciting backpack (it’s big enough to fit a tablet or notebook laptop) or an extra bag to have with you when shopping. It’s such fantastic quality and I love it to death, I’ve been using it constantly.
If you’d like to pick up this bag, or check out any of the other reusable items WAKEcup sell, then you can do so here – I know the bag is a little pricey but it’s so unique, you aren’t going to find anything else like it.
Reusable Cutlery Sets/Straws
I’ve grouped reusable cutlery sets and reusable straws together for this category, mostly because the set shown in the photo above contains a reusable straw.
Now reusable straws have been causing quite the controversy. Since that video of a turtle with a straw in its nose, there’s been a huge war on plastic straws. Do I want to save turtles? Absolutely. Do I think plastic straws are the biggest issue? No, not really. Yes, plastic isn’t great, and plastic straws can cause issues with turtles and other wildlife, but straws make up such a tiny amount of plastic pollution. Also, alternatives to plastic straws aren’t the best if we’re being honest with ourselves. Paper straws are okay for really small amounts of liquid but they get mushy and soggy so quickly. Metal straws, like in the photo above, are also just okay, but they get cold or hot (depending on what liquid you’re drinking) and they aren’t flexible. Whilst some of us are privileged enough to be able to choose not to use a straw, or use an alternative type of straw, not everyone is able to. If you are able to, then switching to a reusable straw is a good idea, but I personally don’t think it’s as colossal of an issue as the media is making out, when we have so many other types of plastic that are ending up in the oceans.
If you’re looking at getting a reusable straw then I’d recommend looking at a reusable cutlery set that contains a straw instead. The photo above shows the Bright Zine ‘Ethical Lifestyle Toolkit’ (£10 or £12 with a straw cleaning brush) which my boyfriend’s sister bought me for Christmas last year and I think it’s an absolutely amazing product. It contains a reusable fork, spoon, set of chopsticks, and a metal straw. It’s a really great product to have in your bag if you go out and pick up lunch on the go (or it would be great to take to a festival).
I personally would choose to get one of these over just a reusable straw, it’s way more handy! If you’re interested then you can check out the Bright Zine kit here.
Reusable Coffee Cup/Flask
A reusable coffee cup is something that I invested in a while ago now during university. I’m someone who absolutely loves coffee and at university I’d be buying a coffee pretty much every single day that I was on campus so I really wanted to find a more sustainable way to have coffee. I bought the cup left on the left from my Students’ Union (I don’t remember the price). Not only does it help you be a little more sustainable, but a lot of places will give you a discount if you bring your own cup (it’s a win win).
The second thing I want to talk about is having a flask so you can bring your own coffee with you. The flask shown on the right is a Asobu Thermo Bottle (£24) which keeps coffee hot for hours and hours (review coming at the end of the week), so it’s great to help you cut down on the amount of takeaway coffee you’re purchasing. I would probably take the flask with me to work or for journeys (I recently took it with me when I drove my mum to hospital) – it’s great for if you’re waiting around for a while and it fits perfectly in a cup holder. Whereas, I’d take the reusable cup if I’m out and about in places where I might purchase a takeaway coffee (e.g. university or if I were going into town).
As I said, I’m not sure how much the Ecoffee cup cost and I can only find the product in euros online but WAKEcup sell reusable cups if you want to check those out, however if you’re interested in a thermo flask then you can have a look at a few different ones here.
Reusable Cotton Pads
Unfortunately, after trawling through my Google Photos, it doesn’t look like I actually took a photo of these when I bought them so I’ll have to only talk about them instead!
Reusable cotton pads are something that I had been thinking about purchasing for a small age. I kept thinking about it and then forgetting and not knowing where to look until one day I thought about looking on Amazon and suddenly I was faced with loads of affordable listings for reusable cotton pads.
The ones that I purchased came to just over £5 for 16 cotton pads and it comes with a bag for you to wash them in. For some reason they’ve now gone up in price to £7.99 (I wish I’d bought two at the time), but that’s still a pretty fair price. I don’t really use cotton pads much, except for when I’m using toner, but using these instead is still making me a little more sustainable.
If you’d like to purchase the ones I have then you can do so here. Alternatively, I found a listing for 16 cotton pads, bamboo rounds, a small laundry bag (to wash them in), an organic bamboo face cloth and bamboo cotton buds, for £12.99, so if that sounds better for you then you can check that out here.
Other Ways to Be More Sustainable
Of course, there are many ways to be more sustainable, and I’ve just included a very small selection of products that could help you. At the end of the day there is no right or wrong way, whether you’re just using a reusable bag, or if you’re living entirely as zero waste, even the smallest of actions makes a difference.
One thing that I love doing personally is going to charity shops. I don’t necessarily do it solely because it’s more sustainable than buying new clothes, but because I can’t afford new items most of the time and I enjoy the fact that you never know what you’re going to find. At the end of the day, no matter what you do, how big or small, make sure that you’re enjoying it – if you don’t enjoy it then you aren’t going to be consistent with doing it.
If you’re looking for other small things you can do to be a little more sustainable then here’s a quick bullet point list:
- Charity shop shopping
- Donate any unwanted items to charity
- Walk or cycle instead of taking a bus/car/taxi
- Buy plastic-free toiletries
- Get a bamboo toothbrush
- Use rechargeable batteries
- Turn off the lights when you leave a room
- Grow fresh herbs
- Don’t use the plastic bags when you buy fruit or veg – you can buy your own bag for this or just use none at all
- Get a reusable water bottle
- Recycle as much as you can
Okay so this now brings us to the end of this post, I really hope that you enjoyed it and let me know if there’s any other small things that you think people can do to be a little more sustainable!
I’ve got an exciting post coming up at the end of the week involving coffee so make sure you keep a look out for that and follow my blog if you aren’t doing so already.
Love,
Charlotte (Multibendybeauty) 
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Check out my previous posts!
Bristol’s First Cat Café – You&Meow Review
A Serum to Grow your Eyelashes – NYK1 Lashforce Review
Why I’ve Opened a Ko-fi Account
Multibendybeauty 