The TOP Zero Waste Swaps from 2023
These are THE low-waste swaps you should try in 2024 to have a zero-waste New Year! These are some eco swaps I either tried for the first time in 2023 or I tried years ago but finally fell in love with this year.
This is not a conclusive list of the best zero-waste swaps, but just my favorite zero-waste swaps from this year alone. Let us know your favorite low-waste swaps below!
Treecard
I love this app! Treecard not only plants trees per 10,000 steps but also encourages me to stay moving throughout the day. And as someone with a desk job, that is necessary to stay feeling good. How does it work, though? You download the free app and let it run in the background while you walk (at the store, around town, to the park, you name it). Once you reach 10,000 steps, you can plant a tree virtually and they will also plant a tree in real life. They are partnered with Ecosia to do this.
Download here (use code emma-5rs, it plants 5 more trees!)
Wrappily
My FAV wrapping paper from this day on! I love everything about them, but here are the main highlights: they are made from recycled materials, are 100% recyclable, printed with soy-based inks, ship and are packaged plastic-free, are double-sided, easy to use, and look so lovely. I also love that they are milled, made, printed, and packaged all in WA, USA to reduce their carbon footprint even more and it’s a small business. You can hear me sing more of their praises in this post.
Stojo
Honestly probably my top swap of the year, especially for RV living. I love their bowls no matter where we live, but it is THE perfect swap for living on the road (and with kids, honestly). It’s multi-purpose, non-breakable, compact nice and small, and lightweight. Plus, it’s cute, easy to use, easy to clean, microwave-safe, and dishwasher-safe. This has helped us to keep our breakables and heavy items down in the RV and also pack zero-waste lunches and snacks for work and hiking.
Kula Cloth
Definitely my favorite outdoor zero-waste swap. This is a reusable pee cloth for those of us who squat to pee. It reduces how much toilet paper you have to carry on the trail and find a way to dispose of it correctly and sustainably. It’s not only cute and discrete but its antimicrobial fabric means it’s smell-free and bacteria-free making it sanitary and not stinky as you might imagine. I take this on every day hike and every backpacking trip and I carried it every day this summer as I worked as a State Park Park Aide. Check out more of my favorite zero-waste swaps for the outdoors here.
Library Card and Libby/Hoopla
A library card will always be my favorite zero-waste swap, but how is this a zero-waste swap? It prevents me from buying new book after new book and just borrowing instead! Borrowing is single-handedly one of the best things we can do as individuals for the planet vs all of us buying something new. But, in particular, this year I’ve LOVED audiobooks on Libby and Hoopla. Sure, you could buy audiobooks, but why buy what you can borrow for free? Plus, audiobooks are about as eco-friendly as they come for reading AND I can read while doing chores, editing, driving, crocheting, and even working! This helped me smash my reading goals for the year and I learned so much.
Thriftbooks
Now, if you’re a physical reader and you like physical books, you need to check out Thriftbooks. It’s an online second-hand book marketplace that makes it so easy to search by author, title, or genre versus sifting through shelf after shelf at a physical book store. Shopping secondhand as much as possible is one of the best things we can do as individuals for the planet, so make your reading hobbies more eco by trying secondhand books! Learn more about why shopping secondhand is better for the planet in this video.
Baggu
Easily my favorite reusable grocery bag that I’ve tried. It’s made from recycled materials, it’s durable, it holds SO many items, AND it compacts nice and small. This is important (again, cause we live in an RV) to me because it helps me remember my bags. It’s easier to store in my purse/bag or even in the car versus larger bags that take up more room. I’m obsessed and so far they’ve lasted over a year using them at least once a week. I also use them to carry crochet items in and items to parties and potlucks. They’re so stylish you can use them for more than just groceries.
ThreadUp Oxford
Sorry to everyone who it not from SW Ohio, they don’t have a website. But I felt the need to give them a shoutout for my favorite brands of the year. They help rescue ALL textiles from the landfill, not just clothing but fabric and yarn too! They have a whole separate second-hand craft store that I absolutely love. It’s one way that I make crocheting more eco-friendly. Let this be your sign to look for a second-hand craft and/or yarn store near you since they don’t ship. But, another way I crochet in a more eco way…
Darn Good Yarn
Is Darn Good Yarn! I first discovered them on our road trip from WA to OH and I found them in a small yarn shop in South Dakota. Their skein of recycled silk yarn was not only beautiful but also very eco-friendly and I’ll support just about any recycled yarn when I can. Since then, I have learned more about them and their eco-friendly yarns from using other natural fibers like banana leaf and cotton to recycling other fibers. I love what they are doing!
Shop here! Use code EMMA15 for 15% off :)
Plaine Products
Another brand I simply cannot hype up enough is Plaine Products (catch my full post praising them here). In short, they reuse boxes and packing paper, use as little plastic as possible by opting for metal bottles, AND they take back their bottles to refill over and over again. Not only do they accept them back, they incentivize that we as consumers send them back by providing pre-paid shipping labels! I love that they’re building a circular economy one bottle at a time. Of course, I wouldn’t love them as much if their products weren’t great either and they are! From their shampoo to their lotion to their face oil you can catch several bottles of Plaine in my bathroom.
Stasher
I was low-key a stasher hater for years and I finally found out why: I don’t have a dishwasher! These reusable silicone bags are so much easier to use when you have a dishwasher since they are dishwasher safe and are not very easy to wash by hand. So, I also found out that I need to use them to suit my lifestyle. Instead of loading them up with messy sandwiches and other things, I instead use them for snacks or to freeze things since their thick silicone is great for freezing. This made me enjoy them so much more this year!
Qrumbles
This is probably a brand you’ve never heard of as they are very new to the market but I was instantly obsessed, especially as someone who isn’t a fan of using Stasher Bags for sandwiches, Qrumbles has me covered for a zero-waste lunch on the go. This is essentially just a sheet of silicone that you fasten around your sandwhich making it so much easier to clean and way less bulky. This was perfect for our day hikes and road trip in October. We used them in Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks and all through-out the state parks of South Dakota and Iowa.
Muffin Liners
The theme this year is silicone apparently! Since living in the RV, we’ve discovered that our oven really doesn’t bake that well, especially loaves and cakes. It burns the bottom and the top is raw. But, what does work, is baking them smaller in the form of muffins or cupcakes! It’s not perfect, but it gets a much more even bake this way. I even scored these secondhand in the package on Facebook Marketplace. You never know what zero-waste swaps you might find secondhand so always check!
Period.
Dare I say my other favorite period underwear from Modibodi has a contender for my #1 spot? I do dare. Period. is AMAZING. They’re soft, hold a lot of flow, are neutral yet stylish, extremely comfortable, and affordable. However, the price does make me question if they’re actually sustainable/ethically made. I need to do some more digging so stay tuned for a full review but I sure was shocked that Modibodi may be dethroned! Check them out here.
Dame
I’m sure I talked about them last year, but Dame organic tampons and reusable tampon applicator is changing the zero-waste period game. I love that this reusable tampon applicator helps people make baby steps towards perfectly low-waste period swaps. This also really came in handy for me this summer as it was much easier to change and use while working at the park where I didn’t always have a bathroom to change period underwear or a menstrual disc.
Stio
Stio has become one of my overall favorite outdoor brands. Their durable and waterproof pants got me through a summer in Washington for hiking and working outside and their recycled plastic puffer jacket is getting me through Ohio winter. I love that they use a lot of recycled materials and are a small outdoor brand to support instead of corporations.
Darn Tough
But, my favorite outdoor sock brand is Darn Tough. Who am I kidding, though, I love Darn Tough all day, every day. I literally have them on right now in the house in December. Their wool socks are great at keeping your warm in the cold and cool in the heat as well as are stink-repellant. They have the cutest designs, their extremely durable, but even if you get a hole in them they have a lifetime warranty. You can’t beat it!
Lackadazee
A favorite jewelry brand of mine for a long time (I’ve had one of their body piercings in for literally 3.5 years) but I rediscovered them this year as I got out of the Air Force and was allowed to wear a bunch of jewelry! I wanted to find something timeless and eco-friendly. Their dainty jewelry is made from recycled gold and silver and they even have a recycling program where you can send them your broken jewelry for reuse!
Tattoo Balms
Something I didn’t know existed until I went looking for it as a tattoo-enthusiast is an eco-friendly tattoo balm for tattoo aftercare. The brands I’m still testing are Ohana Organics, Lovett Sundries, and Nova Scotia Fishermen. They’re all made with clean ingredients as well as packaged in metal tins that can be recycled or reused at then end of their lives. But, it sure does take a long time to empty these tins, they last a long time and they all work so well!
Shop with the links above :)
Aventon
Aventon makes such nice e-bikes and we have used them to get around just about everywhere: to get groceries, to go to the farmers market, around Yosemite, biking downtown, going rock-climbing, going out to dinner, and so much more. They’re perfect for commuting or just cruising around and they even make offroad bikes, too. Check out the full review here!
Shorts by Sav
My other favorite small brand from the year is Shorts by Sav, another Ohio brand, too! I love what Sav is doing. She takes blemished thrift store items that otherwise may not sell and she upcycles them into unique, one-of-a-kind pieces from shorts to sweatshirts and everything in between. She even finds fun uses throughout the year to reuse any scraps she makes in the upcycling process instead of throwing them away.
Loop
An unsuspecting zero-waste swap, Loop makes reusable earbuds. As a neurodivergent with migraines, I bought these to help reduce pain and overstimulation. It wasn’t until I started work at the park that I realized this is also a zero-waste swap if you work in a loud environment and require hearing protection! Instead of using 5 single-use ear buds per week, I now had to use zero per week which is great! And I love a good multi-purpose item ;)
Several Sunscreen Brands
While we should strive to take care of our skin all the time, this summer was a real reminder of that for me since I worked outside 8 hours a day, 5 days a week plus did many outdoor hobbies. So, I used several sunscreen brands this year that I loved: Krave Beauty, Sunbutter, Butter Me Up Organics, and Sun JuJu to name a few. They all worked so well, I had zero sunburns all summer!
Sun Shirt from REI
Another way I protected my skin that I didn’t realize also prevented waste in the form of not having to use as MUCH sunscreen is a sun shirt! I got this one at REI after getting my Ponderosa Pine tattoo and wanting to make sure it was extra protected from the sun and dirt while it healed. It was comfy, got the job done, and ended up being my designated paint shirt, oops.
We made it! My top zero waste swaps of 2023 that I highly recommend you check out for a zero-waste new year. Let me know which ones you would try and which low waste swaps were your 2023 favorites.
Thanks for reading along, as always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)
Emma
