Sustainability Swaps for an Eco-friendly Journey

You think you're up for trying to start living a more sustainable or eco-conscious life but are not sure how or where to start? Sharing easy & simple eco-conscious swaps you can easily do in your day-to-day life.

We acknowledge that these small things are not going to solve the climate crisis overnight. For a large-scale impact, changes need to happen at a global level, things like reducing the earth’s exploitation footprint, the reconstruction of our hyper-consumeristic society and many more, but that doesn’t mean that we as an individual should not contribute. We too can make our own unique impact with our individual daily choices.

The simple swaps that we do in our life can have a major long-term impact. It is actually the cumulation of small swap and choices that can lead to a huge reduction in pollution, waste and chemical burden.

These simple swaps, which you might not have been even aware of, do truly add up to cut down waste and help the environment.

We tend to hold the notion that sustainable changes are expensive and require specialty products, but the truth is, it's really not difficult or expensive to be eco-friendly! It can, in fact even SAVE you money in the long run!

1. Reusable Shopping Bags

Carrying your own reusable shopping bags is a very simple and cheap swap when you head out for your weekly groceries! Reusable shopping bags replace those plastic produce bags and yet are very convenient for your go-to grabs.

Photo: Go Green Reusable Cotton Produce Bags from Goli Soda

Instead of letting another plastic bag fly free, we recommend grabbing an alternative eco-friendly bag from Live Organik’s collection of reusable cotton bags from Goli Soda. We totally understand that it can be hard to remember to grab your reusable bags - to troubleshoot this, we recommend that you leave a spare one in your go-to purse at all times.

Fact: "About 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide annually. More than 2 million bags every minute."

2. Reusable Straws

Photo: Stainless steel straw from Ecodeeds

Our Live Organik alternative is 8mm stainless steel straws from Ecodeeds. They come in a family pack of 4 in a pouch along with a coconut coir straw cleaner. They are Hygienic, plastic free and reusable. Pair it up conveniently with smoothies, juices and iced coffees galore! So, remember to carry it for your next movie-night-in for a sustainable swap.

Fact: "More than half a billion plastic straws are used every day around the world. It takes around 200 yrs. for one straw to decompose. Unfortunately, they don't break down completely but instead photo-degrade, becoming microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment.

3. Feminine products

We get that reusable feminine hygiene products for our monthly visitor might come off as an uncomfortable option at first, but everyone who switches to menstrual cups or absorbent underwear swears by it, so it might be something worth trying out!

Conventional menstrual products have many additives and toxins. They carry BPA and other chemicals which can cause cancer over time and can interfere with the reproductive system as well. The presence of pesticides and herbicides in pads can directly enter your bloodstream to affect your internal organs. And then there is an ever piling of used pads on the landfills! The plastic used in disposable sanitary napkins are not bio-degradable and lead to health and environmental hazards.

Photo: Soqo High Waist Leakproof Period Underwear

We bet sustainable period options are looking a lot better now! You can opt from various products as per your preference and comfort - a menstrual cup for heavy flow or during travelling and switching to period panty or Natural sanitary pads during nights and reusable pads for light flow.

Live Organik offers a diverse variety of products. First, Reusable pads such as from Eco femme can be reused multiple times. Secondly, Reusable period panties offered by Soqo are made with a super-soaker bamboo fabric and can be worn simply as any other underwear. And lastly, the most sustainable and economical is the menstrual cup such as from She Cup that can be reused multiple times by being sanitized with warm water and mild soap. Another icing on the top is that they are made out of medical-grade silicone, which can be safely disposed of in a few different ways.

Fact: Sanitary pads can take a whopping 800 years to degrade, so switching to a reusable version is an easy way to help ease the pressure on the planet. Around 12.3 billion sanitary napkins, amounting to 113,000 tonnes of waste, reaches India’s landfills every year.

4. Bamboo Toothbrush

What would you choose if you had to choose between a bamboo handle toothbrush and adding to the ever-growing pile of plastic toothbrushes in landfills? The most sensible choice is bamboo toothbrush. We can cut down the huge number of plastic toothbrushes we use in our lifetimes by switching over to this eco-friendly alternative. Unlike plastic toothbrush handles, toothbrush handles made from bamboo biodegrade naturally. Depending on the level of soil activity, a bamboo handle can completely decompose within a time period as short as 3 months

Photo: Bamboo Toothbrush from DentTabs

Live Organik recommends DentTabs Bamboo Toothbrush that is made of Super Soft Bristles with round bristle ends to get best polish effect on your teeth while it is gentle on gums and teeth.

Fact: Conventional toothbrushes are made of different types of plastics so they cannot be recycled and they take more than 400 years to decompose, finally ending up in our oceans, damaging marine life.

5. Soap Bar & Shampoo Bar

Swapping to solid soap bars is a super simple swap that most of us could make immediately without much inconvenience or additional cost. Both liquid soap and bar soap are as effective against bacteria and viruses, but there is chemical, as well as aesthetic difference between them. Bar soaps have lower environmental impact than liquid including carbon footprint, eco-toxicity, ozone depletion potential and eutrophication potential. Also, Bar soaps are made from a combination of fat & oil, whereas liquid soap is usually made of synthetic detergent.

Photo: Soap Bars from Sintra Naturals

We at Live Organik recommend Soap Bars from Sintra Naturals. These soaps are made of natural and organic ingredients, comes in a variety of flavours and are packed in eco-friendly containers.

Fact: It is estimated that over 552 million shampoo bottles end up in our landfills yearly, which is enough bottles to fill 1,164 football fields. Once in the landfills, these bottles take an average of 450 years to decompose. Add another 552 million shampoo bottles yearly, and our planet has a compounding problem.

6. Plant-based cleaning products

You keep an extra close eye for that “organic” symbol at the grocery store but have you given a thought about the cleaning products that you use in your home? Those bleaches and artificial scents and antibacterial compounds are toxic and cause air and water pollution. With prolonged exposure, they enter our bodies. If you want to ensure to keep these toxic out of your body, we highly recommend switching over to natural cleaning products. They are Eco-friendly, Non-Toxic & Bio-degradable. And yes, it really does matter.

Photo: Natural Plant-based Floor Cleaner from Prakriti Ratna

Live Organik recommends Natural Floor Cleaner from Prakriti Ratna that is natural, safe and doesn’t cause pollution

Fact: The chemicals in many cleaners are common pollutants that contribute to smog, reduce the quality of drinking water and are toxic to our environment and animals.

7. Plant bee-friendly flowers

Last but not the least…Let's bring back our pollinating friends!! Little something for our bees and butterflies

As pollinators, bees play a part in every aspect of the ecosystem. They support the growth of trees, flowers, and other plants, which serve as food and shelter for creatures large and small. Bees contribute to complex, interconnected ecosystems that allow a diverse number of different species to co-exist

Fact: Bees are under great threat from the combined effects of climate change, intensive agriculture, pesticides use, biodiversity loss and pollution. Billions of bees are lost each year.

This swap may not apply to everyone, but if you have a small garden or aspire to set up one, please swap some of your normal plants for bee-friendly, pollinator friendly options! Save the butterflies and the bees!

At present, we are not offering seeds or saplings but can recommend a few bees friendly plants. Rose, Marigold, Hibiscus, Lavender, Sunflower, Sweet alyssum, Lantana are some which are easily available at your local nurseries. And they smell great too!

Alright, there you have it!

We hope this list inspires you to make some simple swaps for a more sustainable life. You may think how can one person make a difference, but one person does make an impact! If we all individually do our part in protecting the environment, we make a collective impact in lessening the amount of waste produced. Making eco-friendly habits doesn't happen over-night, but, as with just about everything else, practice is what makes us perfect.

So, tell us how are you going to step up? How are you going to make a difference in decades from now by the choices you make today?

I hope you find the beautiful opportunity in this to get you started on your eco-friendly journey!