For many people and families, summertime means vacation time. Whether it’s a trip to the beach or a weekend spent at a cool mountain resort, you’ll need to bring some things from home to make the most of it. Below are five of the best earth-friendly items you should pack for your summer vacation.
#1 – A Filtered Water Bottle
Headed to the beach? Going on a mountain hike? Spending the day out on a bass boat in the middle of the lake? The chances are good that you’re going to want a sip of water, and those plastic bottles in the convenience stores can be mighty tempting. Fortunately, you can come prepared with your very own filtered water bottle! All you need is a clean water source and you’re good to go. Fill up a gallon jar, bring along a funnel, and you are even ready for refills.
#2 – Reusable Shopping Bags
No vacation is complete without at least a little shopping, but in most places across the country, you’ll still get a plastic bag to carry your newly-purchased wares out of the shop. While you might have the option to purchase a reusable bag in the store, it’s best to bring your own from home. This way, you know for sure that you’ve chosen a shopping bag made with renewable materials.
#3 – Earth-Friendly Oral Care
You’ll need to pack up your family’s collection of toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste to maintain your oral health while you’re away. Otherwise, you might find yourself at the mercy of hotel toothbrushes, and that’s no fun. Bring your own bamboo toothbrushes, silk dental floss, and delicious fluoride-free toothpaste from home! This way, you can take care of the planet while you’re taking care of your smile.
#4 – Reef-Safe Sunscreen
Some of the sunscreens available today provide effective protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays, but they take a serious toll on coral reefs. The culprit ingredient here is oxybenzone, which causes significant DNA damage in young coral. As they grow, they become disfigured to the point that they die off. WooBamboo has partnered with Saba Conservation Foundation to aid in the efforts to keep coral healthy; the foundation utilizes our toxin-free bamboo toothbrushes to scrub coral structures! Prevention is the best medicine for coral reefs, so before you embark on your trip to the beach, make sure the sunscreen you’ve chosen is reef-safe.
#5 – Toiletries
You can’t take liquid (or gel) items in containers larger than four ounces on planes, but you certainly can take solid versions of items like shampoos, soaps, face cream, cleansers, moisturizers, and more. These days, there are several brands making solid toiletries from earth-friendly ingredients and in plastic-free packaging. That means there’s no chunky bottle to throw away when you reach the end of your shampoo or conditioner, and they take up less space in your suitcase, too.
Going on vacation is exciting, but so is taking care of Mother Earth. Packing things like filtered water bottles, reef-safe sunscreen, and even solid versions of all of your favorite toiletries can make your next trip convenient, amazing, and best of all, environmentally friendly.
