What is sustainable living?
Wondering what is sustainable living?
By 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach 10 billion. More humans mean more demand for resources. From food and fashion to travel and energy, we are exceeding the planet’s capacity for generation.
In a world that’s already stretched thin for resources and under the threat of global biodiversity loss, climate change and increasing pollution, our lifestyle choices are putting the planet at risk.
Sustainable living means not only understanding how our behaviour impacts the world, but what we can do as individuals, governments and businesses to reduce the use of Earth’s resources and make sustainable living the new way of life.
Our future depends on us.
How we choose to live, work and play affects everyone on our planet. Sustainable living means reviewing how we run our homes, what food we consume, what products we buy, how we travel, and how we care for our world.
If we want to preserve the planet for future generations, we need dramatic changes in the way we live; we must put sustainable living into practice today.
Make the switch to more sustainable living
More sustainable living can seem futile compared to the scale of the climate emergency, but individual action does matter and enabling a more sustainable lifestyle can start with even the smallest changes.
As Greta Thunberg said, “I know we need a system change rather than individual change. But you can not have one without the other.”
To help make sustainable living easier, a growing number of brands are moving toward environmentally friendly and sustainable business models. The companies that help the environment by doing business differently are ones making a more meaningful impact.
To make committing to sustainable living a little easier, we've rounded up a selection of Australian brands that offer high-quality and eco-friendly bathroom products.
From shampoo bars and toilet rolls to sustainable shavers, here are some easy ways to make sustainable switches to your personal care routine.
1. Who Gives A Crap
If you’re taking sustainable living to the loo then Who Gives a Crap is the BCorp certified brand that’s bum and planet kind.
Made in Australia, Who Gives A Crap is the sustainable toilet paper that’s upping the game when it comes to loo roll.
In addition to providing a choice of toilet paper that’s made of 100% recycled paper or 100% bamboo, they also avoid inks, dyes, or scents and don’t test on animals. And yes, the paper is also biodegradable.
As part of their brand purpose, Who Gives A Crap is committed to building toilets in developing countries. So far, this Aussie business has donated a whopping $10 million Dollars toward clean water projects worldwide.
Who Gives A Crap started because they thought people could change the world by making tiny choices. Small decisions, like where to buy toilet paper, can make a real difference. Little kind acts can add up to have an unbelievable impact.
2. NuBar
NuBar makes sustainable living easy and beautifully clean.
NueBar creates luxe shampoo and conditioning bars, face wash bars and body bars, all pH balanced and formulated by Naturopath & Herbalist Katie Hennah and made by hand in the Blue Mountains, Australia.
This sustainable beauty brand believes in caring for our planet as well as your body.
Products are palm oil free, handmade, vegan and free from plastic. Their shampoo bars are refreshingly different because they use gentle coconut and sugar-based surfactants to create a wash that lathers without stripping your hair of its natural oils.
NuBar’s packaging is made from recycled material, printed with soy-based inks and is fully compostable.
Ditching the shampoo bottle for a shampoo bar is one of the best ways to upgrade your sustainable living and remove plastic from your hair-care routine.
3. Make My Shave
Make My Shave intertwines smooth shaving with sustainable living.
With 64% of women in Australia still using plastic disposable razors, Make My Shave is the women’s razor subscription that makes sustainable shaving more accessible and affordable for Aussie women.
As part of the brand's environmental promise, Make My Shave plants a tree in Australia with every single order dispatched from their Queensland-based HQ. Their eco-friendly packaging is recyclable, made in Australia and designed for a reduced carbon footprint.
Every delivery is Carbon Offset and Make My Shave even provides a free recycling program for used razor heads to save them from ending up in landfill. Yay!
TimeOut recently announced Make My Shave as one of the ‘Best Australian personal care and beauty brands that put sustainability first’.
Find out more about Make My Shave >
While no one expects you to go zero waste overnight, the good news is that you can become a more conscious consumer by switching to more sustainable products starting in the bathroom!