The world has become smaller with the convenience and availability of different modes of transportation. I hope you are taking advantage of this and learning about the planet, other cultures and expand your horizons and life outlook. I love travelling and exploring new places, and using my expertise in both travel packing and sustainability, here I’m sharing some of my favorite eco-friendly tips with you.
1. Bring your own reusable water bottle and use refill stations at the airports. Hydrating on the plane and at the airport is key for your health, well-being and helps you arrive to your destination in a better state. Many people get confused thinking that they cannot bring a water bottle to the airport (I used to be one of those people!), but actually you can bring your own bottle as long as you empty it out before the security check-point.
Almost all airports have refill stations with clean filtered drinking water where you can fill up your bottle, rather than purchasing water in a plastic disposable bottle (remember: only 9% of all plastic ends up getting recycled!). I use those refill stations while I’m at the airport and fill up my bottle before boarding, which significantly reduces my plastic consumption.
You can also ask a flight attendant to fill up your reusable bottle - depending on the plane and airline, flight attendants might be even using water from the fountain (again-no plastic at all!) or fill it up from a larger plastic bottle which is still better than using several small plastic water bottles that are handed out in the plane. If you follow this advice, remember to also refuse water handed out in disposable cups by the flight attendant during the flight.
2. Pack up solid shampoo, face wash, body cream and deodorant bars (and any other body care products), instead of travel size versions of the same in plastic packaging. All the above items (and more) are available in solid version and I recommend using them at all times, not just for travelling. Due to their consistence they are usually sold in paper packaging which is so much more eco-friendly than plastic packaging. Here is why they’re particularly great for travelling:
Solid body care products are highly concentrated and contain way less water than the liquid versions of the same, hence travelling with solid ones helps you keep your luggage lighter.
Travel size items use more plastic than the large bottles you would normally purchase, thus solid version makes the choice that much more eco-friendly.
If you don’t want to check-in your bags, you would have to keep your liquid products within 100ml volume, which may limit how much of those products you can bring with you.
Prevents spills in your luggage. I’m sure every avid traveller has at least one story of ruining some items in the luggage due to a leaking bottle.
3. Re-use small bottles from other body care products if you prefer using your favorite brand over solid options. Keep a few small empty bottles from products that you used up, flush them off and fill them up with your favourite body care product. It may seem easier to just buy empty plastic travel size bottles at the drug store, but I don’t need to explain how unsustainable that is, and why would you waste money and time to purchase those anyway?
4. Pack up reusable or in other words just your own items rather than using disposable ones on the plane or at the hotel:
Bamboo toothbrush;
Toothpaste, or even better - toothpaste bites;
Refillable floss in a glass jar;
Stain remover;
Silicone ear buds - they are easy to wash and will help you get proper rest on the plane;
Eye mask - bring your own or just buy a good quality one that you’d use over and over again when travelling. Choose natural fibers, such as a blend of cotton and silk;
A pack of compostable disinfecting wipes - most wipes are made of synthetic fibers so choosing compostable wipes is considerably more eco-friendly. Remember to refuse the wipes individually wrapped in plastic, that are offered on the plane and at the hotel.
5. Refuse freebies offered on the plane. Do you really need those cheaply-made cosmetic bag, a pair of socks, a face mask, a toothbrush, a toothpaste and whatever else is offered in the freebies bag on the plane? Hopefully not and the packing in the previous bullet point would help you eliminate the need to use any of those single-use items. The more people refuse to use them, the less is going to be the consumption of those plastic non-recyclable items.
6. Carbon offset. Flying by plane generates a large volume of CO2 emissions. While not flying at all seems like a more eco-friendly option, I don’t think flying needs to be absolutely avoided. Exploring the world, seeing some beautiful places in different parts of the planet, getting to know other cultures and taking time off to reconnect your mind and body, generally leads to higher appreciation of the nature and planet, and brings us to the state of mindfulness, in which we are more likely to care about our planet and make more eco-friendly choices.
Luckily, these days avid travellers have an option to offset their CO2 emissions by purchasing carbon offsets. Funds received by the carbon offset companies are used to fund CO2 reduction projects so you basically make up for the CO2 emissions that you produce. I look at it as a sort of a donation for a very specific reason. Few airline companies even include carbon offset fees in the price of the ticket, while some others offer their customers to purchase carbon offsets when checking out on the airline website. If neither of the options is offered, you can look up companies that offer carbon offsets and their websites often have CO2 calculators so you know how much carbon offset to pay for.
7. Sustainable sneakers. I hope you travel in sneakers, at least I do - it makes the travel so much easier for your legs. I choose to buy sneakers from Allbirds brand that produces their sneakers in a very eco-friendly way. (I don't make commission from this "advertisement', I just truly find them to be a brand that really cares about their environmental impact, and they are super transparent about it too) According to my research, Allbirds is one of the most sustainable shoe brands.
8. Choose the mode of transportation wisely - plane, bus, car or train?
I get it - most people make their decision based on the convenience and price factors (I often do that myself too), but when those factors are similar between the available transportation options why not also consider the emissions component and add that to your decision-making process?
When purchasing your plane, bus or train tickets, notice how much emissions are generated per person for that trip. Keep in mind that emissions would also be generated during your commute to the airport or train/bus station. Usually, train is the most eco-friendly of all, but it's not always as convenient and sometimes it's quite expensive. If you consider driving a car - see how much emissions would be produced based on the car specifications and mileage - remember to divide the total amount of CO2 you get by the number of people who would be in the same car. It might make sense to drive a car in some cases, especially if you are travelling as a group.
Here are some of my own examples. I found that taking a train from NYC to Washington, DC is not just the most convenient option but also - the most eco-friendly. Also, travelling with just a backpack or a light luggage whenever possible allows me to get to the airport by train instead of getting a cab.
One can certainly make an argument that regardless of whether you’d buy a plane ticket or not, it would fly in any case, and similar argument can be made about a bus and a train. I agree with this, yet still the schedules and sizes of aircraft get adjusted over time based on the volume of bookings, so hopefully your choice contributes to some good changes.
I hope these points help you become more sustainable with your travel choices. I bet you feel really good about your upcoming trip, and I’m sure following the above tips would also make you feel good about yourself. 😉
Comments