Thank you so much Hannah for not promoting Zoe. As a type 1 diabetic, I have strong views on this company. I have seen the impact on stock levels of this blood sugar montitor due to them being sold to healthy people, causing diabetics who need them to go without. Also healthy people do not need to know what their blood sugar is at any given moment of the day. It can lead to an unhealthy obsession with the impact of your food and possibly even to an eating disorder. I'm writing this for anyone who reads the comment to spread awareness that this is not a good thing.
Also diabetic, I’ve noticed it’s always a repackaged Libre freestyle from the brand Abbot, there are so many of these companies selling them to non-diabetics! It’s crazy! And I obviously agree you don’t need a crazy expensive blood sugar monitor unless your doctor tells you to use one!
im not diabetic but came to comment the exact same, companies like zoe are evil and are stripping access to important, often expensive medical care that a lot of people cannot live without!!!
I'm not diabetic, but recognized the devices. And as someone that does rely on medicine daily, I was like: that is really strange. Why would you need a blood sugar meter device for some weird diet thing? Diet culture goes so far as to abuse medical device that people need to promote unhealthy relationships with food?! Disgusting on so many levels.
First of all, I really love the video and the whole theme around becoming an intentional consumer. However, I usually distrust companies that claim to be eco-friendly and then immediately confine you to a subscription. If you want to really use less plastic and save some money, I would suggest buying these 5-liter bottles of washing-up liquid or shampoo. You can easily get them online. They don't cost more than 18 pounds. Yes, they still come in a plastic container, but the overall percentage is significantly smaller than the alternative-even the milk cartons that the Smol washing-up liquid comes in. Those cartons are lined with plastic and cannot easily be recycled. It's just greenwashing. I'm sure you can find a lot of plastic-free soap bars in your local drug store. Where I live, even Dove bars are plastic-free these days and marginally cheaper than the ones you buy online! Going to your local supermarket or drug store and just looking for alternatives is often much more eco-friendly than getting "alternatives" online!
Yes! Maybe I'm just lucky but I have a cleaning refill store nearby so I just bring my containers up there every few months for refills. And for bar soap I like buying from the local artisan markets, yes not cheap but it's fun to soap small businesses and there's almost zero packaging
Re: the Zoé thing, as a type one diabetic who desperately relies on CGMs to genuinely manage my health condition, thank you for not even trying with Zoé. Access to CGMs is incredibly restricted to diabetics who need them (including types 2s who also need them) and it is very frustrating to see these tools repackaging as a "health" alternative for people to see they reaction to food. Unless you have someone in your life who can read a graph about your blood sugar trends, it is a totally useless tool! The average person does NOT NEED info about their blood sugar, especially when some people take it to mean that any spike in blood sugar is bad when that's not how it work at all. Everyone's blood sugar goes up after eating unless you eat a meal with zero carbs in it and all protein or water and fibre. Please do not buy these things unless you have a genuine need because again, it's repackaging a restricted tool that diabetics need to among their health condition into a capitalist diet culture hell hole and this ALWAYS happens with diabetic tools (see ozempic) and I can't see it continue to happen. It would be one thing if all diabetics had equal access to cgms, but they don't. Seeing people who don't need them try and use them as a guise to "optimize their health" when they are likely not going to understand the data they are receiving in the first place is MIND BOGGLING.
Absolutely!! I makes me so annoyed to see it! If you have no issues with your health watching your blood sugar go up and down on a little app (like it literally will do in a healthy person) means absolutely nothing other than to make you think you have to change your eating habits. Who needs to reserve the life saving technology for the people who need it when you can make some quick money hey?? Also lovely that the same company that I provided a lot of health data to throughout 2020 for proper health purposes has now gone down the rich person health fad route 🙃
I'm so glad you said this because as she was describing it I was questioning if that would even be helpful for someone who wasn't diabetic? Glad my gut instinct isn't totally of base.
Sorry but shouldn’t everyone be able to read a graph? Also, aren’t there lots of people who are seriously affected by glucose changes who maybe don’t have a diabetes diagnosis? Including lots of type 2s?
@@eleanorp3202these things are often targeted at people who do have health problems, though. I’m not surprised Hannah, who has a chronic illness, was targeted by the algorithm. I’m all for the NHS doing everything for us Brits, but if people want a tool to help them manage their health problems, why should we limit their access?
About the dish washing liquid, if you prefer the bottle of the Fairy, you can just transfer the Smol liquid into the Fairy bottle once the Fairy is finished. Not revolutionary idea, but still decided to share 😅
I studied and work in environmental sciences and when a company says a packaging is recyclable it's usually just that the material is technically recyclable, but the reality is that often, our recycling facilities don't accept those materials... When I buy things in plastic, I try to buy the biggest packaging possible to reduce at least the amount of transportation emissions related... (well the biggest packaging I can before item goes bad!) For the dish brush, I know some brands have the refillable handle and the little brush at the end is the only thing you have to swap, which in the end is not that much plastic :)
I was coming to say the same thing! With the toothpaste example, yes, I could technically recycle the tube. But it has to be clean, which means I need to slice the tube open and scrub out the insides before it can be recycled, which I'm just...not going to do? And if you recycle it without cleaning, then it gums up the machines, or someone has to manually pick it out before processing, which also creates problems down the line. I do a similar thing with buying the largest I can, though. So if I'm using a non-recyclable package (or not realistically recyclable, ha), at least the volume of plastic to product ratio is something I can live with a bit better.
I'm someone who washes out all my recycling to try and make them as recyclable as possible, but I have fallen victim to Tetra Pak. Oh my goodness, in my area you have to take these to a recycling facility, which if you don't drive is very hard! I don't have time to get the bus, walk 20 minutes, wait half an hour for the bus back, etc... And yet they're advertised as being better than plastic, even though I am just having to throw them in the bin. Also butter packets that are paper and metal that can't be recycled locally. If I don't want to throw it in the bin I have to buy plastic tubs which I don't actually want to do. All these things that should be better for the environment just aren't, which makes reducing plastic (which I think is spawn of the devil) really hard.
This! This is the thing that shits me about all these new "plastic free/recyclable" packagings. There's no point in me switching to these if my local council won't accept them and I just chuck it in the bin anyway and pay double the cost for the product!
@@xXcrimsonxroseXx So true and the toothpaste makes me cringe because virgin aluminum is polluting to mine. I think possibly the refillable glass jars for those lucky enough to be close to a refill location, or those little toothpaste tabs that you chew then brush with, might be more genuinely green choices.
Yes it's really hard to see through all the green washing!!! AND also every recycling facility is not the same, so you can't really advice recycling tips at large because it's all so different!
I think the biggest mistake that many people make with the sustainable alternatives is that they replace something that they already have and use, with a new more eco alternative. If you have something that you already have and it works, then use it!! Same for the body bars- soap existed for ages, so just use soap.😅
I‘ve tried using normal soap bars for my body, hair and face and none of those parts of me responded well 🙈 I did try multiple different types and brands too. Then I tried Lush shampoo bars and they were the worst thing ever. Have now been using the shampoo and body wash bars from my local grocery store brand for like two years and have tried others and it does feel revolutionary 😂 I get your point though, I really do, seeing as my dad has switched to normal soap for body wash after multiple talks from me about sustainability, but it does not work for everyone. Also, I feel like sometimes we just forget how things used to be done, if you grew up always using shampoo and body wash you just might not connect the dots that before that people used soap bars 😅
I tried shampoo bars for a long time and I liked it at first, but my hair just needs more moisture. Conditionner bars are a no go, bars on the lengths make a tangled mess (I have wavy/curly hair). What I do use and like though, is soap for handsoap and bodywash. I like to buy from independent soapmakers, in markets and places like that. Some are better than others but I don't care that much, I just need to be clean 😅
Hannah, you can also dissolve shampoo/body wash bars in water and use the result with your fancy pump bottle! Still saves up the weight of water having to be transported
I find the wooden washing up heads actually last at least six months, and that’s with daily washing up (no dishwasher). We hang up the brush because it comes with a hook, so it dries between uses and doesn’t get disgusting. Was shocked how expensive the smol ones are, have got them for much cheaper from sostrene grene / Wilko / markets. Loved the video! ❤
Some grocery stores even carry them! And I agree, they last fairly long but that is dependent on how the brush is stored. I used to dry mine upside down in a utensil holder and the bristles get pretty wonky that way. Squishing out the excess water at the end to push them back into shape and then hanging it to dry works great ☺️ Also, every other dish brush I used before hurt my wrists but these have a much more comfortable angle between brush head and handle, so winning all around ^^
Absolutely, they last at least 4 months for me and we hang them too. We have two different ones, one that's for regular washing and the other one that's iron for ceramic or glass containers that go in the oven and need more scrubbing. You can even leave them in the sink head down leaning on the sides of the sink, so it drips in the sink and it dries that way too, if you don't have space to let it hang.
The toothpaste bit reminded me of a story I once heard on the radio, saying that many of us now have a subconscious association between the tingly minty mouth feeling and cleanness. Someone ran experiments to show that consumers thought mint toothpastes were better than alternative flavours or unflavoured toothpastes even though the actual cleaning effectiveness was the same!
Love this video! A little comment in regards to the eco swaps though: just because something doesn't come in plastic packaging doesn't automatically make it more sustainable/eco-friendly! The packaging is only a very small part of the overall impact of the product, and there are plenty of cases where replacing a plastic packaging for aluminium, glass or paper actually makes the total impact of the product higher. In fact, there are studies that show that *adding* plastic packaging to a cucumber lowers its total impact, because it keeps the cucumber fresh longer so it reduces food waste (which has a higher total impact than the few grams of plastic around it has). The only way to tell which packaging is the most sustainable is if a company has done a life cycle analysis, and many don't do that - they just change to glass or aluminium because it has a more eco-friendly vibe even when it isn't always the better option. So while looking for reusable or refillable options is great (as long as you actually use them), I wouldn't worry too much about the packaging of a product. Although of course, less packaging is always better regardless of the material used!
also i think Hannah read out that they were a b corp as one of the things it says on the back of the package and that is a v strict procedure considering workers rights, the environment etc etc, so anything that is a b corp vs not a b corp is pretty much always going to be a better bet
I'm always thinking about this. But then I also have the dilemma of not wanting to contribute to more plastic on the planet and micro plastics. Because only very particular sorts of plastics are recyclable and the rest stays with us forever.
+++ i came here to say this as well. This is a massive issue that people really need to be made aware of. A glass drinks bottle is significantly worse for the world than a plastic bottle which is then recycled, due to the huge number of emissions (mainly from heat) from the creation of glass. Life-cycle-analysis is so important. Thanks for flagging, hope lots of people read this :)
About ads and living amidst them: I very rarely notice ads, or buy something after seeing one. I have trained myself to not take note of ads of any kind, be it on social media, tv, bus stops or billboards. I don't look at them or give attention to them. Online, I skip every ad as soon as soon as I can. If I don't give them my time, I won't remember what they're selling and won't have the urge to buy it. I just stopped giving them my attention - mind you, this "training" has taken me multiple years. Instead, when I have a need for a product, I go out looking for it specifically. Also, for financial reasons, I have never been able to just casually buy and try out something; I've always, from a very young age, had to do research into products and at the very least compare prices (thus also thinking about if I *really* need the thing), which has made me skeptical of advertising but also trained my mind into firstly thinking: do I need this? Do I want this? Why do I want this? What else could I use that money for (/how many times less can I go out for tea and cake if I buy this thing)?. Lastly, I ask myself: can I dispose of this product in a smart and sustainable way once I don't want it/it doesn't work for me/it becomes un-repairable? I'm also not perfect and occasionally do buy things I *want* but don't *need*, but I always keep myself accountable for disposing of any "useless crap" properly, even if it's a bother. I bought it, so it's now my responsibility, I am the custodian of that object and have to show respect for the resources that its production took.
This is a really interesting topic to me. I don't use Instagram, but a friend of mine does and she told me a few times how well targeted the ads are. Now I can see for myself through your video. I love how you talk us through your thought process, how to battle the instant 'OMG I need this now'.
@@morehannah You can adjust ad settings to not use your activity and thus be less targeted (go to accounts center -> ad preferences -> ad settings -> activity information from ad partners -> review settings -> No, don't make my ads more relevant...) Yes it's that many steps and well hidden!
This is such a relatable video. I can get so excited about trying something new and end up feeling neutral (or disappointed). I like the considerations on gradually increasing our budget to accommodate eco swaps.
the wooden washing up brush where you can just change the brush part actually has existed from ikea for ages, that one would probably be more affordable, although i think ikea might have changed it to a metal handle recently, but same thing basically
The shampoo brand you were using before (Alberto Balsam) now does their own much cheaper shampoo bars available in supermarkets and sold in cardboard packaging. I have found it effective even with really long thick hair after learning how to get it to lather up properly (which was indeed tricky at first.) Slightly more expensive than their bottles of shampoo but they last much longer so it evens out. Shop around for soap brands in your local supermarkets, there are some cheap ones that use little to no plastic around.
If I did this I'd have to go and do like 5 degrees because all I get advertised is universities 😂 Enjoyed seeing what someone else gets advertised and seeing conscious consuming is such a relief :)
👍👍 my angle on this is advertising's intersection with exploitative practices like targeting adhd impulsivity. My rule of thumb is to resist buying anything I've never heard of on the day. Keyword _resist_ 😅. That and lots of stainless steel and a little bit of composting 👍
Just wanted to say, I've used Phox filters in the past and I would NOT recommend. They started leaking some of the plastic filter beads in the water we were drinking, even when the filter was correctly put together. Just wanted to mention it as it seems at first like a nice eco swap, but it isn't well designed enough.. Don't want to consume even more plastic than we already do!
With anything sustainability my motto is 'use what you have' and then if it's something that I can run out of or just something that can break, once that happens I will look into a sustainable swap if I don't already use something sustainable for that thing. And where possible I buy things second hand/refurbished (for furniture, decor, tech, clothing and anything where that's possible). I will always remind myself that the most sustainable thing is the thing you will actually use, preferably a lot. There's no point in buying something supposedly sustainable and then not using it. And also just no overconsumption, so not buying everything that looks nice, only if I actually need it or it will add a lot of joy to my life. A few years ago I unsubscribed from literally every news letter and also the social media accounts that revolved around fast fashion (and fast furniture and so on) and made it a rule to never buy anything just from an ad on social media. (And no fast fashion, only secondhand or sustainable.) If it wasn't already on my wishlist, I don't need it.
Some eco-swap tips and thoughts, from experience: 1) If you ever get through your deodorant refills and feel like trying something new. Since you like the wild shower gel, I love their refillable deodorant! Have made my mum and 2 best friends fan as well (so now we do a big group order and share postage cost haha). For anyone reading with sensitive skin or problems with parfum - they have a sensititve range too! 2) Life hack for using soap bars in the shower, whether it is for shampoo, conditioner or body: Cut a piece of an old tight, slide the bar inside , then tie the ends together, leave some space. Now you have a soap bar that you can slid onto your hand, won't slip through your fingers, and the texture of the tight even helps to make it foam more! 3) Conditioner bars do exist! For me personally that was an easy swap cause I'm more picky about shampoo than about conditioner. And good to know: conditioner bars last looooong! So take that into consideration when price comparing :) (I think they last me at least half a year of 2 hair washes a week). 4) (i keep editting this comment as I watch on haha) YES Lush is great for eco options, they have a whole variety of bars as well, for all kinds of hair! Their bars lost long too! 5) Not sure if it was possible for this sponge, but I put sponges in the washing machine every now and then. Makes it feel and look less dirty :) 6) YES make those swaps step by step. As soon as you see you will be running out of something, that's a time to start looking at alternatives (not when you've already run out, that's stressful haha). And swap the things that you are least picky about first! Like you showed with toothpaste and handsoap. If swapping the dish sponge thing is not something you want, don't do that yet.That's okay!
You mentioned Lush in the video, but I just wanted to add that they make shampoo and conditionner in bar form too ! You can bring your own bag/box to take them home with you, which makes it actually zero packaging, not even paper! They also make solid toothpaste (in pill form), but the experience is quite different from the traditional toothpaste experience haha Regarding the concept of Instagram ads, I have the (perhaps old-fashioned?) tendency to think that companies that advertise so much are compensating for something... Sometimes they're compensating for lack of renown because they're new, but often it seems like they're compensating for the poor quality of their products. They don't get regular, loyal consumers who buy for the quality, so they aim at getting many one-time consumers, through ads. You might have better results if you get famously eco-friendly brands that don't invest that much into advertising (ex : Lush, Patagonia...)
The biggest gripe I have with all of these advertised products is really that they are all send by post. With the "Last Mile Problem" (I hope most of you know) it's pretty much always more eco friendly to go to the store yourself... Shipping to individual households is not the solution.
yep. walk or cycle to the cornershop and buy some toothpaste in a plastic tube, is going to be better for CO2 than having an aluminium tube (heavier than plastic) individually posted directly to your house.
That actually depends on where you live and how you would get to the store. If you walk or cycle to the store in a European city (so what Hannah probably does) its more sustainable to get it at the store. But if you would have to drive a car to even get to the store then it could have equal emissions if not lower emissions to get it send directly to you skipping out on one step of shipping in the middle (more common in rural areas or like almost all of the US)
@@NannaAshleyxD If you're driving to the shop anyway to get your other groceries, then there's barely any emissions cost to get a tube of toothpaste at the same time as other things. If you'd be making a special trip by car only to buy toothpaste, then at that point getting it delivered is more efficient because the delivery driver is bringing items to lots of people who live near you, and the carbon cost of the journey is split between all of you.
Oh boy is this a tough battle right now. I would LOVE to see more people go to the store. Save our retail businesses, get Amazon back in their place a little bit.
There’s this Scottish brand called Wilde Mode. All their bras that go all the way up to N/O cups. I haven’t tried it but I’ve heard they’re good and they have some funky designs/ colors. I’d recommend remeasuring yourself before bra shopping again as your size seems to have changed. Hannah Louise Poston has some good content on conscious consumerism and how to make wise purchasing decisions that you won’t end up regretting. Personally, when it comes to eco-friendly swaps, it has to fit into our lifestyle pretty seamlessly for it to stick. Like it has to be sustainable for our lifestyle as well. For example, I pretty much knew that you weren’t going to stick with the sponge from the way you talked about it before you bought it. And it has to have my boyfriend’s approval if he’s going to be using it as well. In general, I’ve been trying not to buy any new things, unless it’s unavoidable. Obviously, you can’t really buy consumables like soap secondhand, in which case I try to buy from small/local businesses or eco friendly brands online. Also, I’m boycotting Amazon as they’re pretty terrible in general.
I buy shampoo, conditioner, washing up liquid, laundry liquid and vinegar for cleaning in 5l containers. You use less plastic, less trips to the shop and it's convenient. You could also go to a zero-waste shop and refill.
I get my shampoo bars in a local drug store. I am very fuzzy with scents so I can't buy them online, I need to assess the smell before the purchase. ^^ Same with bar soap. Usually I get some cheap ones with an uncomplicated smell but once or twice a year I treat myself with the body wash bar from a local handmade vegan soap store. They are quite expensive, but they smell and look so pretty! 😍🥰 Edit: btw they are called Seifenmanufaktur, if anybody from Germany is reading this.
Hannah, is there a refill shop near you? I suggest you look there for some of these swaps - because then won't also habe the carbon footprint of shipping, and would be able to refill your liquid shampoo into containers you already have!
I honestly love these types of video SO MUCH! Could watch a 10 hour vlog of you, Dan, and Rowan literally any day, you’re so entertaining as a family without even trying 😂 please do more like this!! ❤
I'm a shampoo bar girly, and firstly I recommend Yorkshire soap company. Love love love the shampoo and conditioner bars. Also I rub it directly on to my head to create the lather then you can have as much lather as you like!
I’d recommend finding out if there’s a refill shop near you! I get all my shampoo, shower gel, handwash, washing up liquid etc from my local refill shop now and it’s so easy (and kinda fun). I was put off for ages because I thought the shop would be confusing but it’s really simple, you can take any vessel from home and reuse as many times as you like so no extra plastic or shipping. Also, I didn’t hugely get on with shampoo bars (hence now going to the refill) but I really like my conditioner bar. It’s from the brand Ethique which you can get in Holland and Barrett but I think Lush do them too.
Oooh can't wait to watch this one!! I've been seeing a lot of anti-consumerism shortform content in my feed lately, so i'm excited to see your take on it!!
I recommend having a look around different brands for eco swaps. You can get things that are better quality/cheaper than some of the things you tried in this video. I recently bought soap from holland and barrett - Faith in Nature brand - and it was all reduced to like £1.80 ish per bar. I've also tried gruum for soap and shampoo bars and I like them. I don't recommend Lush as their bars are so overpriced. Alberto Balsam actually also do their own bar shampoo, my mum uses it and likes it. I'd also suggest saving that fairy liquid bottle so that you can reuse it. Like, I have washing up liquid under my bathroom sink as well as in the kitchen, so that I can wash up non-food related things.
It sort of happened by accident but AI have largely removed advertisement from my life (at least digital one). I left all social media in 2021 and got gifted 3 months of UA-cam premium once and once you lose ads it's hard to go back. It also gives me UA-cam music which is ad free music so I don't get served almost any targeted ads. Honestly it's lovely to not have to work through the "oh I love that. Wait so I need it" thought process every day. But I also got tired of buying clothes and just not reaching for them because money so now I don't buy clothes unless I LOVE them or know I will wear them (like a basic). It just means I have to be really honest with myself which took like to learn how to do
I turned off personalized ads everywhere I could, so now I have a hodge podge of ads that often don't apply to me (sometimes aren't even in my language), which makes them exceptionally easy to tune out. Not going to buy it if it is not relevant to my life!
Hi :) For your issue with the shampoo bar being hard to use: there are soap bags that ere basically just coarsely woven little bags you put the shampoo bar in and they help to create foam. I just rub the shampoo bar in the bag directly on my head and it works great. They are also very good to use up small soap chunks. I can really recommend them :)
This, I thought about this every time the shampoo was talked about negatively. I didn't have a bag for mine, but when I had shampoo and conditioner bars, I'd just rub them directly onto my hair and it worked great.
I think Im going to try this! I have those magnetic soap holder things but the problem is a lot of shampoo bars crumble when you put the magnet circle into it but if it was in a bag with the magnet itd be fine! 😊
Bower Collective has been great for reducing our plastic - they have refills for all home and body products, you send their packaging back to them and they reuse and recycle.
Snag is the only place i buy clothes from any more, i love their whole collection! The chub rub shorts are amazing, I've never found them too warm but i get how you could
Re: chub rub shorts in the heat, I really recommend M&S' flexifit culotte slips - they're loose fitting and made of a cooing material, so they're fab for the heat. I bought them so I didn't flash my pants when cycling in a dress and now basically wear them with everything!
for a body soap I LOVE the nets = cause not only this helps with foaming, but also you can keep them in the net for the soap to dry up between uses much better.
Really enjoy the eco angle when buying stuff. I’m down for another video (or series?!) on eco swaps and conscious consumerism (“A Life Less Throwaway” is a cool book on that subject too if you’re interested)
The problem with this type of video is that 1. There's tons out there already, 2. The most eco option is what you have, so it tends to encourage more consumerism overall.
Eco ads really get me too!! I struggle so much because my usual argument is “no, consumerism is bad for the planet”. But if it’s a product that would mean I’m doing my normal things in a way that is BETTER for the planet I really struggle to say no 😅
Dan saying the toothpaste makes his teeth feel less clean makes sense because it's SLS free. SLS is a surfactant which helps lift debris, but it's also not very good for you and can be a causer of things like mouth ulcers, which as someone with colitis might be a good thing to be mindful of!
One thing is that I live on an island, so anything I buy has to be shipped to a freight forwarder before it can be shipped to me, so that helps with decision-making. I've quit most social media or limited it, so that also helps a ton. So, I'm mainly influenced by UA-cam. Before you gave your consensus on the shorts, I was looking them up to see if there were any reviews cause I live in the tropics and want to wear my dresses. I might still try one or see if I can find a material like linen or cotton. So my process is usually 1. see something I like 2. go look it up, 3. check reviews on the site. 4. Bookmark because I can't get things shipped to me right away. 5. And usually forget about it until I look through my bookmarks again and possibly buy it a year or two later. It's also hard to be eco-friendly here because the only recyclable things here are paper, metal and number 1 and 2 plastics. we no longer recycle glass cause the machine broke. So I've been trying to get things that are reusable versus recyclable now or that will be used up so there isn't anything to throw away. tis hard.
Something I struggle with is that if you want to recyle aluminum toothpaste or skincare tubes you need to cut them open and clean and dry the material, otherwise it's just gargabe. Thats not something I could resonably work into my routines so they just ended up in the trash, and I doubt a tooth pasty metal tube degrades much faster than a plastic one in a landfill
But that way you get every last drop! I've started cutting open all my tubes and stuff and it's wild how much is still in there that doesn't come out otherwise
re shampoo bars - my partner just adds water to their bars in a jar to make a creamy consistency you can then scoop out. maybe that is woth a shot? Also, at least in Germany where I live, you can find store brand shampoo/ conditioner/ shower bars at most drug stores. so that saves money and shipping, as well as additional packaging.
I personally prefer a powder for my refillable washing up liquid (and other cleaning liquids), which is turned into liquid by adding water. I can buy it at a local store. I'm currently looking for a similar option for body wash/hair bc I just can't deal with bars
This was such a comforting watch! Mainly because I share a very similar approach when it comes to consumer choices, buying new things and looking for more sustainable options thinking: is this the cost I'm willing to pay and if I'm not, than who's paying it? I agree it's overwhelming (mentally and financially) trying to switch everything at once and it's also mostly unnecessary - the most sustainable options are the ones you already have! You made me feel less crazy for analysing all of those aspects (including esthetics ;)) when buying something new :)
I love that you really consider if you need something before buying it, I always struggle with it because I used to talk myself out of even getting much needed items (like new socks cause all of mine have holes lol). In terms of the Brita Filters: You can actually send the used cartridges back to them to recycle (according to their website they recycle all of the parts). And you don't even have to go to lush to find shampoo, body and hand soap bars that don't come in plastic packaging. You can usually nowadays find a lot of that for very affordable in drugstores. If you want to support smaller/independent businesses, that's obviously a different story!
especially hand soap, it always used to come in bars. Bar soap is the cheapest option, although it is increasingly being made with palm oil. You don't need to look for a special eco-friendly handsoap. If you're not vegan, especially if you do sometimes eat lamb and/or wear wool, try to find a bar soap where the fat base is lanolin rather than palm oil. Lanolin is the oil sheep make to keep their wool waterproof, which is cleaned off the wool before it is made into clothes. It's a byproduct of the wool and lamb industry which is increasingly going to waste as people look for vegan toiletries.
Great video! I usually ignore ads. Although I switched to Smol about a year ago. Bathroom cleaner spray, washing up liquid and laundry pods - all work well and look great in my home . I like their soap magnets too
I can recommend those little hemp bags for soaps - I then just get cheap bars of soap in the drug store to use in the shower - no need for extra fancy body wash. The bag then also works as a little exfoliator which is nice in the summer and all the suncream, lotion, bug repellant mix. AND they're washable. Lush does conditioner as bars as well afaik, though I never really got it to work because it just doesn't lather as much as shampoo bars. I think the eco way here is to get shampoo and conditioner in bigger bulky recyclable bags and refill pump bottles (we have quite a few options for that here in Germany, not sure about the UK market), similarly to the smol dishsoap thingy.
Never used a lush conditioner bar - however I have used some others. You do have to rub them on your hair to get them to work properly in my experience
@@ellegarret yeah, I did do that to use up product but just wasn't a fan as it just tangled my hair and took a bit of time. I'm sure it works for some though and definitely worth trying out!
Rowan's "I want to see i want see i want to see" with the water filter is so cute to me. He's such a little real person now (my urge to stop taking birth control is only bolstered with clips of him in vids aha) But also really interesting insta ads because it really is a lot of ..... stuff that you could be so tempted to buy I find
The trick for me with shampoo bars is rubbing the bar directly on my head, just needs a couple swipes and I get plenty of lather (though I have pretty thin hair). My partner uses an Alberto Balsom bar we got in Tesco, pretty sure it was like £3 and lasts ages so if your hair's not fussy could be an option, the standard one from gruum works really well for me. Tbh I often feel weird ordering a bunch on eco swaps directly to my house cause of the extra transport so I like getting bars or refills or whatever from shops, ideally supermarkets where it can piggyback on the massive amount of other stuff being delivered. Also I really feel for you on the bra front, I'm a 28F and that's bad enough 😅
I have a silicone scrubbery thing that goes in the dishwasher. And a sponge. Sponge for quick knife stuff but gunky pots the silicone thing is less ick and feels it gets cleaned by the dishwasher often too! Thought it was a gimmick but had it probably two years and looks as good as new.
Shampoo bars and soap bars : even if you're not convinced, always have one in your cabinet. It's SOOOO useful when you get on planes, or even if you go hiking, you can cut your bars into smaller pieces to lower the weight (and you find better eco friendly alternatives that way, so you can wash yourself and dispose of the water without releasing chemicals in the wild)
Yep. I don't use them as a general thing, but they are great for when I need to do plane travel. If you want to master packing in just a carry-on, even for long-ish trips, part of that is figuring out ways to overcome the limits of the liquids allowance. Shampoo bars are an easy way to free up some space in your liquids bag.
lush shampoo bars are elite they've last me so long as well i find it easier to just rub the bar directly on my hair, rather than lathering it in my hands
I recently swapped to a sustainable hand soap, from the brand "LastObject", which i can recommend. It's a liquid soap, arriving in powder form. They've basically removed the water from the product, for you to add at home later. I personally like them because I can really stock up on this soap and it taking up a minimal amount of space. Also, as someone who has a perfume allergy, it being fragrance free was very important to me. I'm probably gonna try their body wash in the future, when my current stock is running out.
I actually find it so interesting you didn't like the mechanic of using the solid shampoo because i was just saying today how much I prefer the mechanics of solid shampoo! I find it so much easier to get my scalp clean!
I've been using a shampoo bar for a few years (trying several different kinds) at this point and I love it because instead of lathering it in my hands and then trying to put the suds in my hair, I just run the bar over my head. My hair can be quite thick and heavy, especially when wet and with a liquid shampoo I feel like I need to use sooo much to get it everywhere because it's hard to move around. With this I just run it all over.
a comment on shampoo and conditioner bars as someone who's used bars for the past 5 years... there are LOADS out there. If you like the shampoo bar go and shop around as there are many many small local businesses and many many options for bar hair products. They last forever and I really love shopping around for mine once one has finished. (I don't think all are comparable though)
Hannah you can already change the head on your plastic fillable dish scrubber! You can buy new sponge heads that slip on from big supermarkets or B&M type places :)
I quite like the Garnier shampoo bars - no plastic & you can buy them in boots etc so there's no postage waste, just buy them when I'm in the area. However I recommend storing in a little pot no it doesn't get wet the rest of the time you're in the shower and wash away.
Brush girly here! Makes it so easy to clean with. another way of finding an alternative to plastic is going to a eco shop and finding what they have. So you also swap the packaging for none, only your tote bag going to the shop. Another thing to use for cleaning is a dishwasher friendly eco sponge. I found one online where I do my "eco" shopping that's much cheaper than in store.
Something I've started doing for washing up is using a spray bottle and diluting the washing up liquid like squash. Then I just spray it on the dishes and scrubby scrub that way. We use/waste WAY less soap that AND it distributes the soap better ✨️
Hi Hannah! I would love to see a video comparing all brands of chub rub thights and different shorts to see which one feels lighter and overall which is your favourite method of keeping the chafing away!
snags chub rub shorts are so comfy and actually somewhat cooling! Also, aluminum is more recyclable over and over compared to plastic which can't be recycled as many times.
In terms of packaging reccomend thinking about the amount of materials. For example the carton, may be mostly board but does it have a plastic film or foil lining. This combination means its hard for our recycling stations in the UK to split and can very likely to end up in landfill or incinerated. Just one small tip that can help you make some decisions, sometimes the simpler the packaging the easier it is to dispose so some of these eco ones are overdesigned
Re: the metal tube being hard to fold - I have the same problem with metal tubes, and the easiest solution is a tube key! It's a little piece of metal, a cylinder with an opening along the long side, attached to a little butterfly-shaped piece of metal. you slide the top of the metal tube into the opening of the cylinder, and then use the butterfly-shaped piece to turn it. It pushes the contents of the tube down to the opening while neatly rolling up the tube at the same time.
As someone with short nails, MoYou London works really well for me!! I hate my nail polish chipping off, and as someone who does dishes daily and constantly uses their hands, they can last for three weeks or more for me! The clear ones with patterns I’ve found look the best, but honestly they look as good on short nails as they do long!
don't know if anyone else has suggested this/you've found an alternative to plastic conditioner, but miniml do lovely conditioner refills and you send back the packaging they come in for them to reuse! i have really thick curly hair and have been using this for ages now, and i think it's really affordable too! just a suggestion in case you're after a new conditioner😁
I do the Body Shop refillable bottle for shower gel, and they also do shampoo. It’s a metal pump bottle, and when you run out you just take it to a Body Shop store and they refill it! So no packaging at all, and (as far as I know without having actively looked into specifics) a pretty good company. Not the cheapest option, but a price I’m prepared to pay for a good quality product and sustainability 💜
I'm skeptical about these eco swaps. When you factor in the extra packaging and extra energy to individually ship it out to your door, is it actually more eco than the supermarket version?;
I have the same problem with shampoo bars and honestly if I have to spend twice to three times as long trying to get a lather and get my hair clean than I would with liquid shampoo, I am wasting more water in that extra time in the shower than I save by buying the bar lol The accessibility and time waste aspects of so many of the "eco swaps" has put me off exploring them. From the individually shipped items to packing that is "recyclable" but not accepted by councils to items that just take so long to use that it's a waste and charge me double for the unpleasant experience. It's kinda just feeling like consumerism/capitalism but in a different font
About the toothpaste one, looking at the percentage of the cost is one thing, yes, but another is the actual money difference. So if spending twice as more more per month on toothpaste, it's still just 2£ extra per month, vs. If your electricity bill increases by half, it's going to be a lot more money you're going to spend and a bigger impact it has on your finances. Even if it's a smaller increase in percentage.
Faith in nature soap bars come plastic free and you can get them in lots of supermarkets and boots etc. Also there are quite a lot of places that will do refills of the shampoo and conditioners so you don't have to buy a new plastic bottle each time
If you like having the soapy handle you can get replacement sponge heads in natural materials. I personally use a wooden brush that I can replace the heads, and think having a pump bottle like the smol rather than a squeezey is more comfortable for that set up :)
I honestly really appreciate you saying that you don’t really have an opion on the soap. I get kinda suspicious when influencers get “obsessed” and “amazed” by basic items 😅 I’ve never used a househol or even hair/body product that was mindblowing, it either works or it does not 😅
I think the expectation that you should be really happy and excited about shampoo or soap is an effect of advertising. You should have things in your life that you're happy about, but that really doesn't need to be soap. It's okay (and probably more normal?) to have your toiletries just do the function you need them for. Continuing to try more looking for the one that will make you excited like the people in the ads are excited is just consumerism. Albertobaslm does shampoo bars, and I think they do conditioner bars too. If you're able to get them from the same source you get the rest of your shopping, that's better for the environment because you're not using extra resources to get an individual product shipped directly to your house.
That said, I did get one handwash that smelled amazing. It did make me really enjoy washing my hands instead of being just something you do on autopilot.
I have a phox filter ( i just say it like fox) and i love it, though it is the whole jug not just a britta compatable filter. In mine there is a perforated cap that the carbon felt sits in with the little plastic disc with the line through clicking in over top of that, so the filter is sandwiched between the two parts. The cap then goes on top of the substrate basket, sealing the whole thing up, and you screw the basket into the jug. I think maybe the britta version was created just to expand their customer base and they didn't put as much thought into designing it as their own jug version.
Literally same experience with the filter. Put the felt in wrong first time. To get it out, I find sticking the end of a wooden spoon in the hole in the bottom of the hopper pops it out easy peasy.
For the shampoo and conditioner, Wild do refillable versions of both but for some reason they only sell them in Tesco. If you have one near you it might be worth trying
Ahh this was very fun for me as someone who is very interested in a zero waste lifestyle and always trying to cut down on plastic use. where I'm at right now: -wooden toothbrushes -i haven't committed to toothpaste yet but right now I'm thinking about doing the zero waste tablets/powder. I believe lush has this option as well as a couple other brands -personally i have tried a lot of shampoo bars and they don't work well for my hair so where I'm at right now is buying shampoo and conditioner in the huge bulk bags that are meant for salons. It's still plastic but it's much less so than buying a small bottle frequently. The bulk stuff lasts me a LONG time -blueland is a company that might only be in the US I'm not sure, but they sell zero waste tablets that you dissolve in water to make cleaning products so you don't need to purchase new bottles. They also have zero waste dishwasher tablets -powder laundry detergent from an eco friendly company that packages it in a paper bag! (Brand i use is meliora)
I highly recommend trying vinegar instead of conditioner. I don't if it works for all hair types, but I have really long hair and was getting frustrated by the amount of expensive conditioner I was buying. 8 years later and I've pretty much never used conditioner since!
As a user of shampoo bars, the key is rubbing the shampoo on your hair instead of your hands. That way you get enough product 😊 also, don't put it where it can get wet, or it will melt and last way less
Love this! I find using ethical consumer and other neutral and reliable websites to find out more about how sustainabke and ethical companies/products actually are. Marketing is sooo manipulative! And so many phrases are unregulated
This is so relatable! I switched to refillable, plastic free deodorant a few months ago and recently swapped cleaning supplies to plastic free. Adding to the list as we use things up.
Decided to do a no-buy year this year and it has honestly made dealing with ad's so nice because I don't have to think about making a decision, I know it's gonna be no already
For being intentional about my purchases, i use google slides to make a presentation about each thing i would like to buy. I need to include pictures, reasons, and prices. Each item is given it's own slide so I need to contemplate everything. Also this way, i can avoid buying other things randomly because i already have a carefully planned list of things I'd like for when i have the extra money 😊
The wearable blood sugar-measuring wearable patch thing (around 14:00) strikes me as a manufacturer trying to market a genuine medical device to a population that doesn't really "need" it. Friends of mine with Type 1 diabetes have similar wearable devices that help them track their blood sugar levels so that they can better predict/decide how much insulin to take on any given day, but they look sturdier than the ones shown in that ad. They're a pain in the ass to put on (they come with this kind of diesel-looking gun) and so I don't know why you would subject yourself to it willingly without a medical reason. The main thing is that they're an alternative to having to stick your fingertips and measure at individual times of the day, because the wearable device measures fairly continuously and sends alerts to the patient's phone (or standalone medical electronic device) when there's a big change (like a big spike or drop in blood sugar level) that they should address imminently (by administering insulin or eating/drinking something).
The idea with zoe is that you just wear the continuous monitor for a short time while you eat specific foods they send you, to find out how your body responds to those foods, and then they give you a customised diet plan. I don't think they expect people to wear the continuous monitor every day. I've never done it though, it seems unnecessary when I already know what foods suit me, I don't need medical equipment to find that out.
I use a plastic washing up stick brush that someone got me from TK Maxx years ago. I just clean and dry it after use and put it through the dishwasher regularly to disinfect. I don't know if there's a reason why this is actually bad but it's served me well 😆 and doesn't involve ever having to buy new bits to stick on the end. My fave eco shampoo and conditioner is The Body Shop refillable ginger one - unfortunately though my local Body Shop closed 😩 but you might have more luck in London!
As a water filter I use charcoal sticks or ceramic beads that I put directly into my water bottles so it keeps filtering as long as it's in there so it doesn't require a specific contraption (like a britta for example). And it can be put it any container really: water bottle, coffee machine, pets water fountain etc. I feel like it's worth sharing that ^^
Lush do shampoo and conditioner bars, however would not recommend the tins they sell alongside them cause they’re 1. impossible to open with wet hands and 2. impossible to get the slightly damp bars out of. I’d get a soap dish for them to dry on instead. Before I had dyed hair my lush bars were the ride or die, but after bleaching and funky colours my hair doesn’t like them. Also hand soap has come in plastic free packaging for ages in supermarkets, idk if it has a lower/higher carbon footprint based on being delivered to a store vs delivered to your house though. When it comes to toothpaste, I do what my dental nurse sister tells me… which is currently Colgate if anyone’s wondering but obvs speak to your own dentist about your oral hygiene.
Not sure if they're available in the UK but etee does refills for products that come in compostable tubes that you squeeze into the other containers, and I think they're more affordable... and then for dishes - use rubber gloves! I also hate my hands getting wet and gross so I need rubber gloves if I'm doing a lot of dishes.
Thank you so much Hannah for not promoting Zoe. As a type 1 diabetic, I have strong views on this company. I have seen the impact on stock levels of this blood sugar montitor due to them being sold to healthy people, causing diabetics who need them to go without. Also healthy people do not need to know what their blood sugar is at any given moment of the day. It can lead to an unhealthy obsession with the impact of your food and possibly even to an eating disorder. I'm writing this for anyone who reads the comment to spread awareness that this is not a good thing.
Also diabetic, I’ve noticed it’s always a repackaged Libre freestyle from the brand Abbot, there are so many of these companies selling them to non-diabetics! It’s crazy! And I obviously agree you don’t need a crazy expensive blood sugar monitor unless your doctor tells you to use one!
Argh yes this also drives me crazy!!
im not diabetic but came to comment the exact same, companies like zoe are evil and are stripping access to important, often expensive medical care that a lot of people cannot live without!!!
Diabetic here too. Thank you for posting this!
I'm not diabetic, but recognized the devices. And as someone that does rely on medicine daily, I was like: that is really strange. Why would you need a blood sugar meter device for some weird diet thing? Diet culture goes so far as to abuse medical device that people need to promote unhealthy relationships with food?! Disgusting on so many levels.
First of all, I really love the video and the whole theme around becoming an intentional consumer. However, I usually distrust companies that claim to be eco-friendly and then immediately confine you to a subscription. If you want to really use less plastic and save some money, I would suggest buying these 5-liter bottles of washing-up liquid or shampoo. You can easily get them online. They don't cost more than 18 pounds. Yes, they still come in a plastic container, but the overall percentage is significantly smaller than the alternative-even the milk cartons that the Smol washing-up liquid comes in. Those cartons are lined with plastic and cannot easily be recycled. It's just greenwashing.
I'm sure you can find a lot of plastic-free soap bars in your local drug store. Where I live, even Dove bars are plastic-free these days and marginally cheaper than the ones you buy online! Going to your local supermarket or drug store and just looking for alternatives is often much more eco-friendly than getting "alternatives" online!
Yess, for me every single soap bar is in paper packaging
Also buying online is so environmentally unfriendly! The environmental costs of the deliveries is worth taking into account
Yes! Maybe I'm just lucky but I have a cleaning refill store nearby so I just bring my containers up there every few months for refills. And for bar soap I like buying from the local artisan markets, yes not cheap but it's fun to soap small businesses and there's almost zero packaging
'The image was for the trousers, not the top and then I couldn't find the top' Story of my life...
hahahaa why is it so hard?!
Google reversed image search is a gamechanger!!
Google lens!
Re: the Zoé thing, as a type one diabetic who desperately relies on CGMs to genuinely manage my health condition, thank you for not even trying with Zoé. Access to CGMs is incredibly restricted to diabetics who need them (including types 2s who also need them) and it is very frustrating to see these tools repackaging as a "health" alternative for people to see they reaction to food. Unless you have someone in your life who can read a graph about your blood sugar trends, it is a totally useless tool! The average person does NOT NEED info about their blood sugar, especially when some people take it to mean that any spike in blood sugar is bad when that's not how it work at all. Everyone's blood sugar goes up after eating unless you eat a meal with zero carbs in it and all protein or water and fibre.
Please do not buy these things unless you have a genuine need because again, it's repackaging a restricted tool that diabetics need to among their health condition into a capitalist diet culture hell hole and this ALWAYS happens with diabetic tools (see ozempic) and I can't see it continue to happen.
It would be one thing if all diabetics had equal access to cgms, but they don't. Seeing people who don't need them try and use them as a guise to "optimize their health" when they are likely not going to understand the data they are receiving in the first place is MIND BOGGLING.
@@MJlover12347 this!!!
Absolutely!! I makes me so annoyed to see it! If you have no issues with your health watching your blood sugar go up and down on a little app (like it literally will do in a healthy person) means absolutely nothing other than to make you think you have to change your eating habits. Who needs to reserve the life saving technology for the people who need it when you can make some quick money hey??
Also lovely that the same company that I provided a lot of health data to throughout 2020 for proper health purposes has now gone down the rich person health fad route 🙃
I'm so glad you said this because as she was describing it I was questioning if that would even be helpful for someone who wasn't diabetic? Glad my gut instinct isn't totally of base.
Sorry but shouldn’t everyone be able to read a graph?
Also, aren’t there lots of people who are seriously affected by glucose changes who maybe don’t have a diabetes diagnosis? Including lots of type 2s?
@@eleanorp3202these things are often targeted at people who do have health problems, though. I’m not surprised Hannah, who has a chronic illness, was targeted by the algorithm. I’m all for the NHS doing everything for us Brits, but if people want a tool to help them manage their health problems, why should we limit their access?
About the dish washing liquid, if you prefer the bottle of the Fairy, you can just transfer the Smol liquid into the Fairy bottle once the Fairy is finished. Not revolutionary idea, but still decided to share 😅
I studied and work in environmental sciences and when a company says a packaging is recyclable it's usually just that the material is technically recyclable, but the reality is that often, our recycling facilities don't accept those materials...
When I buy things in plastic, I try to buy the biggest packaging possible to reduce at least the amount of transportation emissions related... (well the biggest packaging I can before item goes bad!)
For the dish brush, I know some brands have the refillable handle and the little brush at the end is the only thing you have to swap, which in the end is not that much plastic :)
I was coming to say the same thing! With the toothpaste example, yes, I could technically recycle the tube. But it has to be clean, which means I need to slice the tube open and scrub out the insides before it can be recycled, which I'm just...not going to do? And if you recycle it without cleaning, then it gums up the machines, or someone has to manually pick it out before processing, which also creates problems down the line.
I do a similar thing with buying the largest I can, though. So if I'm using a non-recyclable package (or not realistically recyclable, ha), at least the volume of plastic to product ratio is something I can live with a bit better.
I'm someone who washes out all my recycling to try and make them as recyclable as possible, but I have fallen victim to Tetra Pak. Oh my goodness, in my area you have to take these to a recycling facility, which if you don't drive is very hard! I don't have time to get the bus, walk 20 minutes, wait half an hour for the bus back, etc... And yet they're advertised as being better than plastic, even though I am just having to throw them in the bin. Also butter packets that are paper and metal that can't be recycled locally. If I don't want to throw it in the bin I have to buy plastic tubs which I don't actually want to do. All these things that should be better for the environment just aren't, which makes reducing plastic (which I think is spawn of the devil) really hard.
This! This is the thing that shits me about all these new "plastic free/recyclable" packagings. There's no point in me switching to these if my local council won't accept them and I just chuck it in the bin anyway and pay double the cost for the product!
@@xXcrimsonxroseXx So true and the toothpaste makes me cringe because virgin aluminum is polluting to mine. I think possibly the refillable glass jars for those lucky enough to be close to a refill location, or those little toothpaste tabs that you chew then brush with, might be more genuinely green choices.
Yes it's really hard to see through all the green washing!!! AND also every recycling facility is not the same, so you can't really advice recycling tips at large because it's all so different!
I think the biggest mistake that many people make with the sustainable alternatives is that they replace something that they already have and use, with a new more eco alternative. If you have something that you already have and it works, then use it!!
Same for the body bars- soap existed for ages, so just use soap.😅
right!! the most eco thing is to not buy anything
This!
I wondered cause, I remember its fairly easy to get soap in paper packaging, so it wasn't clicking for me why its so revolutionary to her :D
I‘ve tried using normal soap bars for my body, hair and face and none of those parts of me responded well 🙈 I did try multiple different types and brands too. Then I tried Lush shampoo bars and they were the worst thing ever. Have now been using the shampoo and body wash bars from my local grocery store brand for like two years and have tried others and it does feel revolutionary 😂
I get your point though, I really do, seeing as my dad has switched to normal soap for body wash after multiple talks from me about sustainability, but it does not work for everyone. Also, I feel like sometimes we just forget how things used to be done, if you grew up always using shampoo and body wash you just might not connect the dots that before that people used soap bars 😅
I tried shampoo bars for a long time and I liked it at first, but my hair just needs more moisture. Conditionner bars are a no go, bars on the lengths make a tangled mess (I have wavy/curly hair).
What I do use and like though, is soap for handsoap and bodywash. I like to buy from independent soapmakers, in markets and places like that. Some are better than others but I don't care that much, I just need to be clean 😅
Hannah, you can also dissolve shampoo/body wash bars in water and use the result with your fancy pump bottle! Still saves up the weight of water having to be transported
I find the wooden washing up heads actually last at least six months, and that’s with daily washing up (no dishwasher). We hang up the brush because it comes with a hook, so it dries between uses and doesn’t get disgusting. Was shocked how expensive the smol ones are, have got them for much cheaper from sostrene grene / Wilko / markets. Loved the video! ❤
Some grocery stores even carry them! And I agree, they last fairly long but that is dependent on how the brush is stored. I used to dry mine upside down in a utensil holder and the bristles get pretty wonky that way. Squishing out the excess water at the end to push them back into shape and then hanging it to dry works great ☺️
Also, every other dish brush I used before hurt my wrists but these have a much more comfortable angle between brush head and handle, so winning all around ^^
Absolutely, they last at least 4 months for me and we hang them too. We have two different ones, one that's for regular washing and the other one that's iron for ceramic or glass containers that go in the oven and need more scrubbing. You can even leave them in the sink head down leaning on the sides of the sink, so it drips in the sink and it dries that way too, if you don't have space to let it hang.
The toothpaste bit reminded me of a story I once heard on the radio, saying that many of us now have a subconscious association between the tingly minty mouth feeling and cleanness. Someone ran experiments to show that consumers thought mint toothpastes were better than alternative flavours or unflavoured toothpastes even though the actual cleaning effectiveness was the same!
Love this video! A little comment in regards to the eco swaps though: just because something doesn't come in plastic packaging doesn't automatically make it more sustainable/eco-friendly! The packaging is only a very small part of the overall impact of the product, and there are plenty of cases where replacing a plastic packaging for aluminium, glass or paper actually makes the total impact of the product higher. In fact, there are studies that show that *adding* plastic packaging to a cucumber lowers its total impact, because it keeps the cucumber fresh longer so it reduces food waste (which has a higher total impact than the few grams of plastic around it has). The only way to tell which packaging is the most sustainable is if a company has done a life cycle analysis, and many don't do that - they just change to glass or aluminium because it has a more eco-friendly vibe even when it isn't always the better option. So while looking for reusable or refillable options is great (as long as you actually use them), I wouldn't worry too much about the packaging of a product. Although of course, less packaging is always better regardless of the material used!
also i think Hannah read out that they were a b corp as one of the things it says on the back of the package and that is a v strict procedure considering workers rights, the environment etc etc, so anything that is a b corp vs not a b corp is pretty much always going to be a better bet
I'm always thinking about this. But then I also have the dilemma of not wanting to contribute to more plastic on the planet and micro plastics. Because only very particular sorts of plastics are recyclable and the rest stays with us forever.
+++ i came here to say this as well. This is a massive issue that people really need to be made aware of. A glass drinks bottle is significantly worse for the world than a plastic bottle which is then recycled, due to the huge number of emissions (mainly from heat) from the creation of glass. Life-cycle-analysis is so important. Thanks for flagging, hope lots of people read this :)
About ads and living amidst them: I very rarely notice ads, or buy something after seeing one. I have trained myself to not take note of ads of any kind, be it on social media, tv, bus stops or billboards. I don't look at them or give attention to them. Online, I skip every ad as soon as soon as I can. If I don't give them my time, I won't remember what they're selling and won't have the urge to buy it. I just stopped giving them my attention - mind you, this "training" has taken me multiple years. Instead, when I have a need for a product, I go out looking for it specifically.
Also, for financial reasons, I have never been able to just casually buy and try out something; I've always, from a very young age, had to do research into products and at the very least compare prices (thus also thinking about if I *really* need the thing), which has made me skeptical of advertising but also trained my mind into firstly thinking: do I need this? Do I want this? Why do I want this? What else could I use that money for (/how many times less can I go out for tea and cake if I buy this thing)?. Lastly, I ask myself: can I dispose of this product in a smart and sustainable way once I don't want it/it doesn't work for me/it becomes un-repairable?
I'm also not perfect and occasionally do buy things I *want* but don't *need*, but I always keep myself accountable for disposing of any "useless crap" properly, even if it's a bother. I bought it, so it's now my responsibility, I am the custodian of that object and have to show respect for the resources that its production took.
This is a really interesting topic to me. I don't use Instagram, but a friend of mine does and she told me a few times how well targeted the ads are. Now I can see for myself through your video. I love how you talk us through your thought process, how to battle the instant 'OMG I need this now'.
SO WELL targeted!!
@@morehannah You can adjust ad settings to not use your activity and thus be less targeted (go to accounts center -> ad preferences -> ad settings -> activity information from ad partners -> review settings -> No, don't make my ads more relevant...) Yes it's that many steps and well hidden!
This is such a relatable video. I can get so excited about trying something new and end up feeling neutral (or disappointed). I like the considerations on gradually increasing our budget to accommodate eco swaps.
the wooden washing up brush where you can just change the brush part actually has existed from ikea for ages, that one would probably be more affordable, although i think ikea might have changed it to a metal handle recently, but same thing basically
The shampoo brand you were using before (Alberto Balsam) now does their own much cheaper shampoo bars available in supermarkets and sold in cardboard packaging. I have found it effective even with really long thick hair after learning how to get it to lather up properly (which was indeed tricky at first.) Slightly more expensive than their bottles of shampoo but they last much longer so it evens out. Shop around for soap brands in your local supermarkets, there are some cheap ones that use little to no plastic around.
If I did this I'd have to go and do like 5 degrees because all I get advertised is universities 😂 Enjoyed seeing what someone else gets advertised and seeing conscious consuming is such a relief :)
At least you would be well-educated (and probably in lots of student loan debts)😅...
I only get fake games... 😂 Which my brain fully tunes out
Sounds like you have the best algorithm! You are seen as smart and a non-consumer. Bravo!!
👍👍 my angle on this is advertising's intersection with exploitative practices like targeting adhd impulsivity. My rule of thumb is to resist buying anything I've never heard of on the day. Keyword _resist_ 😅. That and lots of stainless steel and a little bit of composting 👍
I trick the algorithm by googling things I already want to buy and the waiting until it gives me lots of different options a week or two later. 😂
Ooo trying this
Same!!! 😂 It's the best hack I swear it saves me hours. I bloody love the advertising algorithm at this point 😅
I love that you lean forward so we all can smell the body bar and shampoo. They smell nice!
Just wanted to say, I've used Phox filters in the past and I would NOT recommend. They started leaking some of the plastic filter beads in the water we were drinking, even when the filter was correctly put together. Just wanted to mention it as it seems at first like a nice eco swap, but it isn't well designed enough.. Don't want to consume even more plastic than we already do!
Oh no! I've got them and so far it's been okay!
Oh I use them and LOVE it! 😅 No leaks or problems here! Such a shame you had issues with it!
For water I use Black and Blum! I use the bottle I like and just replace it every 6 months and have probably used them for 4 years and I love them!
Same @@meganpryor9330
With anything sustainability my motto is 'use what you have' and then if it's something that I can run out of or just something that can break, once that happens I will look into a sustainable swap if I don't already use something sustainable for that thing. And where possible I buy things second hand/refurbished (for furniture, decor, tech, clothing and anything where that's possible). I will always remind myself that the most sustainable thing is the thing you will actually use, preferably a lot. There's no point in buying something supposedly sustainable and then not using it. And also just no overconsumption, so not buying everything that looks nice, only if I actually need it or it will add a lot of joy to my life.
A few years ago I unsubscribed from literally every news letter and also the social media accounts that revolved around fast fashion (and fast furniture and so on) and made it a rule to never buy anything just from an ad on social media. (And no fast fashion, only secondhand or sustainable.) If it wasn't already on my wishlist, I don't need it.
I had to unsubscribe from a lot of eco people as it encouraged me too much to buy new
Some eco-swap tips and thoughts, from experience:
1) If you ever get through your deodorant refills and feel like trying something new. Since you like the wild shower gel, I love their refillable deodorant! Have made my mum and 2 best friends fan as well (so now we do a big group order and share postage cost haha). For anyone reading with sensitive skin or problems with parfum - they have a sensititve range too!
2) Life hack for using soap bars in the shower, whether it is for shampoo, conditioner or body: Cut a piece of an old tight, slide the bar inside , then tie the ends together, leave some space. Now you have a soap bar that you can slid onto your hand, won't slip through your fingers, and the texture of the tight even helps to make it foam more!
3) Conditioner bars do exist! For me personally that was an easy swap cause I'm more picky about shampoo than about conditioner. And good to know: conditioner bars last looooong! So take that into consideration when price comparing :) (I think they last me at least half a year of 2 hair washes a week).
4) (i keep editting this comment as I watch on haha) YES Lush is great for eco options, they have a whole variety of bars as well, for all kinds of hair! Their bars lost long too!
5) Not sure if it was possible for this sponge, but I put sponges in the washing machine every now and then. Makes it feel and look less dirty :)
6) YES make those swaps step by step. As soon as you see you will be running out of something, that's a time to start looking at alternatives (not when you've already run out, that's stressful haha). And swap the things that you are least picky about first! Like you showed with toothpaste and handsoap. If swapping the dish sponge thing is not something you want, don't do that yet.That's okay!
You mentioned Lush in the video, but I just wanted to add that they make shampoo and conditionner in bar form too ! You can bring your own bag/box to take them home with you, which makes it actually zero packaging, not even paper! They also make solid toothpaste (in pill form), but the experience is quite different from the traditional toothpaste experience haha
Regarding the concept of Instagram ads, I have the (perhaps old-fashioned?) tendency to think that companies that advertise so much are compensating for something... Sometimes they're compensating for lack of renown because they're new, but often it seems like they're compensating for the poor quality of their products. They don't get regular, loyal consumers who buy for the quality, so they aim at getting many one-time consumers, through ads. You might have better results if you get famously eco-friendly brands that don't invest that much into advertising (ex : Lush, Patagonia...)
FYI Hannah, the 25:48 auto generated caption had me in tears 😂 I don’t think UA-cam understood your accent well 😂 (I wish I could attach a screenshot)
The biggest gripe I have with all of these advertised products is really that they are all send by post. With the "Last Mile Problem" (I hope most of you know) it's pretty much always more eco friendly to go to the store yourself... Shipping to individual households is not the solution.
yep. walk or cycle to the cornershop and buy some toothpaste in a plastic tube, is going to be better for CO2 than having an aluminium tube (heavier than plastic) individually posted directly to your house.
That actually depends on where you live and how you would get to the store. If you walk or cycle to the store in a European city (so what Hannah probably does) its more sustainable to get it at the store. But if you would have to drive a car to even get to the store then it could have equal emissions if not lower emissions to get it send directly to you skipping out on one step of shipping in the middle (more common in rural areas or like almost all of the US)
@@NannaAshleyxD If you're driving to the shop anyway to get your other groceries, then there's barely any emissions cost to get a tube of toothpaste at the same time as other things.
If you'd be making a special trip by car only to buy toothpaste, then at that point getting it delivered is more efficient because the delivery driver is bringing items to lots of people who live near you, and the carbon cost of the journey is split between all of you.
Oh boy is this a tough battle right now. I would LOVE to see more people go to the store. Save our retail businesses, get Amazon back in their place a little bit.
There’s this Scottish brand called Wilde Mode. All their bras that go all the way up to N/O cups. I haven’t tried it but I’ve heard they’re good and they have some funky designs/ colors. I’d recommend remeasuring yourself before bra shopping again as your size seems to have changed.
Hannah Louise Poston has some good content on conscious consumerism and how to make wise purchasing decisions that you won’t end up regretting. Personally, when it comes to eco-friendly swaps, it has to fit into our lifestyle pretty seamlessly for it to stick. Like it has to be sustainable for our lifestyle as well. For example, I pretty much knew that you weren’t going to stick with the sponge from the way you talked about it before you bought it. And it has to have my boyfriend’s approval if he’s going to be using it as well. In general, I’ve been trying not to buy any new things, unless it’s unavoidable. Obviously, you can’t really buy consumables like soap secondhand, in which case I try to buy from small/local businesses or eco friendly brands online. Also, I’m boycotting Amazon as they’re pretty terrible in general.
I buy shampoo, conditioner, washing up liquid, laundry liquid and vinegar for cleaning in 5l containers. You use less plastic, less trips to the shop and it's convenient. You could also go to a zero-waste shop and refill.
I get my shampoo bars in a local drug store. I am very fuzzy with scents so I can't buy them online, I need to assess the smell before the purchase. ^^ Same with bar soap. Usually I get some cheap ones with an uncomplicated smell but once or twice a year I treat myself with the body wash bar from a local handmade vegan soap store. They are quite expensive, but they smell and look so pretty! 😍🥰
Edit: btw they are called Seifenmanufaktur, if anybody from Germany is reading this.
Hannah, is there a refill shop near you? I suggest you look there for some of these swaps - because then won't also habe the carbon footprint of shipping, and would be able to refill your liquid shampoo into containers you already have!
I honestly love these types of video SO MUCH! Could watch a 10 hour vlog of you, Dan, and Rowan literally any day, you’re so entertaining as a family without even trying 😂 please do more like this!! ❤
I'm a shampoo bar girly, and firstly I recommend Yorkshire soap company. Love love love the shampoo and conditioner bars. Also I rub it directly on to my head to create the lather then you can have as much lather as you like!
I’d recommend finding out if there’s a refill shop near you! I get all my shampoo, shower gel, handwash, washing up liquid etc from my local refill shop now and it’s so easy (and kinda fun). I was put off for ages because I thought the shop would be confusing but it’s really simple, you can take any vessel from home and reuse as many times as you like so no extra plastic or shipping.
Also, I didn’t hugely get on with shampoo bars (hence now going to the refill) but I really like my conditioner bar. It’s from the brand Ethique which you can get in Holland and Barrett but I think Lush do them too.
Oooh can't wait to watch this one!! I've been seeing a lot of anti-consumerism shortform content in my feed lately, so i'm excited to see your take on it!!
I recommend having a look around different brands for eco swaps. You can get things that are better quality/cheaper than some of the things you tried in this video. I recently bought soap from holland and barrett - Faith in Nature brand - and it was all reduced to like £1.80 ish per bar. I've also tried gruum for soap and shampoo bars and I like them. I don't recommend Lush as their bars are so overpriced. Alberto Balsam actually also do their own bar shampoo, my mum uses it and likes it.
I'd also suggest saving that fairy liquid bottle so that you can reuse it. Like, I have washing up liquid under my bathroom sink as well as in the kitchen, so that I can wash up non-food related things.
It sort of happened by accident but AI have largely removed advertisement from my life (at least digital one). I left all social media in 2021 and got gifted 3 months of UA-cam premium once and once you lose ads it's hard to go back. It also gives me UA-cam music which is ad free music so I don't get served almost any targeted ads. Honestly it's lovely to not have to work through the "oh I love that. Wait so I need it" thought process every day.
But I also got tired of buying clothes and just not reaching for them because money so now I don't buy clothes unless I LOVE them or know I will wear them (like a basic). It just means I have to be really honest with myself which took like to learn how to do
I turned off personalized ads everywhere I could, so now I have a hodge podge of ads that often don't apply to me (sometimes aren't even in my language), which makes them exceptionally easy to tune out. Not going to buy it if it is not relevant to my life!
Hi :) For your issue with the shampoo bar being hard to use: there are soap bags that ere basically just coarsely woven little bags you put the shampoo bar in and they help to create foam. I just rub the shampoo bar in the bag directly on my head and it works great. They are also very good to use up small soap chunks. I can really recommend them :)
This, I thought about this every time the shampoo was talked about negatively. I didn't have a bag for mine, but when I had shampoo and conditioner bars, I'd just rub them directly onto my hair and it worked great.
I think Im going to try this! I have those magnetic soap holder things but the problem is a lot of shampoo bars crumble when you put the magnet circle into it but if it was in a bag with the magnet itd be fine! 😊
Seconding use of a soap bag and rubbing the shampoo bar (in bag or out of bag) directly on your head. :)
Really enjoyed the thoroughness with which you've reviewed everything here!
Would like to see another version with child toys / activity / clothes etc
Thank you so so much for trying the lemonade dolls stuff, I'm always so tempted by their stuff but never trust the sizing so I'm glad I held off!
I would recommend trying, their customer service is really good if you want to swap sizes!
Bower Collective has been great for reducing our plastic - they have refills for all home and body products, you send their packaging back to them and they reuse and recycle.
Snag is the only place i buy clothes from any more, i love their whole collection! The chub rub shorts are amazing, I've never found them too warm but i get how you could
Hank green has a soap company! Not sure what the shipping will be like from america though
It's one of my little personal goals to subscribe to their soap one day! But cost + shipping is currently preventing me, I'm in the UK also.
Re: chub rub shorts in the heat, I really recommend M&S' flexifit culotte slips - they're loose fitting and made of a cooing material, so they're fab for the heat. I bought them so I didn't flash my pants when cycling in a dress and now basically wear them with everything!
for a body soap I LOVE the nets = cause not only this helps with foaming, but also you can keep them in the net for the soap to dry up between uses much better.
Really enjoy the eco angle when buying stuff. I’m down for another video (or series?!) on eco swaps and conscious consumerism (“A Life Less Throwaway” is a cool book on that subject too if you’re interested)
The problem with this type of video is that 1. There's tons out there already, 2. The most eco option is what you have, so it tends to encourage more consumerism overall.
Eco ads really get me too!! I struggle so much because my usual argument is “no, consumerism is bad for the planet”. But if it’s a product that would mean I’m doing my normal things in a way that is BETTER for the planet I really struggle to say no 😅
"The most sustainable option is the one you already own" xx
Dan saying the toothpaste makes his teeth feel less clean makes sense because it's SLS free. SLS is a surfactant which helps lift debris, but it's also not very good for you and can be a causer of things like mouth ulcers, which as someone with colitis might be a good thing to be mindful of!
really enjoyed this video☺️ very insightful! Thank you Hannah 🫶🏻
One thing is that I live on an island, so anything I buy has to be shipped to a freight forwarder before it can be shipped to me, so that helps with decision-making. I've quit most social media or limited it, so that also helps a ton. So, I'm mainly influenced by UA-cam. Before you gave your consensus on the shorts, I was looking them up to see if there were any reviews cause I live in the tropics and want to wear my dresses. I might still try one or see if I can find a material like linen or cotton. So my process is usually 1. see something I like 2. go look it up, 3. check reviews on the site. 4. Bookmark because I can't get things shipped to me right away. 5. And usually forget about it until I look through my bookmarks again and possibly buy it a year or two later. It's also hard to be eco-friendly here because the only recyclable things here are paper, metal and number 1 and 2 plastics. we no longer recycle glass cause the machine broke. So I've been trying to get things that are reusable versus recyclable now or that will be used up so there isn't anything to throw away. tis hard.
Something I struggle with is that if you want to recyle aluminum toothpaste or skincare tubes you need to cut them open and clean and dry the material, otherwise it's just gargabe. Thats not something I could resonably work into my routines so they just ended up in the trash, and I doubt a tooth pasty metal tube degrades much faster than a plastic one in a landfill
But that way you get every last drop! I've started cutting open all my tubes and stuff and it's wild how much is still in there that doesn't come out otherwise
re shampoo bars - my partner just adds water to their bars in a jar to make a creamy consistency you can then scoop out. maybe that is woth a shot? Also, at least in Germany where I live, you can find store brand shampoo/ conditioner/ shower bars at most drug stores. so that saves money and shipping, as well as additional packaging.
I personally prefer a powder for my refillable washing up liquid (and other cleaning liquids), which is turned into liquid by adding water. I can buy it at a local store. I'm currently looking for a similar option for body wash/hair bc I just can't deal with bars
This was such a comforting watch! Mainly because I share a very similar approach when it comes to consumer choices, buying new things and looking for more sustainable options thinking: is this the cost I'm willing to pay and if I'm not, than who's paying it? I agree it's overwhelming (mentally and financially) trying to switch everything at once and it's also mostly unnecessary - the most sustainable options are the ones you already have! You made me feel less crazy for analysing all of those aspects (including esthetics ;)) when buying something new :)
I love that you really consider if you need something before buying it, I always struggle with it because I used to talk myself out of even getting much needed items (like new socks cause all of mine have holes lol).
In terms of the Brita Filters: You can actually send the used cartridges back to them to recycle (according to their website they recycle all of the parts).
And you don't even have to go to lush to find shampoo, body and hand soap bars that don't come in plastic packaging. You can usually nowadays find a lot of that for very affordable in drugstores. If you want to support smaller/independent businesses, that's obviously a different story!
especially hand soap, it always used to come in bars. Bar soap is the cheapest option, although it is increasingly being made with palm oil. You don't need to look for a special eco-friendly handsoap.
If you're not vegan, especially if you do sometimes eat lamb and/or wear wool, try to find a bar soap where the fat base is lanolin rather than palm oil. Lanolin is the oil sheep make to keep their wool waterproof, which is cleaned off the wool before it is made into clothes. It's a byproduct of the wool and lamb industry which is increasingly going to waste as people look for vegan toiletries.
Great video! I usually ignore ads. Although I switched to Smol about a year ago. Bathroom cleaner spray, washing up liquid and laundry pods - all work well and look great in my home . I like their soap magnets too
I can recommend those little hemp bags for soaps - I then just get cheap bars of soap in the drug store to use in the shower - no need for extra fancy body wash. The bag then also works as a little exfoliator which is nice in the summer and all the suncream, lotion, bug repellant mix. AND they're washable.
Lush does conditioner as bars as well afaik, though I never really got it to work because it just doesn't lather as much as shampoo bars. I think the eco way here is to get shampoo and conditioner in bigger bulky recyclable bags and refill pump bottles (we have quite a few options for that here in Germany, not sure about the UK market), similarly to the smol dishsoap thingy.
Never used a lush conditioner bar - however I have used some others. You do have to rub them on your hair to get them to work properly in my experience
@@ellegarret yeah, I did do that to use up product but just wasn't a fan as it just tangled my hair and took a bit of time. I'm sure it works for some though and definitely worth trying out!
Rowan's "I want to see i want see i want to see" with the water filter is so cute to me. He's such a little real person now (my urge to stop taking birth control is only bolstered with clips of him in vids aha)
But also really interesting insta ads because it really is a lot of ..... stuff that you could be so tempted to buy I find
The trick for me with shampoo bars is rubbing the bar directly on my head, just needs a couple swipes and I get plenty of lather (though I have pretty thin hair). My partner uses an Alberto Balsom bar we got in Tesco, pretty sure it was like £3 and lasts ages so if your hair's not fussy could be an option, the standard one from gruum works really well for me. Tbh I often feel weird ordering a bunch on eco swaps directly to my house cause of the extra transport so I like getting bars or refills or whatever from shops, ideally supermarkets where it can piggyback on the massive amount of other stuff being delivered.
Also I really feel for you on the bra front, I'm a 28F and that's bad enough 😅
I have a silicone scrubbery thing that goes in the dishwasher. And a sponge. Sponge for quick knife stuff but gunky pots the silicone thing is less ick and feels it gets cleaned by the dishwasher often too! Thought it was a gimmick but had it probably two years and looks as good as new.
Shampoo bars and soap bars : even if you're not convinced, always have one in your cabinet. It's SOOOO useful when you get on planes, or even if you go hiking, you can cut your bars into smaller pieces to lower the weight (and you find better eco friendly alternatives that way, so you can wash yourself and dispose of the water without releasing chemicals in the wild)
Yep. I don't use them as a general thing, but they are great for when I need to do plane travel. If you want to master packing in just a carry-on, even for long-ish trips, part of that is figuring out ways to overcome the limits of the liquids allowance. Shampoo bars are an easy way to free up some space in your liquids bag.
lush shampoo bars are elite
they've last me so long as well
i find it easier to just rub the bar directly on my hair, rather than lathering it in my hands
I agree!
I recently swapped to a sustainable hand soap, from the brand "LastObject", which i can recommend. It's a liquid soap, arriving in powder form. They've basically removed the water from the product, for you to add at home later. I personally like them because I can really stock up on this soap and it taking up a minimal amount of space. Also, as someone who has a perfume allergy, it being fragrance free was very important to me. I'm probably gonna try their body wash in the future, when my current stock is running out.
I actually find it so interesting you didn't like the mechanic of using the solid shampoo because i was just saying today how much I prefer the mechanics of solid shampoo!
I find it so much easier to get my scalp clean!
I've been using a shampoo bar for a few years (trying several different kinds) at this point and I love it because instead of lathering it in my hands and then trying to put the suds in my hair, I just run the bar over my head. My hair can be quite thick and heavy, especially when wet and with a liquid shampoo I feel like I need to use sooo much to get it everywhere because it's hard to move around. With this I just run it all over.
a comment on shampoo and conditioner bars as someone who's used bars for the past 5 years... there are LOADS out there. If you like the shampoo bar go and shop around as there are many many small local businesses and many many options for bar hair products. They last forever and I really love shopping around for mine once one has finished.
(I don't think all are comparable though)
Hannah you can already change the head on your plastic fillable dish scrubber! You can buy new sponge heads that slip on from big supermarkets or B&M type places :)
I quite like the Garnier shampoo bars - no plastic & you can buy them in boots etc so there's no postage waste, just buy them when I'm in the area. However I recommend storing in a little pot no it doesn't get wet the rest of the time you're in the shower and wash away.
Brush girly here! Makes it so easy to clean with.
another way of finding an alternative to plastic is going to a eco shop and finding what they have. So you also swap the packaging for none, only your tote bag going to the shop.
Another thing to use for cleaning is a dishwasher friendly eco sponge. I found one online where I do my "eco" shopping that's much cheaper than in store.
Something I've started doing for washing up is using a spray bottle and diluting the washing up liquid like squash. Then I just spray it on the dishes and scrubby scrub that way. We use/waste WAY less soap that AND it distributes the soap better ✨️
Hi Hannah! I would love to see a video comparing all brands of chub rub thights and different shorts to see which one feels lighter and overall which is your favourite method of keeping the chafing away!
The sponge with the washing up liquid handle is very practical but I swear you use so much more liquid with it!
snags chub rub shorts are so comfy and actually somewhat cooling! Also, aluminum is more recyclable over and over compared to plastic which can't be recycled as many times.
In terms of packaging reccomend thinking about the amount of materials. For example the carton, may be mostly board but does it have a plastic film or foil lining. This combination means its hard for our recycling stations in the UK to split and can very likely to end up in landfill or incinerated. Just one small tip that can help you make some decisions, sometimes the simpler the packaging the easier it is to dispose so some of these eco ones are overdesigned
Re: the metal tube being hard to fold - I have the same problem with metal tubes, and the easiest solution is a tube key! It's a little piece of metal, a cylinder with an opening along the long side, attached to a little butterfly-shaped piece of metal. you slide the top of the metal tube into the opening of the cylinder, and then use the butterfly-shaped piece to turn it. It pushes the contents of the tube down to the opening while neatly rolling up the tube at the same time.
As someone with short nails, MoYou London works really well for me!! I hate my nail polish chipping off, and as someone who does dishes daily and constantly uses their hands, they can last for three weeks or more for me! The clear ones with patterns I’ve found look the best, but honestly they look as good on short nails as they do long!
don't know if anyone else has suggested this/you've found an alternative to plastic conditioner, but miniml do lovely conditioner refills and you send back the packaging they come in for them to reuse! i have really thick curly hair and have been using this for ages now, and i think it's really affordable too! just a suggestion in case you're after a new conditioner😁
I do the Body Shop refillable bottle for shower gel, and they also do shampoo. It’s a metal pump bottle, and when you run out you just take it to a Body Shop store and they refill it! So no packaging at all, and (as far as I know without having actively looked into specifics) a pretty good company. Not the cheapest option, but a price I’m prepared to pay for a good quality product and sustainability 💜
I'm skeptical about these eco swaps. When you factor in the extra packaging and extra energy to individually ship it out to your door, is it actually more eco than the supermarket version?;
I have the same problem with shampoo bars and honestly if I have to spend twice to three times as long trying to get a lather and get my hair clean than I would with liquid shampoo, I am wasting more water in that extra time in the shower than I save by buying the bar lol
The accessibility and time waste aspects of so many of the "eco swaps" has put me off exploring them.
From the individually shipped items to packing that is "recyclable" but not accepted by councils to items that just take so long to use that it's a waste and charge me double for the unpleasant experience.
It's kinda just feeling like consumerism/capitalism but in a different font
About the toothpaste one, looking at the percentage of the cost is one thing, yes, but another is the actual money difference. So if spending twice as more more per month on toothpaste, it's still just 2£ extra per month, vs. If your electricity bill increases by half, it's going to be a lot more money you're going to spend and a bigger impact it has on your finances. Even if it's a smaller increase in percentage.
Faith in nature soap bars come plastic free and you can get them in lots of supermarkets and boots etc. Also there are quite a lot of places that will do refills of the shampoo and conditioners so you don't have to buy a new plastic bottle each time
If you like having the soapy handle you can get replacement sponge heads in natural materials. I personally use a wooden brush that I can replace the heads, and think having a pump bottle like the smol rather than a squeezey is more comfortable for that set up :)
I honestly really appreciate you saying that you don’t really have an opion on the soap. I get kinda suspicious when influencers get “obsessed” and “amazed” by basic items 😅 I’ve never used a househol or even hair/body product that was mindblowing, it either works or it does not 😅
I think the expectation that you should be really happy and excited about shampoo or soap is an effect of advertising. You should have things in your life that you're happy about, but that really doesn't need to be soap. It's okay (and probably more normal?) to have your toiletries just do the function you need them for. Continuing to try more looking for the one that will make you excited like the people in the ads are excited is just consumerism.
Albertobaslm does shampoo bars, and I think they do conditioner bars too. If you're able to get them from the same source you get the rest of your shopping, that's better for the environment because you're not using extra resources to get an individual product shipped directly to your house.
That said, I did get one handwash that smelled amazing. It did make me really enjoy washing my hands instead of being just something you do on autopilot.
Great video Hannah! Don’t forget though that the most sustainable things are what you already own 🥰
If you haven't already, I would love to see a video on your relationship with makeup/no longer wearing makeup :) x
I have a phox filter ( i just say it like fox) and i love it, though it is the whole jug not just a britta compatable filter. In mine there is a perforated cap that the carbon felt sits in with the little plastic disc with the line through clicking in over top of that, so the filter is sandwiched between the two parts. The cap then goes on top of the substrate basket, sealing the whole thing up, and you screw the basket into the jug. I think maybe the britta version was created just to expand their customer base and they didn't put as much thought into designing it as their own jug version.
Literally same experience with the filter. Put the felt in wrong first time.
To get it out, I find sticking the end of a wooden spoon in the hole in the bottom of the hopper pops it out easy peasy.
For the shampoo and conditioner, Wild do refillable versions of both but for some reason they only sell them in Tesco. If you have one near you it might be worth trying
Ahh this was very fun for me as someone who is very interested in a zero waste lifestyle and always trying to cut down on plastic use. where I'm at right now:
-wooden toothbrushes
-i haven't committed to toothpaste yet but right now I'm thinking about doing the zero waste tablets/powder. I believe lush has this option as well as a couple other brands
-personally i have tried a lot of shampoo bars and they don't work well for my hair so where I'm at right now is buying shampoo and conditioner in the huge bulk bags that are meant for salons. It's still plastic but it's much less so than buying a small bottle frequently. The bulk stuff lasts me a LONG time
-blueland is a company that might only be in the US I'm not sure, but they sell zero waste tablets that you dissolve in water to make cleaning products so you don't need to purchase new bottles. They also have zero waste dishwasher tablets
-powder laundry detergent from an eco friendly company that packages it in a paper bag! (Brand i use is meliora)
I highly recommend trying vinegar instead of conditioner. I don't if it works for all hair types, but I have really long hair and was getting frustrated by the amount of expensive conditioner I was buying. 8 years later and I've pretty much never used conditioner since!
As a user of shampoo bars, the key is rubbing the shampoo on your hair instead of your hands. That way you get enough product 😊 also, don't put it where it can get wet, or it will melt and last way less
Love this! I find using ethical consumer and other neutral and reliable websites to find out more about how sustainabke and ethical companies/products actually are. Marketing is sooo manipulative! And so many phrases are unregulated
This is so relatable! I switched to refillable, plastic free deodorant a few months ago and recently swapped cleaning supplies to plastic free. Adding to the list as we use things up.
Decided to do a no-buy year this year and it has honestly made dealing with ad's so nice because I don't have to think about making a decision, I know it's gonna be no already
For being intentional about my purchases, i use google slides to make a presentation about each thing i would like to buy. I need to include pictures, reasons, and prices. Each item is given it's own slide so I need to contemplate everything. Also this way, i can avoid buying other things randomly because i already have a carefully planned list of things I'd like for when i have the extra money 😊
The wearable blood sugar-measuring wearable patch thing (around 14:00) strikes me as a manufacturer trying to market a genuine medical device to a population that doesn't really "need" it. Friends of mine with Type 1 diabetes have similar wearable devices that help them track their blood sugar levels so that they can better predict/decide how much insulin to take on any given day, but they look sturdier than the ones shown in that ad. They're a pain in the ass to put on (they come with this kind of diesel-looking gun) and so I don't know why you would subject yourself to it willingly without a medical reason. The main thing is that they're an alternative to having to stick your fingertips and measure at individual times of the day, because the wearable device measures fairly continuously and sends alerts to the patient's phone (or standalone medical electronic device) when there's a big change (like a big spike or drop in blood sugar level) that they should address imminently (by administering insulin or eating/drinking something).
The idea with zoe is that you just wear the continuous monitor for a short time while you eat specific foods they send you, to find out how your body responds to those foods, and then they give you a customised diet plan. I don't think they expect people to wear the continuous monitor every day. I've never done it though, it seems unnecessary when I already know what foods suit me, I don't need medical equipment to find that out.
I use a plastic washing up stick brush that someone got me from TK Maxx years ago. I just clean and dry it after use and put it through the dishwasher regularly to disinfect. I don't know if there's a reason why this is actually bad but it's served me well 😆 and doesn't involve ever having to buy new bits to stick on the end.
My fave eco shampoo and conditioner is The Body Shop refillable ginger one - unfortunately though my local Body Shop closed 😩 but you might have more luck in London!
As a water filter I use charcoal sticks or ceramic beads that I put directly into my water bottles so it keeps filtering as long as it's in there so it doesn't require a specific contraption (like a britta for example). And it can be put it any container really: water bottle, coffee machine, pets water fountain etc. I feel like it's worth sharing that ^^
Lush do shampoo and conditioner bars, however would not recommend the tins they sell alongside them cause they’re 1. impossible to open with wet hands and 2. impossible to get the slightly damp bars out of. I’d get a soap dish for them to dry on instead. Before I had dyed hair my lush bars were the ride or die, but after bleaching and funky colours my hair doesn’t like them.
Also hand soap has come in plastic free packaging for ages in supermarkets, idk if it has a lower/higher carbon footprint based on being delivered to a store vs delivered to your house though.
When it comes to toothpaste, I do what my dental nurse sister tells me… which is currently Colgate if anyone’s wondering but obvs speak to your own dentist about your oral hygiene.
Not sure if they're available in the UK but etee does refills for products that come in compostable tubes that you squeeze into the other containers, and I think they're more affordable... and then for dishes - use rubber gloves! I also hate my hands getting wet and gross so I need rubber gloves if I'm doing a lot of dishes.