Packing for a modern getaway adventure can often feel more like a business logistics exercise with gadgets, chargers, wires, power packs and digital paraphernalia dominating a bag that used to contain some underwear, spare shorts and a towel or two.
If you want to put your foot down and get away from the online treadmill, then having an eco-friendly adventure is a great way to reconsider what we think of as essential. Just type eco-friendly in Bazar (or similar terms for a holistic jaunt) and you can find all sorts of interesting destinations that can be part of your next adventure.
Prepping for an Eco-Friendly Trip
Once you’ve sorted out somewhere to go, let’s reconsider what travel essentials you really need that can help play an eco-friendly role in your trip.
Luggage Ideas without Lugging a Guilty Conscience
This all starts with the suitcase or rucksack, and there are plenty of models that use recycled or innovative materials to ease your back, shoulder and conscience. Big brands like Samsonite and American Tourister have eco-friendly ranges, while you can find bamboo suitcases on Etsy and other stores for a more organic look.
Shine with Better, Greener, Sunscreen
First into most luggage is often some sunscreen, but traditional products aren’t exactly eco-friendly. Some can threaten reefs when you go swimming while wearing it, so avoid those with Oxybenzone or
Octinoxate and other ingredients.
Instead, you can find ocean-friendly and reef-safe sunscreens increasingly on the market to make your swim a less toxic and guilty experience.
Travel with Better Towels
Whether lounging by the pool, sea or getting ready for a luxury bath, towels and dressing gowns are often associated with poor-quality materials from an environmental perspective. Organic and sustainably produced towels are better for the planet and better for you.
Most conform to the GOTS Organic Textile Standard for a quality product and an authentic supply chain to ensure buyers are not being fleeced with inferior products.
Wet Your Thirst with the Best Water
As some liquid restrictions are being eased on flights, it is now possible to fly with your choice of drink rather than being fleeced at the airport snack shops. Even if you’re not flying taking plenty of water that’s better for you is a good idea.
Try JUST Water as a compact pure or flavored water for delicious options. The products are sustainably sourced, and packed with eco-friendly plant-based cartons as a 100% recyclable plastic alternative, or recycled aluminum.
Both are full of naturally alkaline spring water and JUST is 100% mountain-sourced spring water, rich in minerals and naturally alkaline. The brand uses mountain watersheds that are replenished annually with rain and snowfall.
Small Essentials for A Safe Trip
Since we mentioned power and gadgets, it would be rude not to highlight that you can take a solar charger on any trip to help with an off-grid adventure or to keep your gadgets topped up on your travels.
Other ideas that can help you complete your eco-friendly adventure kit include eco-friendly toiletries. Soap and shampoo bars from the likes of Ethique last longer and create less waste. Similarly there’s toothpaste tablets available that do away with one of the messier parts of travel.
And if you’re planning lots of al fresco dining, picnics or street food stops, you can pack a lightweight set of bamboo utensils to cut down on weight and boost your eco credentials wherever you eat.
FinalStraw is another brand that offers mini straws and cutlery that fit neatly into your pocket. Pair them with a silicone Stasher bag or stainless steel lunchbox to avoid single-use plastics.
Solar-Powered Essentials
Finally, many destinations can eat the eco-friendly traveller alive but there are plenty of bug and insect repellents that are kinder to nature. Instead of chemical sprays, natural repellents like Murphy’s Naturals use plant-based ingredients and come in recyclable packaging.
Effective and safer for both your skin and the environment, it’s a great way to fit in with nature rather than whack it with a chemical fly swat.
For every lovely image of a tourist hot-spot, there are dozens of snaps of waste landfills loaded with western items, and the pollution our globe-trotting causes, that can wreak havoc on local wildlife.
Almost anything you take on holiday, from the greenest of Yurt-based getaways to must-see destinations or that all-inclusive commercial resort with the family, can be replaced with better, eco-friendly options.
They save weight, and make your trip less of a chemical warfare experience, ideal for those with allergies, and better for the nature and landscape at your destination. And while they might cost a little more, the value for your soul is immeasurable, be it floating on a sea breeze or high up in the mountains.
