Makeup wipes are the lazy girls best friend. Its also the OCD girls best friend. It was also once upon a time my best friend. Its always so easy to grab one and wipe off make up after a long day or even on holiday when you dont want to pack your 5-step skin routine. But like we all know, makeup wipes are extremely bad for the environment. If you flush it down the toilet it end up in the ocean and if you throw it in the trash it ends up in landfill. They are made of non-biodegradable plastic fibres and even the ones who are biodegradable have to be recycled and processed with specific procedures. So to avoid risking more pollution, I have 2 great alternatives for you that will remove the need of wipes.


Option 1 - The makeup eraser towel
This product has been around for a few years however I only started using it recently. At first glance it looks like a normal towel and if you like me have ever tried using a regular towel and warm water to remove mascara you know the dreaded result. But just like the name this works like magic, all you need to do is damp it and it removes all your make up without you needing to scrub half your face off. I use it about 7-10 times before I throw it in the wash and then its like brand new again. Seriously I cant recommend this product enough, and its travel friendly as long as you can get hold of water.


Option 2 - Natural oil
My mum taught me to use coconut oil to remove my makeup. It only takes a pea size of oil and you rub it all over your face before rinsing. It works well and helps moisturising your face overnight. If you want to travel with it you can get a small size mason jar (I save the little ketchup and mayo ones some hotels provide) and take a chunk with you. Once I forgot to bring any and I asked the hotel I was staying with for some olive oil which worked fine. This process also requires water but if thats not at hand you can use tissues to remove the excess oil.

​We all want to do our bit for the planet, and even if you dont (if you dont please reconsider your existence) there are institutions that now have to do their bit as part of regulations. In this posts instance its the issue of the plastic straw. The regulations to swap out the plastic straw felt like an overnight phenomenon and it wasnt long until we were all fiddling with soggy paper straws. Now paper straws are a good start but lets face it, we all hate them. I’m personally a slow drinker and it doesnt take long before my paper straws start to shred pulps in my mouth like a bad mixer. 


So what can you do to not face this dilemma? Not to worry, I have two solutions for you that even though requires some preplanning, does eliminate the problem. The preplanning part is to remember to take this out with you. I imagine its a little more difficult for fellas however I have seen some guys put the straws in their back pocket. Also what a better chat up line than pulling out a straw from your pocket at a busy bar? 


Wallet friendly option - Bamboo straws by Zuperzozial.
These straws are made from bamboo (the most sustainable tree resource we have) and you get 6 in one pack plus a cleaning brush. The good thing about these is that you can also use them at home with guests and the brush makes cleaning easier. 






Luxury option - Stephen Webster last straw in sterling silver.
As part of the #laststraw campaign Stephen Webster designer a sterling silver straw that can be personalised with a name. Part of the proceedings also go to a charity for ocean plastic. Its pricey but its a luxury item, I personally love mine. Word to the wise, dont put this one in your back pocket.


Free option - No straw!
This is the easiest of them all, skip the straw if youre not in a need of one. Ask your waitress to bring a drink without the added straw beacuse we are all capable of drinking with no straws if you left yours at home there is no suitable sustainable alternative.

Hygiene and keeping clean is important to everyone. Its not like fashion or travel where theres a choice, but is important for our wellbeing. The maintenance of keeping fresh usually comes in small plastic solutions such as roll on deodorants, plastic toothbrushes and toothpaste. The good news is that there are new innovative alternatives to these classic staples in the bathroom. I recently started using these products below and here is my review on the items.  
​

Bamboo toothbrush by Eco-Bru
Bamboo toothbrushes have been around for a while now, as I have mentioned before bamboo is incredibly sustainable due to the speed of growth and small amounts of water it requires to fully develop. I tried a few brands in the past but I always found most brands flimsy. This one has a sturdy round shaped shaft and depending on the colour of preference the bristles and end grip have a colour. I took this with me travelling recently and I have no complaints. I do hope they make these with charcoal soon as thats my favourite type of toothbrushes.

Deodorant by Elsas organic skin food
This deodorant is quite the fun gem. Liquid deodorants easy to apply with hands but this also came with a little wooden spoon if you don't want to use your fingers. You apply it directly on to the skin and it does the job! The product comes in aluminium which is infinitely recycle as well as one of the largest natural resources on the planet in terms of quantity. You can also reuse the tin for other purposes, like using it for storing home made soaps and shampoos. 

Toothpaste by Truthpaste
Most (if not all) liquid toothpastes come in a plastic container. It comes in travel and full size. The first thing to point out about these toothpastes are that they dont foam so a little goes a long way when its mixed with water. Its made of all natural ingredients and if fennel isnt your vibe then go for the traditional peppermint flavour. ​

​I love discovering new sustainable brands, especially ones that have garments for both women and men. One Denim is a handcrafted denim brand that has sustainability as its core concept. For this review I decided to bring in a test male human to try the mens jeans for a few weeks. 

The first thing I noticed was the large sturdy and luxurious box the jeans arrived in. This gives it a premium experience whilst the prices are between 100-150 for a pair of jeans making them similar in price to well known denim brands on the market. I picked the light grey selvedge jeans from the core collection that are available without pre ordering. 

The jeans are true to size, even though they were slightly too small when our test human first tried them on they stretched after one or two wears. The denim fabric itself feels heavy and sturdy and the stitching is well crafted. After a few weeks of wear and tear, the jeans still looked new and high quality. The test human loves them and I have seen him favour and wear it more than his other jeans. For a more in depth review I also decided to ask the creators behind one denim about their sustainability vision and what their future plans are with One Denim.

What makes One Denim sustainable?
Our Collection Line champions organic and recycled Japanese and Italian denim fabrics, sourced from the most premium denim mills in the industry. All materials used to make our jeans are either recycled or organic, down to every last button, rivet, stitch and label and we combine this with low impact technology to massively reduce water waste, energy usage and pollution in manufacture. All water used in the washing process gets recycled and we also apply state of the art eco laser and ozone washing techniques to further reduce our impact. We’ve created the most sustainable luxury denim every made.

What sets you part from other sustainable denim brands?
We’re not just another sustainable denim brand. We are a fashion tech company that’s super sustainable. Our business model is direct-to-consumer, which means we design, produce upfront and sell our products directly to the consumer through our online store, eliminating the traditional brand channels of wholesalers and fashion shops, saving customers on those extra margins. This allows us to sell our denims at less that half of their traditional retail value. So had we operated like other brands, our products would be more than double the price they are now.

Whats the plans for the future of One Denim?
we plan to first expand our denim line and then start introducing new product categories to develop a full ready to wear collection, including footwear and handbags. We also plan to open our physical retail stores in the near future.


You can purchase one denims collection directly from their website. They also offer Klarna (order your clothes, try them on and pay for it once you decide to keep the products) which is convenient for jeans fitting. Another great aspect to  brand is that they donate 5% of their sales to WaterAid. I would highly recommend this brand for yourself or as a gift to start somebody else's path to more sustainable fashion. 

I write most my reviews based around fashion and food that are aimed to make everyones lives more sustainable however one of my favourite discoveries are when I find an app that supports the same cause. Apps dont support production whilst creating jobs and are easily obtainable as long as you have a smart phone.


This app is called findtap, is free and has a very simple cause. It lets you know the nearest tap water source through an interactive map. Its very easy and user friendly, simply turn on your location within the app and it detects and shows you the nearest tap available. This is perfect for anyone that carries a reusable water bottler or if you did purchase a bottle of water (lets put this down as an emergency) and want to fill it with water throughout the day without having to purchase another plastic bottle. Bonus tip, if youre like me and dislike the taste of tapwater there are plenty of bottles you can get that has a built in filter system that works wonders. I use a bottle from a brand called bobble but there are many alternatives.


I was also pleasantly surprised to see how many sources the app recorded as its still fairly new. I recommend this this highly and I also recommend everyone to do the 30 day challenge to only drink tap water.