Plastic-free bathroom: 10 tips for less plastic

Solid shampoo, toothpaste tablets, period underwear and plastic-free cotton buds: there are now a number of sustainable bathroom products on the market. But the plastic devil is in the details: microplastics. We'll show you what to look out for on your next purchase. Here are our ten tips for your zero-waste bathroom.

There are two types of plastic in your bathroom, but most people only notice one of them: the bright green shampoo bottle and the yellow conditioner are clearly visible next to the colorfully patterned soap dispenser, the red cream jar, the blue and white toothpaste tube and the pink deodorant roll-on. Because - big surprise - they are all made of plastic!

tiny and everywhere in the bathroom: microplastics

No big news? Well, let's take a closer look: Where is the second type of plastic hidden in these products? Starting with the little blue beads in your toothpaste that still haven't dissolved after brushing and the scrubby grains in the peeling to invisible particles that create foam, volume and glitter effects: May we introduce, this is microplastic !

well camouflaged in cosmetic products

Many experts have been calling for better information about the use of microplastics in cosmetic products for years. Unfortunately, not much has been done. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and BUND eV, among others, warn that microplastics can be found in products such as deodorants, shampoos, lipsticks, hair dyes, shaving foam, creams, hairspray, face masks, baby products and more.

Some companies have now taken up the issue and you will certainly come across some products when shopping that say "no microplastics". But there are still far too few of them. It is not without reason that organizations such as BUND eV and NABU eV continue to demand that synthetic polymers of any size and form be avoided in cosmetic and personal care products.

How can you identify microplastics?

If you want your bathroom to be plastic-free, it is important to be able to recognize microplastics. They are well camouflaged by many different definitions and labels: many manufacturers only recognize certain solid particles of a certain size as microplastics. But environmental organizations agree: all types of polymers and plastic particles must be labeled accordingly and should be removed from our cosmetic products! The most well-known ingredients include:

• polyethylene (PE)
• polypropylene (PP)
• polyamide (PA)
• polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
• Acrylate Copolymer (AC)
• Dimethiconol
• Silsesquioxane

You can find a complete checklist at Greenpeace.

from the washbasin to the river and sea

According to NABU eV, 922 tons of microplastics and 46,900 tons of dissolved polymers end up in wastewater in Germany every year from cosmetic products and detergents and cleaning agents alone. Although 90 to 97% can be filtered out in sewage treatment plants, the rest ends up in rivers and from there often into the sea. 3 to 10% sounds manageable at first, but given the huge amounts of microplastics, it is still far too much. In addition, the microplastics that were initially caught in the sewage sludge can end up back in nature, because the sludge is often used as fertilizer.

microplastics as a health hazard

You can read about what is so harmful about microplastics and how much of them there are currently on earth in our blog post about less plastic . In general, one thing is certain: microplastics are spreading ever faster on land and in water and have already found their way into our air, soil and drinking water. And in 2018 they were also proven to be in the human digestive tract . Even though medical studies on the effects of microplastics are still in their early stages, it is already known that they can have effects on the human body. According to the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, for example, they can cause inflammation and biochemical reactions - and a connection to other diseases is also suspected.

bathroom plastic-free: 10 tips

Back to the topic of plastic-free bathrooms: you decide what products end up in your bathroom! So here are a few tips.

1. scan microplastics from the bathroom

As with the plastic-free kitchen, the switch to a plastic-free bathroom also starts with an inventory and a scanner look. This time even with a little technology gnome called Codecheck : With this app, you can scan all your products using the barcode and check the ingredients. This way, not only microplastics, but also many other chemicals, palm oil or other ingredients that are harmful to health and the environment are displayed with the respective explanation and you can find good alternatives in the future. BUND eV has also developed its own scanning app that gives you competent advice about harmful contents when shopping.

But don't throw everything away straight away, that wouldn't be sustainable either. The resources for production have already been used up - so use them. Experts recommend only putting products with microplastics and their contents directly into the plastic waste so that the particles cannot enter the water cycle. Once microplastics are in the groundwater, it is impossible to get them out or only with extreme effort.

2. solid instead of liquid

The easiest way to go plastic-free in the bathroom is so simple that it's almost frightening: Instead of liquid shower gel and hand soap, which can contain liquid plastic in addition to the single-use plastic packaging, just use a bar of soap! The same goes for shampoo and conditioner, because there are also wonderfully fragrant solid solutions in bar form for these that you can moisten and lather up in the shower. Same effect, similar price and kilos less plastic waste in the bathroom. We love the wonderful soaps for skin and hair from our friends at Junglück and find the change really practical, especially when traveling and at the gym: Because (hair) soaps can be safely packed in homemade wax cloths and are much easier to transport than their liquid relatives!

3. brushing your teeth without plastic

Let's assume that every person living in Germany changes their toothbrush every three months: With a life expectancy of around 80 years and a population of around 83 million people, we arrive at an estimated 250 toothbrushes per human life, or 249 million toothbrushes per year, in Germany alone. The majority: once again made of plastic.

But that doesn't have to be the case! More and more companies are offering alternatives made of bamboo or natural wood that you can then compost. Our friends at Hydrophil, for example, make beautiful and fair brushes made of bamboo with bristles made of castor oil.

And the next step for a plastic-free bathroom: You don't have to buy toothpaste from a tube either! Many packaging-free stores and some drugstores also offer toothpaste tabs.

4. DIY mouthwash for zero waste in the bathroom

We found a great recipe for mouthwash from Wastelandrebel : Mix boiled water with baking soda, tea tree oil, mint oil and, if desired, a little birch sugar (xylitol). Put it in your soulbottle, put the lid on and shake it vigorously, done!

5. Shave stylishly, cheaply & sustainably

Shaving without plastic has become one of our absolute no-plastic bathroom hacks. Because it just makes so much sense! Instead of disposable razors or the typical plastic attachments, get a beautiful stainless steel safety razor. You can get these in many packaging-free stores, online or from grandpa's old bathroom cabinet and then you can keep it for the rest of your life. You put a steel blade in the top, screw it back on and shave as usual. Plus, they only cost a fraction of the normal price of conventional disposable blades and plastic attachments: around ten cents per blade. Conclusion? The thing is stylish, works and saves a lot of money, waste and emissions.

6. Get rid of the cotton pads & plastic swabs

Although they are not directly made of plastic, they are still waste in the bathroom: You can also easily replace cotton pads with reusable alternatives made of cotton or bamboo fiber. After use, they simply go in the washing machine. Cotton buds are now also available made of renewable bamboo.

7. power to the plasticfree period

Did you know that menstruating women use around 17,000 period products in their lifetime? We can hardly imagine the huge amount of waste per person! Pads and tampons almost always contain plastic and are inserted into the body with many other chemicals and bleaching agents. BUND eV is calling for more information on this. Friends of the Earth also explains that up to 3,000 chemicals can be found in period products.

It doesn't have to be that way! From washable, waste- and plastic-free period pads and menstrual underwear without toxic ingredients to ecological and compostable disposable products and menstrual cups, there are really many ways to take care of your period differently. Our buddies from The Female Company are real queens and kings in this field.

8. cream in circulation

Circular economy is the magic word for a lot of waste avoidance: producing and consuming in cycles, reusing and repairing products and returning resources after use so that new products can be made from them. Similar to nature, the principle of waste should also disappear in the economy. What does this have to do with your plastic-free bathroom? If you still buy products in disposable packaging, then quite a lot. But here too there are new approaches that are based on the reuse of packaging and thus offer a zero-waste solution. In Germany, for example, at Fair Squared you can buy creams in glass jars that are returned, rinsed out and reused after use.

9. Sweat plastic-free

Do you want a deodorant that is not only aluminum-free, but also plastic-free? For your own deodorant, you need at least baking soda powder, so that you can rub it under your armpit with a wet finger to avoid unwanted odors. Most people know it from baking, but baking soda has a number of other uses as an antibacterial miracle cure. If you also want a great scent, stir together coconut oil, baking soda and an essential oil of your choice and voilá, deodorant!

10. deluxe bathtub

After all the input for a plastic-free bathroom, you definitely deserve some relaxation. That's why we would like to introduce you to our wet relaxation concept: the soulful tub without plastic.

• Crush 100 g of olive oil soap into small pieces.
• Dissolve this in 500 ml of hot water until a kind of liquid soap is formed.
• This forms the basis of the bubble bath and could now also be filled into a soap dispenser.
• For the bubble bath, mix the specially made liquid soap with 20 ml of almond oil, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of baking soda and an essential oil of your choice.
• The bubble bath is ready!

You can choose and define the scents according to your personal preferences. Fresh flowers also make a good bath additive.

And now: turn on the music and candles, jump into the bath, grab a straw and activate the DIY whirlpool. Happy bubbling!

Sorry to wake you up from your plastic-free bubble dream, but we really want to get something off our chest: the water you are currently using to soften your skin is not even part of some people's daily ration. Clean water is a human right that over 2.2 billion people worldwide currently have no access to. Quite a lot, right? We want drinking water for everyone because water is a human right. In addition to our own drinking water and climate protection project WASH'n'soul, we have therefore initiated a campaign for World Water Day : water is political. In doing so, we explain why water is political and what secure access to clean drinking water is all about.