From low-impact loo roll to vintage sinks: 13 ways to make your bathroom more sustainable
Whether it’s water-saving showerheads or natural sponges, these easy swaps cut waste and make your bathroom a little kinder to the planet
The best refillable beauty products for a sustainable routine
As a sustainability journalist, I’ve often despaired at how unsustainable our bathrooms are – from water use to plastic bottles to chemical-heavy cleaners. However, there are ways to reduce their carbon footprint. As water becomes increasingly precious, hacks for our loos that cap its usage are useful, as are smart showerheads that cut down on water, particularly as baths these days feel like a guilty indulgence.
Swap plastic-packaged and chemical-loaded products, such as bleach and multipurpose sprays, for eco-friendly ones, and buy secondhand good-as-new fixtures. From bamboo loo roll to solid shampoo bars, here are my tips for a more planet-friendly bathroom.
Are there any sustainable bathroom products you love? Let us know by emailing thefilter@theguardian.com.
How to make your bathroom more sustainable
Organic cotton towels
Rise & Fall bath towels
These Oeko-Tex-certified Aegean cotton towels from Rise & Fall are a good balance of indulgent and responsible. They’re made in Turkey from long-staple cotton – fibres that are longer than standard, making for a stronger, softer, longer-lasting textile. They’re absorbent, while the aqua-fibre yarn – a hollow-core thread that increases surface area without adding weight – means they dry fast. Perhaps avoid the extra-generous bath sheets, so you use fewer resources in all your laundering.
Washable shower curtain
Draper’s Organic purely natural hemp shower curtain
A wipe-clean glass screen is best – but if your setup requires a traditional shower curtain, skip a PVC one that could be releasing icky phthalates. The rich-to-the-touch hemp fabric from Draper’s Organic is a great option, especially if you choose the “purely natural” beige, as it’s undyed. If you are tempted by colour, dyes are sourced from the Swiss company CHT Switzerland AG, which makes eco-friendly Global Organic Textile Standard-certified tints. It hangs beautifully – just make sure to keep it drawn open until it dries fully. It’s best suited to a well-ventilated bathroom.
Preloved fittings and sanitaryware
Sanitary salvage is one of the savviest ways of kitting out your bathroom – and I’ve seen some antique sinks and cast-iron baths in good nick. These cut embodied carbon and give your bathroom more soul and patina than the usual mass-produced offerings.
I’ve been known to get up at the crack of dawn to comb Sunbury antiques market at Kempton Park racecourse, but eBay is a good source of secondhand taps and preloved tiles. You can also find modern items decommissioned from commercial premises: look for brands such as Grohe and Geberit.
Etsy works well for furniture and interiors pieces, while Vinterior curates specialist dealers (choose British where possible to cut transport emissions). For characterful architectural salvage, Retrouvius and Lassco make reclaimed feel more appealing than new.
Low-chemical paint
Coat Soft Sheen paint
It’s hard to stick to UK brands when most supply chains lead to China, but B Corp Coat manufactures paint in the UK that’s low in volatile organic compounds and free of benzene and formaldehyde – and it goes on easily. Many include natural ingredients such as clay and limestone sourced in the UK. The Soft Sheen range is designed for wet spaces: we love Dusky Teal.
Cistern water saver
Dry Planet Save a Flush
You could buy the latest generation of water-saving dual-flush toilets, but a shortcut is a simple cistern displacement device such as the Save a Flush pouch by Dry Planet. Plop it in the tank, and you’ll cut your water use on average by 5,000 litres a year.
Low-impact loo roll
Naked Paper unbleached bamboo toilet paper
Bamboo regenerates quickly, and it’s even better unbleached, as the chlorine dioxide used in the process of making any loo roll white is a big pollutant. That means the brown colour of B Corp-certified Naked Paper’s toilet paper is green as can be – plus the bamboo is sourced from ethical, well-managed forests. It’s £25.50 for 24 rolls, but they’re double length (320 sheets a roll), so it works out at less per sheet than many brands appealing to the eco-shopper. “Luxury” rolls offer half that.
Hello Klean showerhead
The average UK shower – 7.5 minutes long – uses between 45 and 112.5 litres of water, according to the Consumer Council for Water. The Hello Klean showerhead claims to cut water use by 25% and promises to remove more than 90% of chlorine, heavy metals and impurities while intensifying water flow. The catch? Its filter needs replacing every three months, which means more waste heading to landfill.
I’ve been using it for months for the marginal water-cutting gains – I enjoy the light misty feel. I keep the plug in the bath to track how much water I’m using, and it’s definitely reduced use dramatically. If your local water is heavily chlorinated or you have sensitive skin, it’s worth weighing up whether the water quality and savings justify its footprint.
Body bars
Ishga shampoo and body bar, 95g
I can be sceptical about solid shampoos, but Ishga’s shampoo and body bar is an instant hit of spa time. It’s made in Scotland with a blend of seaweed extract, lavender and lemongrass, and it’s free from the stuff that usually makes things lather (sodium lauryl sulphate) and feels as lovely on your hair as it does on your skin. Also, the FSC-certified packaging is recyclable.
Wideye shower bar explorer set, 10 x 70g bars
Elsewhere, indie brand Wideyefrom Rye in Kent creates natural shower bars that look and smell good enough to eat. If you’re a big household, it’s worth splashing out on the chocolate box-style explorer set of 10 half-size moisturising soaps – as satisfying to give as a gift as they are to use.
For more, read the best refillable beauty products for a sustainable routine
Face brush
Hydréa face brush
I’m always happy to be able to ditch lotions and potions in plastic tubes for a longer-lasting piece of kit. Hydréa’s face brush, made from FSC-certified beechwood with natural bristles, buffs away dead skin and stimulates circulation.
Natural sponges
Hydréa London natural honeycomb sea sponge, 4-4.5in
So-called body-polisher plastic mesh poufs shed microplastics into the water stream – they’re made from petroleum-derived nylon or polyester that can’t be recycled, and most end up in landfill. Much better to seek out ethical, natural sea sponges. These are harvested from the Mediterranean by divers who cut them by hand, preserving the root system so new sponges can regenerate.
Seep eco sponge scourer, pack of four
For cleaning your bathroom, Seep scourers are made from loofah and wood pulp cellulose. They do a great job and keep going for a decent amount of time, plus they’re suitable for home composting.
Natural toothpaste
Georganics hydroxyapatite toothpaste, 75ml
Made in the UK using natural ingredients and packaged in a recyclable aluminium tube – almost plastic-free, save for the HDPE lid – Georganics’ hydroxyapatite fennel toothpaste packs a fresh and effective punch.
Period products
Dame reusable period pads
Wuka stretch period pants
It’s a shocker when you think about how much single-use plastic is sent to landfill in the form of period products. There are reusable options: Dame sells organic tampons and reusable applicators, as well as reusable period pads and period pants. And Wuka’s seamless midi briefs came out on top in our test of the best period pants.
Nontoxic drain cleaner
Mack Dr Dre’n biopod for drains
Drain cleaning brushes, pack of two
My daughter’s long hair is always clogging the drain, and trying to pull it out myself or using boiling water, baking soda and white vinegar just doesn’t cut it. But those extra-toxic potions that burn through clogs feel like so much pollution for our waterways. This neon-pink Dr Dre’n cleaner, a natural “laxative” made from enzymes and bacteria, unclogged my drain. I found it was also effective to have a poke with a drain brush.
For more, read our guides to the best plastic-free kitchen swaps and sustainable cleaning and toiletries subscriptions that make life easier
Sustainability expert Juliet Kinsman is a journalist, speaker and consultant. Author of guidebooks including The Green Edit: Travel (Ebury) and The Bucket List: Eco Experiences (Rizzoli), she was the first sustainability editor for Condé Nast Traveller, and was co-presenter on the Daily Climate Show for Sky News. There’s nothing she loves more than signposting consumers to people, products and places sparking joy – sustainably and responsibly