Festival season has well and truly kicked off! However, as much as we love them, festivals can come at a cost to the environment. But, we can all do our bit to help prevent this. Read on to discover the Eco-friendly festival essentials you need this summer!
If you are an avid festival goer, you will know all too well the aftermath of a long festival weekend. We’re talking thousands of abandoned tents, plastic bottles and plastic bags to name a few. In fact, it’s estimated that Glastonbury alone sends up to 760 tonnes of rubbish to landfill each year. Crazy, right? But, what if we told you that you could help save the planet and have a good time? Read on to discover the Eco-friendly festival essential swaps you can make!
Make it sparkle
Let’s face it, glitter is a festival favourite! But, we can’t leave glitter out of the conversation when talking about plastic pollution. Glitter is a micro-plastic and is very harmful to marine life when it ends up in the ocean. But, don’t let this dull your sparkle. You can still get glammed up without harming the environment. Enter Ecostardust, who sell biodegradable glitter in recyclable tins or biodegradable bags. Made from a plant cellulose instead of PET plastic, the glitter is also vegan and cruelty-free. Not only this, but they also give back by donating to environmental charities. What’s not to love?
Period kit
Let’s face it, there’s nothing nice about festival toilets. So, the thought of having to manage your period in one can be stressful. But, you can do it and there are Eco-friendly essentials that can help you get through it! Being prepared will save you a whole lot of stress, so we highly recommend building yourself a period kit to take with you. It’s probably worth taking this even if you’re not due on. Just in case your period makes a surprise visit, or your friend ends up in this situation.
Building your kit
First things first, we recommend getting yourself period care made with natural materials such as organic cotton. Organic materials are biodegradable so will break down naturally after disposal. Also, ditch anything wrapped in lots of plastic and/or tampons with a plastic applicator.
Now let’s talk disposal. When it’s time to change your tampon or pad and you’re in a field lined with a few portaloos, how do you dispose of it? Disposing of tampons/pads down the toilet has a very negative impact on the planet, so we would always recommend avoiding this (more info here).
We can’t recommend FabLittleBag enough – they are convenient and hygienic! Simply pop your used period products in one of the biodegradable bags and seal them! If there isn’t a bin in the festival toilet, put it in your bag and pop it in a bin when you walk past one.
Making sure you’ve got tissues in your period kit will also save you a lot of stress! The last thing you want is an empty toilet roll holder. These tissues from Who Gives a Crap will make the perfect addition to your period kit. They are made with forest friendly bamboo, are biodegradable and have no inks, dyes or scents.
Keeping clean
We all want to feel fresh and clean at a festival, right? (As hard as it may be!) Natural Deo-Co can help you achieve exactly this. Their range of deodorants help keep you dry, offer all-day protection, provide total odour control and are better for you and the environment. They are made from organic, fair-trade ingredients, plus they are vegan and cruelty-free!
Freshen up
Your skin gets put through its paces at a festival and it can be very difficult to look after it! That’s why we love this hydrating mist toner from Trilogy. Simply spray over your face to uplift your skin and give it instant moisture. It contains Aloe Vera, Geranium Oil and Rose Flower Oil. This help cool, calm, soothe, refresh and cleanse your skin to leave you feeling fresh. Exactly what you need after a long day at a festival, right? It also comes in a convenient small spray bottle that you can pop in your bag and carry round for a spritz on-the-go! Did we mention that all the ingredients are natural, so it won’t be harming the environment every time you spray? It’s also cruelty-free and comes in recyclable packaging!
A good hair day
It’s not always possible to wash your hair at a festival. The answer? Dry shampoo! Organic dry shampoo to be precise. We love the look of this vegan and cruelty-free one by Tabitha James Kraan, which contains essential oils along with 100% natural, and 90% certified organic ingredients. It also doesn’t contain anything that could be harmful to you or the environment such as talc, parabens, sulphates or silicone.
Reusables
If you’re at a camping festival, eating from the food stands the whole time can be very costly. Not only this, but it can amount to a lot of waste with all the food packaging. Bringing your own food and storing it in reusable stainless-steel containers like The Elephant Box can help save money and the environment. They are also BPA and phthalate free! We would also recommend ditching the plastic water bottles and getting a steel or bamboo one that you can reuse (plus it’s BPA free). Unfortunately, plastic bottles are massive contributor to the plastic pollution problem. There are over 150 plastic bottles littered per each mile of UK beaches.
Protect your skin
Sun at a UK festival may be a rare sight, but we would definitely recommend taking sun cream. Even if it’s not sunny, it’s important to always wear SPF to protect your skin from damaging UV rays. Eco friendly sun cream doesn’t compromise on performance! We love this organic, ocean-friendly, fragrance-free, cruelty-free and natural sun cream from Green People.
We hope this list will help you to have an Eco-friendly festival experience! Do you have any recommendations for Eco-friendly festival essentials? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @totmorganic!
