20 Tips For Living a More Eco-Friendly Life

One of JOLYN’s primary goals in partnering with the Surfrider Foundation, aside from bringing you this sweet new collaboration swimsuit, is bringing their expertise on protecting and enjoying our ocean and coasts to you! So, we asked our friends at Surfrider to weigh in on some simple ways to make our lives a little more sustainable and ocean-friendly, and we came up with the following list. Try these out for yourself and let us know how it goes!
Learn more about our Surfrider partnership here >>
1. Consider switching to refillable home and personal care products
Avoid buying a new (typically plastic) bottle of shampoo, conditioner, astringent, cleaning products, etc, every time you run out.
There are so many great refillable companies out there and some may even be local to you!
2. Say no to disposable 🚯
Plastic and foam plates, bowls, knives, forks, spoons— you don’t need them. Reduce single-use plastics by bringing your own reusable plates and cutlery from home wherever possible if you’re grabbing or bringing food on the go.
**Please note: Some places are restricting the use of reusables due to COVID-19 concerns at this time. Surfrider is working in many regions to ensure that rollbacks on single-use plastic regulations are not a long-term solution, but at present, this is not allowed everywhere.
3. Opt for alternative single-use plastic like glass or aluminum when shopping, wherever possible.
Reducing single-use plastics is extremely important for the health of our planet.
4. Consider switching out all your light bulbs to more energy-efficient options 💡
5. Carpool it up 🚗
6. Ride your bike 🚲
7. Unplug electronics you are not using 🔌
8. Get some reusable bags 🛍
Whether it's bags for bulk-buying, storing or freezing your food, or keeping cosmetics and electronics dry and sand-free at the beach...
9. Bring your own cup/thermos to the coffee shop or wherever possible ☕️
There are sooooo many fun options out there, including these ones made with love for your by JOLYN >>
10. Skip the straw
Cutting out this small item can help cut back on single-use plastics in a big way.
11. Get yourself a reusable water bottle🚰
Throw some ice cubes and some tap water into your reusable water bottle and you’re good to go! It just so happens that JOLYN makes some pretty great ones.
12. Avoid buying bottled water!
There are too many amazing and easy to use water filtration systems available. Or just get yourself a filter-pitcher combo to keep in your refrigerator! They even come in fun colors!
13. Consider installing a water-efficient showerhead 🚿
14. Speed up your showers
We know it seems nice to just let the warm water hug you for 20 minutes straight, but it's even nicer to save water.
15. Hang dry your laundry!
16. Consider the amount of product you’re using
Do you really need to fill your entire hand with shampoo or conditioner? Probably not. Try starting small and adding from there to learn how much you actually need.
17. Baking or cooking in the oven? No more aluminum foil or parchment paper necessary! 🧁
18. When storing your leftover food, skip the plastic wrap
Switch over to organic, reusable wrap made from cotton cloth and beeswax >>*
Or a vegan, beeswax-free version like this one >>
19. Turn the sink off
Whether you're brushing your teeth, washing your face, or washing your hands, try to turn the sink off as frequently as possible. Believe it or not, the sink doesn’t actually have to be on the entire time you do those activities. Save that water!
20. Have all your bills electronically sent 📧
This list may seem a bit overwhelming, but keep in mind you don’t have to make all of these changes at once! Try setting a goal to make 2 small changes in your life per month to help you live a little more environmentally-friendly. Encourage your family and friends to make these changes, so you’re in it together— because we are all in this together! Every little bit helps and if we are all more conscious and make these changes, just imagine how much happier our oceans and planet will be!
*This blog receives a commission for using Amazon products for the recommended items that we shared with you in this blog post. Although we receive a commission for using and linking their products, these recommended items were hand chosen by our JOLYN team.