From avoiding cruises to skipping elephant rides to using towels more than once, travelers have a huge number of opportunities to travel responsibly. But an ethical trip can start before you even leave home, when you’re deciding what to bring with you.
Below are our top items to pack to be a more eco-friendly traveler. Some of them are probably things you regularly use at home, but (if you’re like us) you might not always think to bring them on a trip.
Contents
Water Bottle
Hydration is critical when you’re traveling in hot climates or doing anything active – but that doesn’t mean you need to buy bottled water. Plastic water bottles might be small, but they’re big offenders when it comes to environmental damage.
They’re usually made from crude oil and require more resources to transport them around the world, not to mention that it actually takes three liters of water just to produce a one-liter bottled water.
And what happens once the bottle’s empty? In most cases, developing countries don’t have the infrastructure to recycle plastic bottles (which is a costly and energy-intensive process anyway), meaning they get tossed in the trash – and then sit in landfills basically forever, or end up in the ocean, where 8 million tons of plastic trash gets dumped every year.
Avoiding bottled water is one easy way to reduce your environmental footprint when you travel; just pack a reusable water bottle like this stainless steel one from Klean Kanteen and refill it with tap water. Bonus: you’ll save money, too!
Water Treatment System
Of course, in plenty of places, the water isn’t safe to drink and you can’t simply fill up your bottle from a sink or water fountain. Buying bottled water might seem like the only option, but consider bringing your own means of water treatment.
If you’re planning on doing any camping and will be drinking water straight from a source, you may need an actual water filter. Otherwise, try a SteriPEN, which is a stick that uses ultra-violet light to kill the microbes that cause waterborne illnesses; it only takes 90 seconds to sterilize a liter of water!
Better yet, double up with the first item and get a water bottle with a built-in UV sterilizer, which doesn’t take up any extra space and is super convenient to use. We use this sterilizing bottle from CamelBak.
Insulated Bottle
Like plastic water bottles, to-go coffee cups are a big source of waste. While coffee cups are mostly paper, which seems relatively innocuous, they’re usually lined with plastic – otherwise, they wouldn’t be waterproof. While people often toss their cups in recycling bins, they’re not actually recyclable except at specialized facilities (which you’re probably not likely to encounter while traveling).
Fortunately, insulated water bottles are an easy replacement for disposable coffee cups. Just pack your own bottle, and have it filled up whenever you want a hot drink to go – many coffee shops will even give you a discount for bringing your own container, so it’s really a win-win. I just got this HydroFlask bottle and am looking forward to trying it out.
Toiletries
If you’re trying to save space in your bag (and make sure you get through airport security), it can be tempting to leave all your toiletries at home and rely on the mini bottles of shampoo and lotion at your hotel.
But while those are convenient, the bottles and leftover product usually get thrown out once they’ve been opened, so using them creates unnecessary waste. Cut down on waste and on plastic trash by bringing your own toiletries when you travel.
Speaking of which, I’m still on the hunt for refillable travel-sized bottles that don’t leak. If you made it to your last destination without finding a bag full of shampoo-soap-lotion goo upon arrival, please tell me your secret!
Cloth Bag
Traveling often means shopping – for souvenirs, snacks, random things you forgot to bring, even toilet paper. And unless you’re in a country where they’re banned (like Rwanda – seriously!), you’ll probably amass a number of plastic bags.
Ugh: plastic bags are made from non-renewable resources, don’t break down in landfills, and release dangerous chemicals. In developing countries like India and Bangladesh, they’ve even been blamed for exacerbating floods.
To avoid being part of this problem, pack a reusable cloth bag to use for shopping when you travel. Ryan is obsessed with his Trek Light Eco Tote Bag; they’re made out of leftover fabric from the company’s hammocks (win!), are super durable, and can hold pretty much an infinite amount of weight (at least in our experience).
Food Storage Container
Whether you’re hiking, road tripping, or heading to the airport, it can be convenient to throw some snacks in a Ziploc bag to take along. For greener snacking, use a small food storage container instead of a plastic bag.
While the Tupperware of your childhood might be the default, it’s of course plastic and made from crude oil, so it’s only a half-step better than Ziploc bags. Fortunately, there are plenty of Tupperware alternatives (besides the too-heavy-for-travel glass options) out there now, like these Klean Kanteen canisters.
Silverware
When you’re eating street food or take-out, the default is almost always to grab a plastic fork or spoon, which then gets thrown out after one use. Even worse, many places give out those little bags with a full set of plastic silverware and even salt and pepper packets, which usually means opening a bag for the fork you actually need and tossing the rest without even using it.
Bring your own silverware on your travels, and you’ll continue to cut down on your waste. Regular silverware is heavy and awkward to carry, but this post has a bunch of travel-friendly bamboo and stainless steel options. (Personally, I’d skip the fork that has a “knife” on one edge, unless you want to cut the inside of your mouth, and not actually be able to slice or chop that efficiently.)
This one’s a practical point, too. How many times have you wanted to have something to eat in your hotel room, only to realize you had nothing to eat it with? Bring silverware with you, and you’ll be ready when hunger strikes!
Many countries don’t have great (or any) trash management systems, so generating a bunch of garbage during a trip really puts a burden on the local – and global – environment. Anything you can bring with you that isn’t plastic and replaces using disposable items on the road is a step toward reducing your footprint.
How do you make your travel eco-friendly? Are any of these items on your packing list?
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Wayfaring Sarah says
The water treatment system is a great idea!! I always marvel at the amount of bottled water I buy in countries where you can’t drink tap water – using a treatment system would completely resolve that! I do cloth bags and water bottles so not too bad! Definitely going to try and implement more of these things.
Jen Ambrose says
Thanks so much, I’m glad this was useful! It’s amazing how many bottles of water you can go through on a trip. I didn’t mention this in the post, but the LifeStraw is another option – I have some friends who swear by it.
siddharthandshruti says
We always carry cloth bags and water bottles when we travel. Had never thought of silverware. Great ideas. Thanks for the list.
Jen Ambrose says
Thanks so much! Silverware definitely isn’t an obvious one. We actually just recently purchased a set of bamboo silverware to travel with, which I’m looking forward to trying out.
thriftytrails says
My trick for leaky toiletry bottles is to use a piece of a plastic bag or plastic wrap and put it on the open bottle top and then twisting the cap on. This has worked 100% of the time for me. I still need to get myself a cloth bag but in the meantime I’ve been using my day pack to carry things I buy while traveling.
Jen Ambrose says
Thanks so much for the tip, I’m definitely going to try that!
aroundthecompass says
Great post with plenty of advised to keep in mind next time while travelling. Reducing waste is really important for our planet, people should be more educated on this subject. Thanks for sharing.
Jen Ambrose says
Thank you, I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Shona Grant says
Great post and you’re right, everything you’ve mentioned we all use at home but I’ve never thought to pack silverware or my regular water bottle. I still haven’t worked out small cosmetic containers that don’t leak either.
Jen Ambrose says
Thank you! Some of those things didn’t occur to me for quite a while, either.
bigdogtravelblog says
This is a really important post. Living in the city in Portland, Or reminds us of how gross people are when they litter around the city. It’s crucial to educate people on reducing waste to help save our planet. Love this one.
Jen Ambrose says
Thank you so much!
Stephanie (1AdventureTraveler) says
Great tips on how to travel Ecco Friendly. Some I wouldn’t think of taking but they are now on my packing list. Like cloth bags, water bottle with UV filter. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Jen Ambrose says
Thanks for reading, I’m so glad you found it helpful!
feetdotravel says
Such a thoughtful post! As people who travel, whether this be long term or on holidays/short breaks, it is our responsibility to try and be more responsible and try to make less of a harmful impact on the country we are visiting. I always carry a cloth bag around with me and try and refill wherever possible (it’s good to see that in some parts of the world, establishments are charging less money to refill your bottle of water than if you buy a new one which is encouraging!). Keep the great ideas coming, we could all do with a gentle reminder from time to time no matter how eco we hope we are 😀 #feetdotravel
Jen Ambrose says
Thank you so much, I appreciate it! It’d definitely great to see places charging less to refill a bottle, I hope that practice continues to spread.
Travel Lexx says
Great post and very important to play our part in sustainable travel and to ensure that we live the places we visit as we expect to find them! Really important post – thanks for sharing!
Jen Ambrose says
Thanks so much for reading, I’m glad you liked it!
Tracy Collins says
Great ideas! Not sure if you have the shop called Lush in America but they make environmentally friendly toiletries in bar form so we take shampoo conditioner etc etc as solid bars which saves on all those little bottles! #feetdotravel
Jen Ambrose says
Yes, we do have Lush in the US – I love their products! And that’s a great tip, thank you!
Ashley Renne (@TravelLushes) says
I’m big in eco friendly travel and never thought about bringing my own silverware. That’s a good one, I’ll have to try that next time.
Jen Ambrose says
I didn’t think of it until pretty recently myself 😉 Thanks for reading!
ajauntwithjoy says
I love this post! I always struggle with being fully eco-friendly though, because I seasonally work on cruise ships. I blog about travel and the outdoor lifestyle and try to focus on eco-friendly products and practices too, but I feel it’s a bit hard to avoid working the cruises when I desperately need the money lol Great ideas in here though!
Jen Ambrose says
Thanks, Joy! That’s a good point about cruises – have you seen any cruiselines making efforts to be more eco-friendly? Or do you hear people on cruises voicing concern about their impacts? I’d be curious to hear more about your experiences!
Katie Dickinson says
I definitely stock up on Ziploc bags for my trips. I try not put foods in them that will be super messy so I can reuse the, Or- occasionally I’m that strange hostel roommate who has washed out her plastic bags and is drying them on the bedposts lol
Jen Ambrose says
Haha! I’m picturing that scene in a hostel dorm 🙂 That’s a great point about reusing though, definitely a step up from using once and tossing!
Rachel says
I was just thinking of buying a travel sized silverware set for my next trip. I always been a huge reusable water bottle fan and HATE plastic bags but sometimes I feel a little hypocritical eating fast food and things that create so much waste.
Jen Ambrose says
I hear you! Whenever we order takeout, I’m shocked (every time!) by the amount of waste it creates.
Amandas_Wanderlust says
All very good advice (and not just when travelling)! Nice post.
Jen Ambrose says
Thanks so much, Amanda!
Chasa Fulkerson says
Very nice list! I am all for not littering, and since I have moved out and have my own place. I like to recycle! I never thought to do it while traveling though!
Jen Ambrose says
Thanks, Chasa! It’s funny how things we don’t give a second thought to at home can go out the window during trips. We’re spoiled with how easy it is to recycle here in Boston, but it can definitely take a little more effort/searching in lots of other places.