We are two friends living on opposite coasts (Brooklyn, New York and Santa Monica, California) that share a passion for living a minimal, zero waste lifestyle and on a mission to help others do the same.
Harper. Lives in Brooklyn with a +1. Sassy pup. Matcha. Wine. Whiskey. Cheese. Proscuitto.
Charley. Lives in Los Angeles with a +1. Doofy pup. Coffee. Wine. Whiskey. Cheese. Pasta.
It’s a buy! Overall we have had great experience with Simplici’s Lemongrass & Calendula Bar Soap — it smells INCREDIBLE, and we appreciate that the bars are on the larger and longer-lasting side. Not to mention, it’s palm-oil free, which can be hard to find. It’s ever so slightly more expensive than other bars, but it’s not significant enough to detract us from repurchasing! Plus, we love that it comes in a pack of 6.
BUY. We really enjoyed Kitsch’s Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner bars. The size of the bars is really generous and the scent is lovely. The bars lather really nicely and you don’t need much to get through your hair, for both shampoo and conditioner. Bars are from naturally derived ingredients and natural scents. Our little nitpicks are that the bags were packaged in plastic and that the ingredients may cause reaction in some people (we have been totally fine, fwiw). The cost of the bar bundle is the cheapest one that we’ve reviewed and competes with drugstore brands. Overall, we are excited about trying the other two bars that Kitsch has available.
It’s a mixed buy. Overall we have had a positive experience with rE: Dish Washing Soap Bar (Citrus) - but we’re not convinced that its our favorite option. Dish soap bars are generally much less expensive than liquid dish soap, and this is certainly true here, but rE: Dish Washing Soap Bar doesn’t stand out in terms of affordability, and it also didn’t deliver like we thought it would in terms of scent (we expected citrus, but it is basically unscented). However, from a pure utility standpoint, it cleaned our dishes well!
MIXED BUY — but know you will be paying a premium. We really like that most of the lotion is absorbed into our skin, which has been hard to find. The scent is very subtle: while we typically like that, given the price point, we would almost treat the Kate McLeod Daily Stone as a solid, moisturizing perfume. We also really like that it is completely zero waste that there are only a handful of ingredients — and no chemicals.
NOT a buy. Petal’s Zero Waste Hand Soap cost is a bit too high for hand soap. We really like that it is zero waste and truly eliminates a lot of carbon emissions by being so lightweight. Additionally, we enjoy the light scent that relies on natural essential oil.
We like Truman’s humorous brand, but their dishwasher bars did not do anything more for us to warrant the price premium.
We are BIG fans of Phlur’s Ameline fragrance! While certainly more of a ‘splurge’ purchase, we think there’s a genuine quality of ingredients that translate to a better perfume here. We appreciate their clean ingredients, packaging, and their commitment to giving back.
It depends! For the commitment-phobes, Hammond Herbs nets you the same cost per year without a subscription — while you would need to subscribe to Native to get the same price. On the other hand, if you like necessities showing up without having to think, then a subscription to the plastic free, zero waste (love, love) Native deodorant might be for you. One minor flaw, which we pointed out earlier, is that the push up part of the deodorant does not actually stay up. So, you are actively pushing as you apply! A little annoying, but we’ll take it that over white marks any day.
Buy. We LOVE Oseque Korean Enzyme Powder Facial Wash. The enzyme powder is incredible at cleaning out dead skin cells and impurities, face feels softly exfoliated and clean. And for how little you need to lather for each wash, 1 bottle goes a long way.
BUY. We love how HiBAR Maintain Shampoo and Conditioner makes our hair feel. We know that both components of the set are worth their while since we forgot to rinse with vinegar once and our hair was still silky smooth and lovely. The shampoo bars are plastic-free, zero-waste, and come in compostable/recyclable packaging. Ingredients are natural and use essential oil for fragrance. As a set, the duo is very affordable and has a flexible subscription model (though it’s not necessary). We are excited to try the other 2 types of hair washes.
byHumankind loses points for a (very light but) slightly weird smell and residue. Wild also gets points off for residue (come on guys). Myro and Public Goods (not zero waste) win the scent and texture game (silky!) but not the price (Myro) or zero-waste (Public Goods) game.
Since all of the refillable or zero-waste options are already crazy expensive compared to drugstore brands, if we had to pick one, we would pick Hammond Herbs given its decent texture, no residue, light scent, and zero-waste.
Kuchenprofi Dish Washing Brush is a zero waste alternative to the typical plastic dish washers. Love it.
Verdict: Maybe. If you want to subscribe to the brand/really like byHumankind, then the Blood Orange Bergamot Body Wash bar is a good option. Overall, we like the byHumankind’s mission of reducing plastic waste and limiting ingredients. Unfortunately, at $15 per bar, this is the most expensive body wash bar we’ve reviewed thus far — but even then, byHumankind is cheaper than the cheapest liquid body wash when you calculate it on an annual basis.
BUY. We love Seventh Generation as a company and love many of their great products — including the powdered hand wash. We like that it doesn’t dry out hands and you only need a little sprinkle to get clean. The one drawback is that you need both hands to use the canister, unlike soap pumps (we may be spoiled here). We look forward to Seventh Generation’s upcoming refills for their products since the price will come down even further, while keeping the same canister.
Sadly, we are a no on byHumankind’s Shower Routine. Given that we are iffy on 2/3, we are a no on the whole kit.
MIXED buy. For starting on a greener journey, the Brandless Bamboo TP is fine. The paper is made out of more sustainable ingredients and it is cheaper than standard Quilted Northern. Additionally, if you are already on the Grove Collaborative site, you can pop this TP package in your cart without sacrificing much space in your home or apartment. The drawbacks are the tissue paper feel , smaller individual rolls, and plastic packaging.
Mixed BUY. Personally, we are really liking the scents available at Siblings and we will likely subscribe. We tried No01 (loved it) and sniffed the bag of the No04 (smells like winter holidays). These refillable candles cost more than drugstore candles like Mrs. Meyers, but the scent is really quite nice. Pillar candles like Aroma Naturals are going to be even more earth friendly, but we do like the variety that Siblings offers. Plus we have so many empty candle jars.
NOT a buy. We like the zero-plastic effort, especially with zero-waste and biodegradable concentrate packaging for the hand soap. Unfortunately, being a little tricky to use and pretty expensive did not make up for good ingredients, clever packaging, and lovely lemongrass soap scent.
If unbleached is an important feature (it makes it even more green and sustainable), then Package Free Bamboo toilet paper is a BUY. The one drawback of this toilet paper is that it’s middle of the range when it comes to price. For a comparison of all of our sustainable toilet papers, check out our Big Bamboo Toilet Paper Roundup.
EC30’s zero waste laundry swatches are INSANELY expensive. It’s smells great, and looks cute, but it will literally break your bank. We cannot recommend for everyday use — but perhaps it can be used for travel.
