If you are setting yourself the next goal: "zero waste in my bathroom", here is an article that is sure to interest you. Knowing how to reduce your waste is trending and attracting more and more people; limiting waste production through simple actions is not that complicated, as long as we rethink the way we consume, and the planet certainly won't complain.
Indeed, we don't pollute for the fun of it. Simply put, our consumer society offers us practical household products that are easy to get, but not always made in what is called "eco-friendly.
With a bit of research, it isn't hard to find a few cleaner alternatives to use in our homes and thus move toward the zero-waste approach room by room.
You can start reducing your waste with small, very simple actions to put in place, such as sticking a no-junk-mail sticker on your mailbox, setting aside a jar for used batteries to be thrown away in sorting bins, thus helping waste processing.
In this article, we will address the following question: how do I switch to zero waste in my bathroom? 😉
What eco-friendly materials should I choose for my bathroom?
Let's start with the basics. We will cover eco-friendly utensils and accessories at the end of the article. If you are in the process of building or remodeling your bathroom and want to give it an eco-friendly touch, here are 5 points to consider for an eco-friendly bathroom:
- An environmentally friendly wall covering
- An eco-friendly floor covering
- An eco-friendly and economical sink
- An eco-friendly bathtub / An eco-friendly shower stall
- Furniture and lighting
An environmentally friendly wall covering
For the walls, you will have to choose between 3 options:
- fully wood cladding
- paint
- tiles
Wood cladding
Covering your walls with a noble material like wood will certainly bring an unmistakable charm as well as a very popular exotic feel in bathrooms. For more information, I invite you to read our article: Bamboo Decorations, where you will certainly find a multitude of ideas to rethink your decor from floor to ceiling.
Eco-friendly paint
If your choice is paint, there is one thing to check to make sure it can be called "eco-friendly."
Indeed, conventional paints contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds). These are responsible for indoor pollution. Choose a paint with the NF Environment label or Ecolabel which emits a reduced level of these VOCs.
New natural paints based on oil and natural pigments are also available. These paints are made without any resin derived from the oil industry.
Tip: to have healthy indoor air, choosing the right paint is important. However, there are many elements to consider regarding the microparticles released into our homes.
Indeed, our clothes release this kind of particle, as do the fumes from our kitchen. To address this, I encourage you to get what is called an air purifier. A few drops of essential oils and these devices diffuse a healthy scent and purify the air in our homes polluted by these organic volatile compounds.
Eco-friendly tiles
The charm that tiles bring to a bathroom is a symbol of cleanliness and elegance. There are bathroom tiles made of natural porcelain stoneware offering a wide choice of imitations such as: concrete, wood, old stone, etc.
Also know that some major retailers offer tiles made with 100% recycled materials.
What flooring should I choose for my eco-friendly bathroom?
We won't hide it from you: wood coverings like bamboo or teak bring an exotic, authentic, and contemporary touch. The cost can be a barrier depending on your budget, €35 per linear m2 on average.
These two materials have the advantage of being very durable and rot-proof. However, whatever material you choose, make sure the material supply chain is FSC-certified
Which eco-friendly sink?
If we assume that you are also changing your sink and looking for one that is eco-friendly, we strongly recommend choosing the Zen Garden sinks. Ingeniously designed, they have the feature of being equipped with a water-collecting groove that channels water to a reservoir. If you have a houseplant installed there, it will be watered by this flow.
This type of sink is available in DIY stores in several shapes and colors.
It is the ultimate eco-friendly sink! 🥉
Tip: I encourage you to install a water saver on all the faucets in your home. These small accessories are easy to install and are a good way to do something for the environment while saving money.
My eco-friendly bathtub
Although taking a bath is not an eco-friendly thing to do. For those who can't do without a good hot bath, know that some bathtubs are more eco-friendly than others.
Indeed, bathtubs made of recyclable Plasticryl (recycled material) were designed by the company Aquamass, which offers their eco-friendly bathtubs in a wide range of colors (blue, green, red...) for €1590.
This same company has also created bathtubs made of teak planks. It goes without saying that this bathtub model, called Zendera, will bring an exceptionally exotic touch to your bathroom. Nevertheless, you will have to pay a price for this model, which comes to around €10,000.
You can always start by getting an eco-friendly bathtub mat as well as a bamboo bathtub tray; that will be much more affordable and just as exotic.😉
Eco-friendly shower stall
For fans of a quick and efficient shower, let us introduce the multi-function shower stall Escopa.
With a sleek, minimalist design, this stall is both eco-friendly and economical. It comes with 5 noteworthy options:
- closed-loop water recycling system
- hydromassage system
- pressure control for the overhead shower and nozzles
- removable pine seat
- anti-limescale handheld showerhead
It is equipped with a recycling mode that saves you an average of 20% on the amount of water normally used by a standard shower.
Furniture and lighting
Here is the most enjoyable part! We are leaving the construction phase; the choice of shower stall or bathtub has been made. The floor and wall coverings too. So now we will move on to the decor. 😀
As you will have understood, to have a eco-friendly bathroom, you must first eliminate all polluting and non-recycled materials. Your furniture choices should therefore focus on storage units, cabinets, and chests of drawers made from natural materials such as teak, pine, beech, and last but not least, the star of our site, bamboo
You can easily find furniture like this in the showrooms of retailers such as Castorama and Leroy Merlin. However, the specialists in this field are Westwood and Ladeco.
The choice of lighting is very important. Indeed, it helps harmonize and enhance all rooms in general. The bulb's brightness matters; warm, soft light is appreciated in bathrooms. Although LED spotlights are often preferred, I recommend taking a look at our lighting collection below.
Our Palmier™, Flotté™, and Grange™ bamboo lights will fit perfectly into your bathroom.
Utensils and accessories for an eco-friendly bathroom
We invite you to visit our "eco-friendly bathroom accessories" collection, where you will find our range of products made from bamboo.
In the same category, I recommend taking a look at the site Slow cosmétique which offers washable and reusable two-sided towels and wipes, as well as makeup remover pads with the same properties. Getting this kind of product, originally disposable, in a reusable version is a good way to reduce household waste as much as possible.
I also invite you to rethink your cleaning and hygiene products: soap, shower gel, toothpaste, shampoo, laundry detergent, dish soap etc.
To that end, we have written a "FREE zero-waste PDF book" in which we cover the zero-waste lifestyle in all its forms.
You will discover a host of tips and tricks, old-fashioned recipes, and practical DIY recipes (do it yourself). Make your own household and hygiene products using natural ingredients that are easy to find, such as Marseille soap, baking soda, white vinegar, coconut oil, and shea butter...etc
If, however, you are not comfortable with the idea of making this type of product yourself, know that there are zero-waste bathroom boxes, kits, and gift sets. There you will find all your hygiene and cosmetic products made from natural, environmentally friendly ingredients. You can find these zero-waste kits in certain online stores such as: Lamazuna.
