Eco Friendly | Rebecca TG

5 easy ways to detoxify your body after the Christmas holiday

3 January 2024

Let’s face it, Christmas brings joy and happiness and you spend precious time with family and friends, but how stressful for your body is when you change your diet during this festivity?

5 easy ways to detoxify your body after christmas

These 5 easy ways to detoxify your body are the most simple steps to take if you want to get back on your usual diet, to feel healthy and energetic again. The real aim of this detox is not to lose weight or gain muscles or other, for that you need a stronger body and mind work.

Following this detox, you will finally help your body eliminate toxins. Even though your body is designed to eliminate these toxins by different organs – such as the liver, the kidneys and the skin itself – it won’t mind extra conscious help from the outside too.

Detoxify your body in 5 easy ways

1. Eat Anti-Inflammatory Foods

When we talk about body detox we mainly think about the food we intake to make this process effective, this is why the quality and nutrition of a specific aliment is so important if you want to detoxify your body after Christmas or any stressful period.

5 easy ways to detoxify your body anti-inflammatory food

Anti-inflammatory foods are fibre-rich foods like fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, lean protein, and probiotics that aid gut and liver function. The most anti-inflammatory foods are berries, broccoli, tomatoes, turmeric, green tea, mushrooms, avocado and more.

Avoid strictly fried, sugary, processed foods and red meat. Those foods increase the risk of chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Whole foods in general will help your organism to push away faster unwanted toxins and keep you healthy.

2. Get good sleep

We sometimes tend to forget how important is it to have a good sleeping routine. But let’s just think about it: how can you have a healthy body if you don’t have a healthy mind too? That is why to detoxify your body it is important to get back to a good sleeping routine.

5 easy ways to detoxify your body good sleep

Experts advised that adults sleep about seven to nine hours per night. There are for sure things you need to avoid before bedtime so you can have quality sleep, these are: avoiding stimulants before going to bed (caffeine and alcohol), keeping your room cool, quiet and free of technology screens and trying to have standard sleeping hours.

Sufficient rest will help reduce stress and inflammation so your body can function at its best.

3. Get moving

Simple as that, move your body if you want to detoxify from toxins and get back into your healthy life. Why? Because toxins can be eliminated through the skin too, and as we have our bodies covered with skin one of the 5 easy ways to detoxify your body is by sweating.

5 easy ways to detoxify your body get moving

In this way, your body safely and effectively eliminates heavy metals like nickel, lead, copper, arsenic, and mercury. Regular physical activity also has mental health benefits. Exercise helps you feel less anxious and reduces depression symptoms. So by creating good habits, you can actually modify other bad ones that no longer serve you.

If you can cycle to your job do it, if you can walk to do groceries avoid taking your car for 5 minutes driving. Try to find any excuse to have a daily walk around your neighbourhood, walk on the beach if you can, or go for a hike in a park when you have free time. Stay active your body and mind will only be happy.

4. Stay hydrated

Drinking water is very important, especially if your goal is to detoxify your body after Christmas or a stressful period. The intake of water will help your kidneys flush out toxins, try to drink at least 1.5 liters of water and eat fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of water to help you stay hydrated.

If you want to switch a couple of glasses of water during the day opt for a green tea to improve your blood pressure and cholesterol; or herbal infusion (such as fennel seeds, liquorice, turmeric, dandelion and others). Also, infused water with fruit can be ideal to tempt yourself to drink more try with lemon, cucumber, strawberries, mint, cinnamon, rosemary, apple and so many more. Follow your taste.

5. Eat to please your gut

Last but not least of these 5 easy ways to detoxify your body is definitely keep your gut healthy. Improving your gut health can reduce gastrointestinal issues, it is also key in supporting and regulating body functions and keeping your systems running healthily. Very important is also the connection and the impact on the brain, in fact, a healthy gut promotes and supports good mood and mental wellness.

Always prefer whole foods, particularly fermented foods and fibre-rich foods like vegetables and fruit. Probiotics and prebiotics are both playing their role in your gut – and in your detoxification journey – so consider consuming these foods during this period and integrating them into your diet after the detox.

Some examples of probiotics are fermented foods such as Kombucha, yoghurt, kefir, sour kraut, kimchi and tempeh.

A good amount of prebiotics can be found in these foods: artichokes, garlic, mushrooms, banana, peas, asparagus and much more.

Potential risks and side effects

Most of the detox plans you can find online require drastic changes to your body that are not often good. Because your body can eliminate toxins by itself even when you had a good period of stress, these 5 easy ways to detoxify your body after Christmas are just guidelines to help your body do a better job of eliminating toxins.

detox, detoxifying, detoxify-4232110.jpg

This is not a restrictive plan, in fact, these 5 steps to detoxify are easy to follow and mainly good habits to keep with you to have a healthier lifestyle for the rest of your life.

Avoiding refined sugar, meat, alcohol, fried and processed food is not just a good way to eliminate toxins faster is just a good habit to maintain your body and mind in healthy conditions. The same is true for the seven to nine hours of sleep, for the daily walk or workout we might need to include in our routine and for the importance of drinking water every day of our life.

Do you want an extra way to stay healthy? Try meditation, it won’t fix your problems but it will help you be more aware of yourself and your choices.

5 easy ways to detoxify your body after the Christmas holiday Read More »

Last-minute Christmas presents | Eco-friendly and ethical gift for your loved ones

19 December 2023

Oh no! Christmas is in 5 days and you haven’t finished buying the Christmas gift for your friends and family. No problem here are 5 easy and foolproof simple yet, unique and eco-friendly presents.

I know how you feel, it happens to me very often too, especially cause I always try to avoid the crowds in the city or buy something useless for this holiday. I’m not a big fan of shopping centres and main streets, during this time of the year. People get mad about getting so many presents for their loved ones, that is a bit overwhelming if you don’t like to get into the Christmas presents rush time.

5 ideas for eco-friendly Christmas presents to make your friends and family more conscious during this festivity

Christmas is definitely one of the biggest festivities of the year, of course not all over the world, but as many as 161 countries all over the globe take part in this holiday (around 80%).

Let’s be honest even though a good part doesn’t really follow this religion, they all love Christmas and the vibes that it brings. Family and friends gather together to have a good time, maybe someone travels from one country to the other just for this reason, maybe someone spends this day in another country they always wanted to visit.

Despite this, one of the main things about Christmas time is the Christmas presents that we exchange during this day. Unfortunately not all of them – correct me if I’m wrong most of them – are not really useful and conscious gifts. Let’s be honest, they last very little, they are not even liked or they end up in a box in your storage.

To avoid this Christmas presents failure and hit your loved ones with the best gift you definitely need to know them a little just to understand what that person might really need or like.

Here are some simple yet eco-friendly and enjoyable Christmas presents for you to do.

1 Book

Even though it might sound so simple, a book as a Christmas present is nearly always a good idea. Nowadays you have so many options in books that the person you are handing this gift doesn’t really need to be a big reader. It’s not only about romance, classics and non-fiction books. A book can be also a cooking book, a photography one, wine or any other thousands of topics that that person might be into.

book christmas present Eco-friendly and conscious gift — _{Photo thebetterearthlings}

If you have a friend or some member of your family who’s willing to start the year in a greener and more eco-friendly way, the choices here are many and this will help them find a good and efficient way to do it! So check it up at your nearest bookshop for this kind of book and pack it yourself with some old newspaper. Original and different from the boring red paper wrap.

Here are some ideas for eco-friendly books…

2 Candle

Anyone here who doesn’t like candles? Mmm, I bet it’s difficult right? So go out and search for the scent you like the most.

Soy wax is better and remember to give priority to local businesses to support them too. You can find good ethics shops usually in markets, by asking your friends if they know someone who does homemade candles.

soy candles christmas present Eco-friendly and conscious gift — _{Photo Rosefoxcandle}

Also, did you know how simple is to make candles yourself? You will literally need only soy wax flakes, jars, wicks, essential oils and dye if you want them coloured. Here is the simple process for you to enjoy making this Christmas present so special for your loved ones and why not, for you too.

3 Experience

Yes, that’s right. Gift an experience. You have that friend who always says to you they would like to try skydiving or food or wine tasting or go to that concert. It is your time then to make your move and buy the tickets as a Christmas present for them.

wine experience christmas present Eco-friendly and conscious gift — _{Photo Nationalwinecentre}

The ideas here are so many, of course, you might need to know that person well, but in the end who doesn’t like to do something new? Experiences rather than things are a beautiful way to spend good time together and learn and try new things. Even a simple guided tour in your own city can be a good thing to do. Food lovers can enjoy a good dinner at that restaurant they always wanted to try. Someone that you love looks like needs some relaxing time, so book a day in a spa. Or maybe you are a group and you want to try an escape room, enjoy this time together that’s the key to this fantastic Christmas present.

4 Gift a Tree

“We are living in a material world and I’m a material girl” Madonna sings. Indeed we are, but you can just make your little and do something good for the planet. So for this Christmas why don’t you plant a tree for that dearest family member?

Treedom is the first platform in the world that allows you to plant a tree from a distance and follow the story of the project online. Founded in Florence back in 2010, they planted, more than 4.000.000 trees in Africa, South America and Italy. Their philosophy is to realize sustainable ecosystems and allow thousands of farmers to support the initial costs of planting new trees, ensuring food autonomy and income opportunities over time.

plant a tree christmas present Eco-friendly and conscious gift — _{Photo Jim’stree}

Facing climate change for years now, you can do your little and gift it to anyone. Trees are very important for the environment we live in, by planting a tree CO2 emissions can be absorbed by them and make the world better. Of course, make sure to do your part in reducing these emissions too.

5 Worth wearing T-shirt

Do you want to gift something special to your friends and family? Last but not least this is another idea for a Christmas present.

Worth Wearing, is an online platform that promotes and supports causes for NGOs, associations or single individuals and funds their ideas by selling customized T-shirts. All T-shirts are eco-friendly certified, made from soft organic cotton, supplied by Continental Clothing, printed with the newest printing technology “Direct To Garment” and water-based non-toxic colours.

worth wearing tshirt christmas present Eco-friendly and conscious gift — _{Photo Worthwearing}

You can create your T-shirt style by using their platform, they aim to create a widespread social awareness network based on e-commerce and provide customers with a way to support and simultaneously spread their causes. As well you can also support one of the existing causes by browsing their website and seeing that maybe your idea is already on one of their T-shirt.

Based in Rome they do shipping in Italy and overseas, so they got you covered. Their website is in Italian but they will be happy to help you understand and create your own style, don’t hesitate to contact them or write me a comment below to support you with the process.

These are my 5 Christmas present ideas for a more conscious and eco-friendly way to share your love through a gift during this festivity.

I hope you like them and I will be delighted to know which one is your favourite, if you have other ideas for Christmas presents leave a comment to share with me and other readers.

Did you enjoy this article and do you want to start your eco-friendly journey? Read these too

Little Steps to go Plastic-free | 5 easy ways to make big changes

Zero-waste travel kit | 10 must-pack essential

Last-minute Christmas presents | Eco-friendly and ethical gift for your loved ones Read More »

The unsustainable hospitality industry: 5 hard truths you wish you didn’t know!

5 December 2023

It might sound like the most significant trend – and maybe it is – but finally, sustainability in the hospitality industry has started to be a big thing in recent years. People inside and outside the business are raising their voices about how unsustainable the hospitality industry is, changing the demand and mutating the offer too.

Being in this world for over 10 years helped me to gather some uncomfortable information and facts about this industry.

I am now ready to share in this article the 5 biggest truths of the unsustainable hospitality world, things you probably wish you didn’t know or things you know but never liked to dwell

What are the main unsustainable truths of the hospitality industry?

1. Food waste

Caused by the overproduction from the kitchen or simply the overordering of clients, the food waste problem is the first truth about unsustainable hospitality.

Most restaurants can’t deal with finishing a specific meal during the service, this means you have to be ahead on the quantity you are going to produce, for the kitchen to guarantee all the dishes offered on the menu. This overproduction, if not regulated well, – with the right ingredients ordering, the specific cooking process, and the right storage – can result an easy waste of food, as the health and safety regulations are straight for hospitality and don’t allow overstorage, wrong cooking temperature, method and more.

food waste from unsustainable hospitality

So to guarantee a full menu a restaurant often has to overproduce (and over-order) some dishes, this can mean throwing away food that never had the chance even to be prepared because it was out of date.

Overordering is also a big problem for food waste, as unfortunately, when people go in a restaurant tent to order more than they can really eat. Obviously, some of them ask for a doggy bag (which will cause another problem, single-use plastic waste) but a large number of people don’t think about this option at all, creating an enormous amount of untouched food coming back to the kitchen and straight going to the bin. And trust me, it is a lot of food going to the bin.

2. Water, electricity and gas overuse

Imagine living in a house where 20 people live. They are at home, awake, from 7 am to midnight, 7 days a week. They have to eat, wash their dishes, clean after themselves, wash the food, watch television, maybe study, work from home and other basic things you do at home. Now imagine these 20 people needing to cook for a 200-sit restaurant.

Restaurants, pubs, cafè and mainly Hotels are all in need to use water, electricity and gas; is this use wisely used or is another sad truth about hospitality? Unfortunately most of the time these sources are not used correctly, they are overused and wasted, creating another reason for hospitality to be an unsustainable environment.

Water, first of all, is used to wash food, cook, clean surfaces and floors, drink, and shower and in some locations, tourism uses over eight times more water per person on average than the local population. I have worked most of my life in restaurants and the times I had to close the tap because the same careless chef left it running for no reason are countless.

Electricity is another issue, since some hotels and restaurants might be using old appliances that consume a lot of energy, or also overusing Air conditioning for the room (this depends on customers too). Of course, some things are difficult to replace if you want to have a specific service and a certain target of clientele; nevertheless, nowadays, the ways to lower usage and overuse are many.

But do they want to be more sustainable?

3. Working hours

Have you ever worked in hospitality? If yes, you probably agree with me when I say that working hours are unsustainable in this environment.

I stand strong for this point even though someone might think is off-topic; I believe mental health and physical health are as important as the planet where we all live. To be good to the environment we need to be good to ourselves as well. One of the main reasons why I chose to move away from my profession and some of the workplaces, is the working hours and how under stress you are to survive in this environment.

We all go to a restaurant and have wonderful food, good service and all the surrounding experience. But are we really aware of what is behind us? Maybe the chefs are working 60-70 hours per week, one day off, starting early morning and finishing late at night, taking care of all the sections by themselves, the ordering and why not also cleaning the floor because the guy who’s the kitchen hand has done 70+ hours this week and he is really tired too.

A Weary Chef Leaning on the Chopping Board - overworking hospitality

I can never forget the times I had to skip a meal or went the whole day without eating, the times I could have 5 minutes to eat my lunch, standing still or sit on a milk tray, all the times I couldn’t go to the toilet whenever I needed too just because no one could take over my section and cover me while I had 5 minutes away.

These hard truths are real life for many chefs (and front of house) around the world and unfortunately, there are people who really need that job so they can be afraid to speak up for their rights.

Are hospitality people really protected as workers from the laws? How unsustainable can hospitality be for employees?

4. Use of non-seasonal ingredients and far-away goods

While some restaurants, cafes or pubs might like to change their menu every 3 months or so, most of them stick to the same menu all year around or so. By keeping the same menu over the 12 months the business is destroying one of the most natural circles of life we have from the most ancient times.

Being in a certain season, such as winter, summer, spring or autumn we are driven by nature to consume certain ingredients rather than another one. For example during autumn vegetables such as pumpkin, beetroot, broccoli and many other, are naturally grown and gives us the nutrients we need for this specific season. Different to the summer season when we get zucchini, eggplant, lettuce and other fresh foods with the right nutrients.

The quality of seasonal fruit and vegetables is better, so too is the effect it has on our bodies and health. Out-of-season produce is often picked early so that it can be shipped and distributed from around the world, creating massive transport pollution, and an overproduction of fresh vegetables and fruit from the other side of the world, only to please those customers that love to eat a cherry pie during winter!

Unseasonal food and nonlocal is one of the main reason why hospitality can be so unsustainable these days. Eating local and seasonal foods reduces the carbon footprint associated with long transportation routes and refrigeration for foods that aren’t available during certain seasons and therefore need importing.

5. Single-use plastic

To be fast and to avoid bigger portions the hospitality business, especially the kitchen, needs to rely on single-use plastic. Portions of fresh pasta, fresh fish for tartar or any other ingredients that need to be weighed to respect the standard of the different dishes are almost a must in most of the kitchens where I worked.

Often or worse, always, the choice of portions for these fresh ingredients are single-use plastic and polystyrene cups, cling film and other similar. The portioning and the plastic sometimes can have a ridiculous lifetime such as a few hours.

coffeetogo, disposable cups, environmental pollution-3926395.jpg

If you want to start avoiding single-use plastic and make big changes for the world we live in, here are my 5 little steps to start a plastic-free journey. By doing a small part you will be able to see a good change in your life and maybe talking to friends and family about the plastic-free journey you can help on a larger scale our planet.

There are many alternatives but unfortunately, not all hospitality businesses are willing to start working on those.

The thing that scared me the most was when I stopped and thought about: “If the place I am working at the moment does this enormous amount of plastic, energy, water and food wastage, what If I think on a larger scale: the restaurant in my city, or worse the restaurant of the country I live in etc.

Only thinking about you will feel overwhelmed but remember you can try to make your difference as a customer too:

avoid fast-food
avoid big restaurant chain
support your local coffee shop, restaurant, local hotel or other simpler accommodation options
avoid overordering food just for the sake of having the dining table full of food, maybe just order a few dishes and see if you can handle to eat a bit more or not
read their menu before going to the restaurant to see if they prefer working with seasonal ingredients or not

I hope this article will help you to be more sustainable at home too, and to always have an eye to avoiding this waste in your daily life.

The unsustainable hospitality industry: 5 hard truths you wish you didn’t know! Read More »

How Maria overturns her life | Finding herself by connecting deeply with Mother Earth.

31 October 2023

An interview with Maria Manno and the importance of reconnecting with Mother Eart via self-production

From Italy to Australia to find her purpose – self-production and the deep connection with Mother Earth – Maria has spent 5 years living in Darwin where she can express her better self. Maria shares her truth and the importance of appreciating the gift Nature give to us every day.

Imagine a vast tropical forest, a woman and her knowledge. Now imagine this woman being able to heal herself by the power of the Flora she has around. This is not a miracle, this is just another wonderful woman who decided to run away from the big city life, the stress it brings and the unhealthy environment, simply to reconnect with our beloved Mother Earth, Pachamama, Terra Mater and find her purpose through self-production.

Maria-picking-papaya-connecting-mother-earth

The story of Maria is simple yet fascinating, another travel woman who has crossed my path during my life in Darwin, Far North of Australia. Someone that I was meant to meet in my life, to enlighten my knowledge and to depend on my connection with Nature.

Hey, thanks for visiting my blog!

Yes, that’s right, I’m an Italian living around the world. If you want to know more about me, come and check this out. Here you can read about me, my story, my path and my interest in living a more eco-friendly lifestyle and sharing travel and food tips with you.

So if you want to understand the importance of slowing down your life and connect with what mother nature has to offer you don’t want to miss this interview with Maria. A young woman who’s self-producing through medicinal and shamanic plants.

Who is Maria Manno?

Born in 1993 in Rome, Maria is the fifth and last kid in her family, “the 5th element of Nature: the ether” as she likes to say. Her southern Catholic family always gave her a connection with religion, which she transformed – later in her life – as the spiritual research of something deep to connect truly herself with Mother Earth and all the many facets of it.

Self production with maria interview who is maria

Maria studied Anthropology at the university, her love and care for cultures got bigger and all the knowledge she could learn through books, teachers and school desks was just the beginning of her journey in this world.

Leaving Italy to expand her experiences. First stop Oregon

After a few years at the university, she decided to leave her studies and start “to meet the living cultures and to live anthropology as a lifestyle; in a curious and open approach to the different way life is lived around the globe”.

In 2017, pushed by her strong curiosity about the world and the need for a break from the chaotic city of Rome, Maria went on a three-month holiday in Oregon state in USA.

Between the Beloved Festival – a festival with a series of devotional offerings to heal the land and each other through shared experiences – and the daily life of this holiday she meets people from all over the world everyone with a different cultural background and distinct experience. Here she started to understand how resourceful and important is to travel: “The opportunities and the resources this journey creates is a personal growth you can only experience if you travel yourself and live it with the body, soul and spirit!”

Maria-in-oregon-beloved-festival-connecting-mother-earth — Maria at Beloved festival doing her make-up

Spurred by the desire to know and learn new cultures and: “you look like someone that has to go to Australia” – a fun quote from one of her friends – pushed her to her next step. The land Down Under.

Searching for a Shaman and finding it through her relationship in Australia

“Abandon yourself to what comes, to take the step that the universe is helping you to achieve.” In 2019 Maria entered Australia, not aware of what this beautiful land deserved for her.

Here is where Maria deepened her connections with Mother Earth, her interest in the Aboriginal Culture, her desire to be self-sufficient by learning more about self-production; and last but not least, Maria found love.

Maria-in-australia-self-product-connecting-mother-earth

In need of a Shaman through her travel journey, Maria meets her partner. The vision of healing with the help of a Shaman mutates as they – as a couple – find in their relationship the actual journey to healing and knowing themselves better within themselves. Maria and her husband now share something deeper than a relationship and this connection is only one of the reasons that keeps her in Australia.

Self-production as a deepened connection with Mother Earth

Maria has always been curious about the benefits we can get from connecting to Nature. Her siblings were a big push for her, as they “conveyed good concepts and important values”.In Rome, she volunteered in a Fairtrade shop she got closer to artisans of any kind, understanding the importance of cooperating and developing through this kind of project. Friends who had better knowledge than her at that time taught her some important things about “agriculture and the help we can get from the land and the infinite sources”.

maria-self-production-interview-in-santiago

As most of the people that leave the big cities to experience life in a smaller reality, like a smaller city or a town, since Maria moved to Darwin – almost 5 years ago – felt the connection with Mother Earth was getting even deeper than it was back in Rome.

The understanding, studying, living and experiences she had in Australia and in Italy, linked Maria in a way she was ready to work together with the many benefits Nature is offering. Disapprovving and refusing the scheme we are given by society and in need of her own personal freedom Maria begins her journey with self-production.

“I got closer to self-production as I am in need of personal freedom and I disapprove of this system that is more focused on doing larger productions, losing the quality of the products, unable to offer locals and seasonal flavours, putting aside the importance of a culture and a tradition, disconnecting us to the real source.”

Self production with maria interview products

“I want to be able to have the freedom to choose the product I use, I want to understand what my body needs, why and when. All of this by creating a direct and close bond to Mother Earth and all the things this world has to offer. Everything I create and use gives me a strong life energy, it motivates me, makes me free and able to create, thanks to the energy coming from the Earth.”

Maria’s goal on this journey with self-production

“Through self-production, I want to establish a true relation and pure connection with Mother Earth; sharing this with others.” The abundance and knowledge of these medicinal plants that have lived with us since very ancient times is a big slice of Maria’s goal through this journey.

As she started with self-production, firstly she realized how good was for her. Discovering the good effects a plant has and how to use it in the best and most effective way.

“Working with chamomille plants gave me a sense of tranquillity, calm, physical and mental well-being; the use and the handling of this gentle plant made me feel like I needed to share these benefits. Starting testing the products with my partner and seeing them benefit him too, I decided to expand my knowledge, passion and final products with others; so I could make other people understand how important is to connect again with Nature. Also thought self-production.”

Maria’s goal with self-production is to expand from personal use to larger-scale use for people in need. To share her knowledge and personal experience with a particular plant and the desire to keep learning from Mother Earth; to be the teacher one day and not only the student.

“In a few months from now, I would like to be able to use only the plants, seeds, flowers and others I am growing, to do my products 100% from my own garden. Is a completely different climate from where I come from, so the plants I can grow in the Northern Territory are definitely different in this tropical climate. More studying and experimenting is in my mind but this won’t stop the bigger vision I see for my self-production for Terra Mater.”

Where can we find Maria and her eco-friendly products?

As today Maria produces a small number of products but the quality of those is what is really important. Her self-production process is slow and attentive to the details and care that a certain final product needs. She produces tincture, slave, balms, bath salt, massage and body oils.

Terra Mater Homemade is the name of her small brand (meaning Mother Earth in Latin).

You can find it on her Facebook page by following this link where you can get in direct contact with her.

If you happen to be in Darwin you can find Maria’s products at De la Plage, a lovely and relaxing cafe along Casuarina Coastal Reserve, they offer to Maria a little space to sell some of her favourite products. Every Sunday in Nightcliff Market Terra Mater products are hosted in a woman’s stall.

Also, Maria has bigger plans for her projects, a “Terra Mater Homemade” website is in the process to give people in Australia the chance to buy her genuine products simply from her shop. So if you would like to try balms, oils, or tinctures from Terra Mater stay updated here or on her Facebook page. She will be delighted to share her knowledge, and her passion; but mainly the final products she has been working together with Mother Earth to heal us and connect us again with our planet.

How Maria overturns her life | Finding herself by connecting deeply with Mother Earth. Read More »

Zero-waste travel kit – 10 must pack essential

29 August 2023

Summer vacation is hitting the northern hemisphere and most people are enjoying their holiday in coastal Europe, the Americas, warm Asia and tropical Australia.

Where ever you have planned to go this summer don’t forget to be good for the planet and make sure to pack the 10 essential zero-waste travel kit.

My 10 essentials zero-waste travel kit

Sustainability and travel are words that lately don’t go well together, since the main transportation we use to do that seems to be producing a high percentage of CO2 emission; whether it’s from cars, planes or boats. No doubt, to move around and travel we do produce CO2.

Nowadays, travelling seems to be an activity that pleases the pleasure of the most! Since long-distance travel requires creating a big amount of CO2 – meaning being bad for Mother Earth – why don’t we try to compromise and do our best while we travelling?

In this article, I want to share with you my 10 essential zero-waste travel kits, such as products and accessories, that I carry with me on my holiday, long-time travel and eventually what I use in my daily life while travelling on the road.

rebecca Tg, cangaroo and me in australia

Hey lovely readers, welcome to my blog!

Here I share with you my deepest passion and beliefs. If you want to know a bit more about my story and why I opened this blog come to have a look here. I hope you can find more answers to your questions and enjoy your ride through my space on the internet for you.

What’s in my zero-waste travel kit?

1 – My favourite, always number one for at least 10 years now: is a reusable water bottle! Thanks to my family I was never a big fan of single-use plastic bottles, it was never a habit to buy bottled water. Also growing up in Rome gave me the chance to have free water while walking the beautiful city centre, as the “Nasoni” fountains were quenching Romans’s (and non) thirst from 1874.

As the world evolves and we are, finally, understanding that single-use plastic is an avoidable thing, drinkable water sources are getting better. Airports, shopping centres, hiking trails (somewhere), hotels, hostels and lots of other public and private spaces, are trying to make it easier to fill up their own water bottle. So why don’t you give it a try and get that bottle to keep always with you? I have used Hydro Flask 32oz for almost 3 years, it is long-lasting, keeps either cold or hot temperatures for a long time and is easy to wash.

1st essential zero-waste travel kit: water bottle — _{ph Popular Mechanics}

2 – Shampoo and conditioner bars. Since I switched to solid bars I was happy about the results on my hair, but also amazed by the fact I was reducing so much plastic in my beauty routine. So of course this is one of the 10 essential zero-waste travel kits, and guess what? It can be packed in your carry-on luggage without problems since is not a liquid form. You can say goodbye to plastic bottled shampoo and conditioner and especially to the silly 100ml plastic bottle you have to pack in your carry-on luggage (that will probably last you only half of your trip). What’s my best choice? Ethique Curlosity has been an amazing product for my curly hair, the bars last very long and the scent is just delightful.

zero-waste travel kit shampoo & conditioner — _{ph Ethique}

3 – When I think about the summers spent at my grandmother’s, one big memory was the fact that she was using solid body wash to give me and my two brothers a shower. So here you have the third zero-waste product for your travel kit: a body wash bar and body moisturizer bar. As shampoo and conditioner, they are easy to carry and they won’t spill liquid all over your clothes. The many fragrances they come with are endless, just try to make sure to choose a good brand that uses only a few natural ingredients (be good to the planet and look for the sustainability of the ingredients).. or make your own body wash bar with olive oil, water, caustic soda and essential oils.

zero-waste travel kit body wash bars and moisturizer bar — _{ph Sassy Organics}

4 – What’s an essential zero-waste travel kit without a tin container for the solid bars you have to carry in your luggage? They are so helpful when it comes to storing the different bars, they protect them from moisture and allow them to keep their shape and so making them last long. And guess what? You might be able to give a second life to some old tin you already have at home. I am using at the moment T2 tea container and I love it, so colorful and decent size to fit more than two soap bars.

10essential-zero-waste-travel-kit-tin-container

5 – Bamboo or biodegradable toothbrush and plastic-free toothpaste or tablets definitely need to be in this 10 essential zero-waste travel kit. As they might be the first thing you write down on your “things to pack list”, make sure you have a good plastic-free alternative that suits you. My self, I really enjoy using a bamboo toothbrush and creamy toothpaste in a glass jar; but the options here are many. Toothpaste comes also in tablets and powder, while the toothbrush alternatives are bamboo, cornstarch brushes, plastic-free replaceable heads for an electric toothbrush and more…

toothbrush and toothpaste to use for your 10 essential zero-waste travel kit — _{ph Earth bits}

6 – Whether it is a summer or winter holiday the use of sunscreen is always a good idea. But have you ever considered a zero-waste, natural and reef-safe sunscreen? This can help you not only to protect yourself from dangerous UV but also to keep Mother Earth healthier and happier. Check out 11 sunscreen alternatives in this post, so you can choose what is best for you.

Zero-waste and reef-safe sunscreen travel kit — _{ph Sea Shepherd}

7 – Did you know deodorant comes in creams, powder and bars too? And guess they can be added to your zero-waste travel kit and trust me you will only fall in love with these products. Don’t be scared to do the conscious switch but be advised that the natural deodorant can take your body some time to adjust. As the body shower, deodorant creams are so easy to make yourself, the few ingredients you need are Bi-carb, coconut oil or shea butter, a starchy powder and your favourite essential oil.

DIY zero-waste deodorant for your best travel kit — _{ph Treehugger}

8 – A safety razor is the perfect sustainable option for a plastic single-use one. They come with a biodegradable bamboo handle or, the forever-lasting (if you take good care), stainless steel. The only thing that needs to be replaced is the blade once it gets dull; the blades can be recycled safely by collecting them in a safety can with a lid and bringing them to the right recycle centre near your house. They are not dangerous, you will only need to get used to using them and you will love the results and the money saver through the years.

safety razor essential zero-waste kit — _{ph EverEco}

9 – The menstrual cup, period underwear or reusable pads will definitely have to be in your 10 essential zero-waste kit. I have been using a period cup for longer than 4 years now and I wonder why no one ever told me earlier to give it a try. Big money saver, time saver, and so comfortable that you won’t even realize to have it in; this has definitely been one of the best switches I could do over the years. Still, I promote it to my friends and guess what, they are always so thankful for it. Of course, is not 100% zero-waste but it can last so long (around 5 to 10 years) if you take good care. Same for the underwear and reusable pads. Why don’t you give it a try and share your experience?

zero-waste travel kit for your period — _{ph Nikakislinka | freepik}

10 – I personally don’t use make-up, sometimes just a little touch of mascara and that’s it; even though I love to carry with me some reusable make-up removal pads. They are so soft and easy to take care of. Prefer to buy 100% organic cotton and enjoy the softness on your skin while removing your make-up or simply washing your face with it. I like to remove my mascara with a little raw coconut oil; this way not only you will be make-up-free, but you will also hydrate and moisturize your skin. Try it and you will be impressed!

zero-waste travel kit: reusable make-up removal — _{ph Cheekywipes}

This is my personal 10 essential zero-waste travel kit, which I changed a lot during the years; so don’t be afraid to try different soap bars, razors or others to find what’s best fit for you.

As I usually travel long term or better say, I move to another country for at least 6 months (to four years)- for work and leisure -, the zero-waste travel kit has helped me to choose what are my 10 essentials travel kit when I do short trips; making my life easier when it comes to packing my carry-on luggage.

What is the goal of this zero-waste travel kit?

Reducing to zero our carbon footprint is almost impossible when it comes to travel. I am not gonna say impossible as you have still the option to walk or pedal to your destination, camp under the stars, drink from the creek and go hunting for your food; but I guess this is not for everyone. This is the reason why I decided to reduce my waste where I can.

The goal of the 10 essential zero-waste travel kit is in fact to reduce unnecessary waste as much as possible. Starting from plastic water bottles, package-free products and alternatives to other plastic-made accessories, using public transport or sharing rides with Uber or Taxis can be the baby steps everyone can make to lower their carbon emission. If you don’t know where to start with these baby steps here’s the post you are looking for: I share the easiest way to go plastic-free.

I hope you will get the confidence to start your own zero-waste travel kit, to make your trips less pollutant and more Earth-friendly.

What was for you the easier thing to swap for a more sustainable option? Do you have any other accessories you will add to your zero-waste travel kit essential? Share your thoughts in the comments and enjoy your trip!

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Plastic Free July – Take the challenge

1 July 2022

Imagine yourself chilling on the best Caribbean beach, diving Australia’s Great Barrier Reef or even hiking in the white mountains of Switzerland. Now close your eyes and imagine one of these places covered up with single-use plastic… Would you be happy to keep this image on your mind or try to join the Plastic Free July challenge?

The 5 Ws for the Plastic Free July challenge

What is the Plastic Free challenge?

I’m going plastic free next month. Who wants to join me?
Rebecca Prince-Ruiz

The Plastic Free July challenge is an Australian initiative of Plastic Free Foundation Ltd. founded in 2011. Today, eleven years after, this initiative is known and supported globally, as a good way to get closer to this way of living: plastic-free and so respecting our planet. This global movement helps and teaches people to avoid plastic as much as possible for the whole month of July.

Shouldn’t this challenge be a daily routine? Something most of us should be aware on “why” and “how” to refuse plastic in our life?

Rome wasn’t built in a day… perfection doesn’t exist and to start something you need to start from somewhere. As good to take it slowly but with care, I believe, this challenge is what those who are looking to go Plastic-free shall join.

Plastic Free July consists easily of avoiding and refusing single-use plastic and finding a replacement for all the plastic for the future. The actual challenge is quite easy and if your goal is to make it for the whole month, this shouldn’t be impossible, you don’t need to be perfect from day 1.

Today, especially in big cities, plastic is one of the main materials you will see around you. Starting from water bottles to food bags, coffee cups and many more.

So are you ready to take the Plastic Free July challenge and maybe keep the good habits for the long term?

Why refuse and avoid plastic?

The problems with plastic are many – in my previous article on “little steps to go plastic-free“, you can learn 5 easy ways to use less plastic in your daily life. The main issue with this element is that this is made from fossil fuels, and it uses energy and water to be produced; in hundred of years this won’t decompose, the plastic recycling is still a very small percentage compared to the use and production; it does kill wildlife and it is now in our food chain.

The world produces yearly around 380 million tonnes of plastic each year, half of this for single-use. If we talk with a percentage, 91% of this plastic is not recycled, so this says that only 9% in fact is.

Of the 8.3 billion metric tons that has been produced, 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste. Of that, only nine percent has been recycled
National Geographic

How can you easily do it?

Do it first, then learn. There are no actual rules for the Plastic Free July challenge, as I would say is a challenge that teaches us and put us in a position of learning how much plastic there is around in everyday life and how much plastic we can avoid just with easy reminding.

Going in a July Plastic-Free mood means for me to acknowledge and fight this crazy production, to have less waste to care about and to do my little to change the world.

If I think about myself some years ago, maybe in my teenage, I am probably surrounded by plastic. The amount of single-use plastic to see in birthday parties, cheap restaurants or fast foods, water bottles, make-up and beauty products, plastic bags and many other more, was crazy…

Since I started to work in restaurants, after my diploma, I realized even more about how the plastic problem was visible; most of the things used in the kitchen, for hygienic reasons, are made from plastic (chopping boards, containers, measuring jags etc.). In most the kitchen the amount of plastic it’s very uncomfortable, plastic that has been used for literally 1 minute and then chucked in the mix waste bin.

Plastic Free July Challenge Starter Pack

When I left Rome and moved to London in 2014, the plastic issue was becoming bigger and more annoying than back home to my eyes. Starting to live on my own meant buying all the items and accessories I needed for the room, the bathroom and the kitchen; so all these new experiences made me face how difficult was to go plastic-free from day one of my new life chapters. Since I was facing the plastic problem daily, I decided to be aware of what I was buying and I tried to avoid single-use plastic as much as I could.

The keys to do the Plastic Free July challenge are simply to reuse what you already have, refuse what you don’t need, avoid single-use plastic by replacing it(for example your coffee mug, or shopping bag), recycle the plastic you can’t avoid to buy, shop from the plastic-free bulk store and slowly replacing the daily items you can’t stop to use (such as toothbrush, dish sponge, shampoo, bath detergent and many others more). The challenge won’t leave anyone behind as we are all learning how to do these steps, every day you will be able to learn something you will be happy change the day after.

Today, I can say I am changed from what I used to be. My “silly” shopping has ended for years now and I can finally make a lighter suitcase when I move from one place to another, I believe this challenge will help you to start thinking differently and so acting, in terms of plastic consumption and making less waste.

Who’s able to change something?

Who is able to do the Plastic Free July challenge? I would say everyone is, you, your friends and family, your partner and I. Together we will have the power to share, compare and give advice or easily talk about our own experiences.

For the past three years, 2019-2021, the Plastic-free July organization registered an average of 240 million people joining the challenge each of these years, the participants choose to refuse a total of 2 billion tonnes of everyday plastic items for the three years together and the participants reduce their household waste and recycling by 15kg per person per year.

Plastic Free July, back in 2011, was being joined by only 40 people from the Australian city of Perth. After a few years, already the challenge became bigger and thanks, also, to social media development, it was known all over the globe, so allowed more people to be aware of the reasons and the ways to avoid single-use plastic and plastic in general.

In these 11 years, Plastic Free July has reduced global demand by 2.3% of all bottled water, 3.1% of all fruit and vegetable packaging, 4.0% of all plastic straws and 86% of the people who joined the challenge, made changes that have become a way of life.

Join the Plastic Free July Challenge

So be one of us and feel free to join the challenge today, you can register to their website and take a 1-minute survey, just to be a part of the change that will affect not only your lives but will help the globe to have less plastic in everyday life.

When to take part?

Today is the day to start the Plastic Free July challenge. Today as the day you will read this article or today as the 1st of July 2022 or as well two weeks after the beginning of the month.

Doesn’t really make the difference if is not July, but I believe if you are reading this article is as well because you are planning something you already were aware existed. So don’t hesitate and take all these pieces of information and plan your day 1 of the challenge.

It’s free, it’s cheap and does make huge changes if done together.

Did you like the article? If yes, you can have a closer look to Rebecca’s and Joanna’s book about this topic. You will read the full story of how this began, the different experiences and how to become step by step plastic free.

Let me know your thoughts on this challenge and share your experience here with me, we can together support each other where it might seems to be some difficulties.

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