Here at Kovered, we pride ourselves on being an eco-friendly business. However, being environmentally friendly when it comes to travel isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s good to start small - so we’ve put together our top tips for creating a plastic free toiletries bag.

SOAP

First off, you need to ditch all of those plastic bottles which means swapping from shower gel to ‘old-fashioned’ bars of soap. Bars of soap might be something you haven’t used in years, but actually they’re still easy to find - you just need to look in the right place. There are loads of lovely smelling soaps on the market that are natural and plastic free. Some of our favourites are UK based Friendly Soaps and Wild Sage + Co. If a soap bar just isn’t for you, Lush have a ‘naked shower gel’ which essentially shower gel without the plastic bottle.

SHAMPOO CONDITIONER

Unlike soap, solid shampoo is still somewhat of a niche product, unless you know where to look. Lush do a fantastic range of solid shampoo and conditioner bars, and have different options to suit many types of hair. As a bonus they’re all also 100% natural and chemical free. Lush also provide a perfectly sized metal tin for your bar, to keep it (and your other toiletries) protected. Other options are, again Friendly Soaps and Solidu have cornered the market with an even more extensive natural range than Lush.

DEODORANT

Solid deodorant is easy to find, but solid deodorant without the plastic packaging? Not so much. Most travellers know the trick of using tea-tree oil to stay fresh when camping, but in really hot climates this may not hack it. Luckily Kutis Skincare has a great range of solid deodorant in biodegradable packaging. You just have to push the stick out and back into its tube for each use. And again, Lush offer a package free solid bar.

MOISTURISER

Solid, plastic free moisturisers are much rarer to find than the other toiletries we’ve talked about so far. However, just because you have more limited options, doesn’t mean they’re bad options. Lush do a moisturising bar for the body and face. If  you’re looking for one that will help you after a shave Glasgow based M. V. Kingston have a great range of solid colognes that also work as an after-shave balm.

RAZOR AND SHAVING FOAM

Talking of shaving - you might also need to look for a razor that doesnt have a plastic handle, as well as shaving foam to help you. Friendly soaps offer up a shaving bar that gives off more foam than you could imagine from a tiny little bar. As for plastic free razors, that much easier. Standard Razors have a great aluminum razor with replacement steel blades you can buy on the high street. You can also buy a plastic free shaving kit from Naked Necessities. It comes complete a wooden-handled razor and 5 replaceable blades allin 100% recyclable packaging.

TOOTHBRUSH AND TOOTHPASTE

Just like shampoo and conditioners toothbrushes and toothpaste come hand in hand. Bamboo toothbrushes have been popping up everywhere the last few years, and make a great plastic free option. Bristle UK do a range of toothbrushes and come in packs of 4 - enough to last you all year. As for toothpaste, Georganics do a spearmint coconut oil toothpaste that is dentist approved. It can take a little getting used to though, as its non-foaming. It also comes in a glass container, which you can reuse each time you buy the paste.

SUNCREAM

A necessity when travelling! Once again, Lush come to the rescue with a solid sun cream bar that has 30SPF protection and is available packaging free. If you’re looking to tan you can get a solid tanning bar from Ethique, which give you protection and a little more glow on your skin.

MAKEUP REMOVER

As you probably know makeup wipes take years to degrade down and often end up in the oceans due to the plastic in them. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any plastic free, or solid makeup remover on the market. The best option currently seem to be removable makeup wipes like the cloths from Marley’s Monsters. You do have to add make-up remover to them, but they are re-useable and recyclable when they time comes to replace them.