The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a weekly “green tip” to our readers. This week’s tip was written by Éva Milan Engel.
From streaming services to food delivery and retail, it feels like we’re constantly adding monthly subscriptions for the products and services we want.
Subscription models have risen in popularity because they’re a stable source of income for businesses. Instead of relying on one-time purchases, companies can count on a steady stream of revenue from subscribers.
I started thinking about items we need on a regular basis and how we might make them more sustainable. While online shopping can be harmful to the planet because of the environmental impacts of shipping and delivery, it also offers the benefit of less driving overall (i.e., thousands of consumers making individual trips to multiple stores).
When searching for eco-friendly subscriptions, consider if you really need the items you’re buying and whether you can purchase them from a local supplier that’s close to your home (and a local business you could support). Also, watch out for subscription services that use “greenwashing”—a tactic where companies market their products as more sustainable than they actually are.
With this in mind, here are some sustainable subscriptions worth considering:
Local CSA Box: USDA maintains a Community Supported Agriculture directory of farms that “offer consumers regular (usually weekly) deliveries of locally grown farm products.” The one listed for our area is SoCal GrubMarket. Find them at socal.grubmarket.com or by calling 888-888-8590.
HoldOn: Heavy-duty, plant-based trash bags that are 100% home compostable. They can be used to collect food scraps before dumping them in green bins, and they can be used in place of traditional trash bags to reduce plastic sent to the landfill. Find them at holdonbags.com.
Blueland: A home cleaning subscription that sends concentrated tablets in zero-waste packaging. Cleaning products include countertop cleaners, dishwasher tablets, laundry detergent and toilet cleaners. Find them at blueland.com.
Kind Laundry: Detergent sheets that are free from harmful toxins and are packaged in compostable paper, not a plastic jug.
Purple Carrot: Want to go vegan but don’t have the time to spend on meal planning? Purple Carrot is a meal subscription service that makes it easy to eat a plant-based diet. Find them at purplecarrot.com.
Cloud Paper: A subscription that sends you bamboo toilet paper and paper towels. Bonus: Cloud Paper was ranked “best bamboo toilet paper” by the annual NRDC “Issue with Tissue Scorecard 2022.” Find them at cloudpaper.co.
The Detox Box: A monthly delivery of The Detox Market’s favorite clean beauty products. The Detox Market adheres to strict standards for “clean ingredients, performance and cruelty-free formulas.” Find them at thedetoxmarket.com/pages/the-detox-box.
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