7 Expert Approved Eco-Friendly Wellness Product Swaps

An eco-friendly product roundup in honour of Earth Day.

With the warmer weather comes more opportunities to extend our fitness outdoors. While many parts of Canada are unable to visit their favourite gyms or yoga studios; there are plenty of great body care options and fitness accessories available. We’re celebrating Earth Day and sharing products that we can use to make our wellness routines more eco-friendly.

#1: No Pong Natural Deodorant

No Pong is made from delicious, all natural ingredients, blended together to create a ridiculously effective, sweat resistant, all day deodorant that does exactly what it says on the tin. Plus, it has no plastic applicator, so it’s ecofriendly! In lieu of excessive plastic packaging, No Pong uses tinplate, a tin and steel composite which is fully recyclable. It’s also guaranteed to be 100% paraben, aluminum, cruelty and plastic free. No Pong is so confident they will eliminate your B.O. that they have a first order money-back guarantee: love No Pong or it’s free! 

This company manufactures and ships from Canada. They started in Australia, but once they realized there was a demand for it in Canada they started a new company here so that they could manufacture and ship locally. 

#2: Hello Activated Charcoal Fluoride Toothpaste

This toothpaste is made with activated charcoal from sustainable bamboo, fresh mint and coconut oil. Though the toothpaste itself is black, the effect on your teeth is whitening!

Founded in 2013 using thoughtful and effective ingredients, the Hello oral care line includes naturally friendly toothpaste, mouthwash and even a toothbrush with a plant-based handle. They use thoughtful and responsibly sourced ingredients and materials  from sustainable bamboo to boxes made from recycled paper and printed with soy-based ink. Hello products are vegan and free from artificial flavours and sweeteners, dairy, dyes, gluten, microbeads, parabens, peroxide and sulfates.

#3: Weleda Rosemary Conditioning Hair Oil

This hair oil uses deep conditioning, fine oils and extracts to nourish the scalp and smooth the hair shaft. It’s vegan and comes in an easily recyclable glass bottle, which helps to preserve formula and prevent oxidation. It’s also free from phthalates, parabens, synthetic dyes and fragrances, synthetic preservatives, silicones, ingredients of mineral origin, GMOs and SLS. 

Weleda is a German company, founded a hundred years ago! It prioritizes traditional wisdom in their products.

#4: Essence of Life Shampoo Bars

This is the low-waste option for washing your hair after a good workout. The eco-friendly shampoo bars are the perfect alternative to plastic bottles of shampoo. These concentrated pucks of shampoo can last up to 60 washes! They’re also packed full of essential oils and fresh ingredients to leave your hair clean. It’s also gentle enough for coloured hair, which is a huge bonus!

#5: Tree Dashers Running Shoe

From Allbirds, this performance shoe is made with made with natural materials like merino wool, eucalyptus, and sugarcane! It’s designed with both humans and the planet in mind. The Tree Dashers are a neutral running shoe, providing runners with flexible stability and natural cushioning with no compromise. Like all Allbirds products, the Tree Dashers are machine washable.

This is Allbirds’ most innovative product to date, and shows that human health can go hand-in-hand with planet health.

#6: TrinoXO™ Tee

Your new favorite tee is made from sustainably sourced, renewable materials. The TrinoXO™ Tee’s secret ingredient is Allbirds’s latest material innovation – a naturally derived fiber made from discarded shells of marine life. This is actually the second most abundant biopolymer on Earth. The chitosan from these shells has unique capabilities, allowing your clothes to stay fresh longer without relying on extractive materials like zinc or silver.

#7: Cork Yoga Mat by CORQ YOGA

This everyday cork yoga mat is designed to give you the perfect balance of traction and cushion, and is made from premium fine grain cork and natural rubber that are sustainably sourced. Cork is 100% recyclable, renewable, biodegradable, and harvesting cork is sustainable and eco-friendly. The cork is harvested in Portugal, but the company is based in Toronto.

Cork comes from the Quercus suber tree, which lives up to 200 years old. The outer bark of the tree is harvested once every 9 to 15 years using an age old method of removing just the outer bark without harming the tree. This outer bark is collected, set out to dry, and eventually processed into cork. Meanwhile, the tree is left to regenerate it’s bark. This practice has resulted in thousands of acres of protected forests in Portugal, and these forests grow annually by about 4%. The cork industry sustains over 15,000 jobs, and the forests act as a natural habitat for thousands of species of birds, plants, and other animals.