This post is going to be a little bit different than the others, because I’m not going to suggest a swap that has worked for me and will therefore work for you. Instead, I’m going to talk about something that hasn’t worked for me – and why that is ok.
Recently, I tried a zero waste deodorant called Biork. It is a potassium crystal based deodorant which comes in recyclable cork packaging and is completely sustainable. To use it, you put some water on the end and apply it, drying it before putting it away. Having tried this deodorant for over two months, I have not had the best time. I work in a busy cafe, where I am running around a lot. I also walk to and from work most days and go to the gym whenever I can. All of these things are sweat inducing, which normally I would not have much of an issue with. But recently, I have noticed that I don’t smell as fresh as I would like to at the end of the day. Before trying this new deodorant, I used heavy duty stuff (mostly by the brand Mitchum), so I was hoping to have a similar result. Although the Biork deodorant is fine when I’m just around the house or doing light exercise, it doesn’t work for me in my everyday life. So, I’ve decided to swap back to my usual deodorant.
Which brings me the point of this post – you can’t do everything. Well, you can, but you don’t have to. All the swaps I’ve made are because they’re better for the environment and either better or the same for me – this swap was worse for me and therefore isn’t sustainable for me long term. It took me a while to realise that this doesn’t mean I’m doing nothing for the environment – it just means that this is one thing that I can’t change, at least not yet.
Therefore, I’d encourage you to try and change the things you can, and not to dwell on the things that you can’t.
Waste Makes Waste 