Reusable Bottle, Cup & Cutlery

If you wish to stay hydrated and consume the daily recommended amount of water when travelling, you can easily accumulate 10 -15 plastic bottles by the end of a two-week trip. Avoid using all this plastic by investing in a reusable bottle.

For those countries where the tap water is not advisable, get yourself a water purifier/bottle. Simple to use, lightweight, safe and can purify even the dirtiest of water sources. Personally, I use a Travel Tap Purifier bottle, by DrinkSafe for £43. It has an 800ml capacity and can purify up to 1600 litres of water before the auto-shutdown mechanism kicks in and the filter needs replacing. Duarte has been travelling with The Grayl bottle for 3 years now. He never got sick even with the dodgiest tap water and the bottle has paid itself back within just 6 months of travelling in the tropics. Duarte put this down as his no.1 sustainable travel essential.

Despite the simplicity of reusable cutlery, you’ll be surprised how much disposable plastic you avoid using, as well as how handy they become when buying prepared foods. I even use my trusty reusables on flights to avoid all the unnecessary single use plastics the air stewards hand out.

Pack Microbead Free Products

Microbeads are tiny plastic balls found in some shower gels, shampoos and toothpastes that find their way into our water systems, polluting our marine life. Check the label before you purchase to avoid products containing polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Look for the ‘Zero’ label or compare products on this extensive list by Beat The Micro Bead.