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Traveling can be very wasteful with lots of single use and single purpose items in your luggage. Regardless of where I go, there are a few sustainable items that I always take with me on a trip to help reduce my waste.

1. Reusable face mask - When I travel on planes during the pandemic, I like to double up and wear one disposable mask and a cloth mask on top. I feel better doing so, but also I know I’m covered in terms of not missing those delicious biscoff bars when they come around. If I want to keep on sleeping, I just take off the top mask and have the bottom on stay on.

2. Reusable tote bag - There is a foldable tote bag that’s always packed in my suitcase, allowing me to never forget one! I like having this with me because I never know when it’ll come in handy. For example, some cities have a plastic bag tax at the grocery store or you may need it as an extra carry on. Reusable tote bags are lightweight and easy enough to bring with you wherever you travel.

3. Stainless steel water bottle - Many airports now have bottle refill stations and you can also ask restaurants to refill it. Depending on where you go, bottled water may be a safer choice. However by having a stainless steel bottle, I’ll have water at a pleasant temperature all day! Though overall, I find the price of a 20 oz bottle of water in an airport unnecessarily expensive. Save your dollars and some plastic at the same time!

4. Shaving bar - If you haven’t yet given shave bars a try, open your mind to it for travel. A shave bar would replace the shaving cream or gel in your toiletry kit. Solid bars reduce waste because they’re more concentrated and in less packaging. They’re a great travel hack because you don’t need to put it in your quart size toiletry bag as it’s a solid. Save that space for something else! I like this one from Ethique, and use it in my shower at home too. Bonus: you can also use it as shampoo!

5. A reusable quart-size bag - I got tired of bringing extra quart-size bags with me as I traveled and instead switched to a reusable one. I no longer worry about ripping it, it’s easy to clean and they stay sealed!

What sustainable items are you adding to your packing list? Let me know below in the comments.