How to Travel Sustainably

While it’s essential to stay eco-friendly all the time, it’s critical to be particularly mindful while traveling. Traveling is an easy way to accumulate extra waste since you’re not at home and, often in a pinch, rely on unsustainable habits. If you prepare in advance and make slight changes to your travel routine, you can help protect the planet while traveling the world. 

Here are our tips to stay eco-friendly while traveling!

Choose Eco-Friendly Cities

If you’re choosing between two different cities but cannot decide, consider the city that’s more green. For example, if you want to visit California and can’t pick between Los Angeles and San Francisco, perhaps you can go to San Francisco since it’s the most eco-friendly city in the US. If you go to Canada, pick Vancouver since it’s known for its sustainability and environmentally friendly lifestyle. Pick cities that have a similar mindset about sustainability. 

Unplug Before You Leave

Here’s a small task that you can do before you leave that won’t only save energy, but also put money in your pocket. Before you go on a trip, unplug everything that can be unplugged. About 40% of energy is used when a device is solely plugged in and not on. That means anything constantly plugged in will be using energy. If you unplug before you leave, you’ll save energy and money.

Reusable Water Container

There’s no question you’ll need water while traveling. However, you can ditch the single-use plastic. As tempting as it is to grab a plastic water bottle for convenience, single-use plastic is one of the most significant contributors to the massive amounts of waste. But, merely replacing single-use plastic with a reusable water bottle, you’re reducing plastic waste on our planet.

Bring Reusable Bags

Chances are you will most likely go shopping on your trips, whether it’s for food or souvenirs. We get plastic bags all the time, for everything. Keep extras for travel purposes, especially if they're a thicker plastic for various uses. Or, use a reusable cloth bag. You won’t need to rely on bags for all your travel needs. 

Take Nonstop Flights

We all are aware that flying produces a great amount of harmful emissions. Specifically, taking off and landing produces extra emissions and consumes more fuel. Try to avoid extra layovers to reduce the number of times a plane has to land and take off. Over time, the emission reduction will add up.

Use Waste Free Cleaning Products

While traveling, you’ll most likely need to do laundry. Instead of opting for a small container of laundry detergent, try pre-measured dissolvable laundry Pacs from CleanPacs. Available in two dye-free gentle formulas, fragrance-free and lavender. 

Swap Your Plastic Straws

Whenever you travel, you’ll likely eat out more than average. It’s expected that when doing so, you will have drinks that require straws. Straws take hundreds of years to disintegrate, and we only use them for a brief moment. A small but impactful way to intentionally reduce waste is by bringing a reusable straw. 

Use Public Transportation 

The use of  public transportation while traveling is an eco-friendly way to commute around a city. Instead of renting a car, try to bike, walk, or use a subway to get to your desired location. Not only will you save money, but you’ll help protect the planet by reducing carbon emissions into the air.

Shop Locally

Buy everything locally. Many cities around the world rely on tourism for the financial influx. If you purchase souvenirs or food, try to find smaller farmers’ markets instead of large corporate chain grocery stores. You’ll help the local economy and keep small businesses thriving.

Eco-Friendly Lodging

Where you stay can make a significant impact on the environment. Try booking with an eco-conscious hotel or hostel. Opting for this option will help reduce your environmental impact while you visit. If you stay at an eco hotel, you can trust your values are aligned.

Trash Free

Wherever you go, be sure not to leave any trash. No matter where you go, treat it as if you never went. You can even take the extra step to toss out trash you see while traveling. Help keep cities and countries cleaner than you arrived. 

Traveling can lead to additional waste, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Make sure you implement these changes in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of travel.