A Guide to Critical Consumption: From Sunscreen to Sustainable Travel
La Marea
- This guide offers sustainable product alternatives and travel practices for summer, focusing on reducing environmental and social impact.
- Recommendations cover personal care, fashion, travel logistics, and ethical investment.
Sustainable Summer Essentials
- Sunscreen: Switch from chemical filters, which may harm marine ecosystems and health, to mineral-based filters like the Spanish-made Amalgama (zinc oxide, non-nano).
- Swimwear: Avoid polyester, which disintegrates into microplastics; consider organic cotton options (e.g., Isole & Vulcani), though they should be kept away from chlorine.
- Zero Waste Travel: Online retailers like Usar y Reusar provide curated kits including solid shampoo, solid soap, mineral sunscreen, and organic insect repellent.
- Household goods: Pimpant offers powdered toothpaste that allows users to add water at home, eliminating multi-layered plastic waste.
- Tech: Fairphone's Gen 6 provides a sustainable mobile device model with replaceable parts for increased longevity.
Responsible Travel Alternatives
- House Swapping: To combat the housing crisis caused by short-term rental platforms, use home exchange services like HomeExchange and Kindred.
- Cycling Networks: Warm Showers operates as a free hospitality network specifically for cycling tourists.
- Agricultural Learning: The WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) platform allows users to spend time working on organic farms to learn sustainable cultivation methods.
Ethical Investment
- Renewable Energy: The cooperative Ecooo democratizes energy management through solar self-consumption projects.
- Humanitarian Impact: Ecooo has launched a program where investors in renewable projects earn returns while the cooperative donates 5% of the investment to support causes in Cuba and Palestine through collaborations with Global Sumud Flotilla and Open Arms.