Btw, did you know that two million plastic bottles are used in the US every ten minutes and about fifty billion of these plastic bottles go into landfills each year? It will take approximately seven hundred (700) years before these non-biodegradable plastic bottles in landfills start to decompose and less than 30% of plastic bottles in the US are actually recycled. Recycled plastic have been made into water tumblers, sling bags, backpacks and luggages. Eco friendly travels and holidays do not mean having less fun. Here are a list of simple yet handy green or eco friendly accessories, gadgets and gears for an environmentally travels or holidays. Many of these green gadgets have multi-purpose use and are great for camping, hiking or outdoors.
You can start your travels and be comfortable wearing a casual eco friendly footwear. They are made from cotton with rubber sole. We can sometimes see travelers wearing slippers or flip-flops into airplanes.
Solar tablet case. Great to power up your tablet or iPad using solar power. The panels are water-proofed and light-weight. Especially useful if you are going to be outdoors and surfing, watching movies or listening to music. One hour of sun will give you an hour of video playback.
Eco friendly luggage. It is made from recycled plastic material. Sturdy and easy roll with four wheels. Looks as nice and as shiny as any luggage.
Eco friendly sling bag. We can look cool wearing a eco friendly sling shoulder bag made from durable 100% recycled PET fabric or yarn. Sturdy and looks as nice as any other bag that can store our stuffs while out and about.
If you are going to spend lots of time outdoors under the sun, at the pool or by the white sandy beach you can get eco friendly water-resistant biodegradable sunscreen.
There are many varieties of compact green or eco friendly flashlight and lanterns or torchlight now available, making use of solar power or the simple hand-wind mechanism. These batteryless green gadgets are great for outdoors, camping and traveling.
A mechanical hand-crank or hand-wind flashlight. Repeated winding by cranking the side mechanism will charge up the flashlight. The light may not as bright as the conventional battery flashlight but is bright enough to find your way around in the dark. At least you can see your way around by just cranking the gadget repeatedly without worrying about batteries getting flat as batteries are not required. There are hank crank flashlights that come with a USB cell phone charger too. Innovative yet simple and compact.
We can tap the abundant solar power to power up flashlights and cell phone chargers. As long as there is sunlight most flashlights will start charging and most solar gadgets would not need direct sunlight to start charging. There are waterproof solar-powered flashlights so they can be useful for water activities.
Other than the hand-crank or solar-powered flashlights there is a simple shake the light to charge flashlight. Shake and the flashlight will start charging. But the shaking green gadget is not as robust or as popular as the hand-wind or solar-powered type.
There are flashlights featured with both hand-crank (or hand-wind) handle and solar power cells for a more robust double environmentally friendly options. If one mechanism fails there is a backup power without still needing batteries or electricity power.
If your electronic devices such as digital cameras use AA or AAA type batteries get the long-lasting type. They cost a bit more but usually one spare set will suffice. We certainly do not want our bag to be full of batteries. And I am not a fan of rechargeable batteries because you will need power supply to charge them up and batteries shelf life deteriorate with time. But rechargeable batteries are still better than single use disposable batteries.
But if you prefer to use rechargeable batteries there is a solar-powered charger for AA and AAA type of batteries. But the charger has limitation as usually full direct sun is required for the batteries to be charged fully. And it takes a while for the batteries to be charged. A nice kit to have if you are staying in or near the desert or coast.
We are always worried about cell or mobile phone losing power while on the road. A portable solar-powered charger or power pack about the size of a smartphone, is a handy gadget to charge up the smartphone, e-reader, mp3 player, tablets and pads.
How about a neat 3-in-1 solar-powered and hand crank digital radio, flashlight and cell phone charger? This battery-less travel emergency kit is small and compact. This multi-purpose eco-friendly gadget is innovative, yet simple and compact and obviously very useful .
A reusable and recyclable light foldable tote bag is a neat way to put stuffs in that we pick up along the way. Shop owners usually dispense non-biodegradable plastic bags so a recyclable bag will come in handy. Many recyclable bags are quite fashionable. Bring your own shopping bag and save the environment.
A solar-powered backpack that can charge your mobile devices on the go! There is also the sling bag version but is not as robust as the backpack version probably due to the size of the bag and solar panels. The eco-friendly backpack may not look stylish but it is no longer looking weird carrying solar-powered backpack. There are many types of sun powered backpack now available in the market. And most of them are black in color.
For the serious hiker there is a solar-powered altimeter, thermometer, barometer, compass and time that can track the altitude, temperature and cardinal directions. A useful multipurpose sun-powered gadget.
If you want a drink AND a light at the same time a solar-powered water bottle will do the job. Again no batteries required. Suitable for camping and outdoor use. Or just about anywhere. A water bottle with a light.
A mini solar-powered keychain will fit easily into your pocket or purse and you will never be without light. It is a very handy travel gadget to find your around in the dark. But of course do not expect a mini light keychain to light up the whole room.
A hand-wind or hand-crank mini LED lantern. This gadget is similar to the hand-wind flashlight. No batteries needed.
And a 2-in-1 hand-wind and solar-powered mini lantern. And there are green lanterns that come with a radio and cell phone charger port too! Lanterns are useful gadgets for camping, outdoor and for emergency use.
There is also a more compact solar-powered light that comes with a foldable stand that can give up to 16 hours of bright reading light. The gadget can easily be put on a table or night-stand. It can also give four other different light modes including SOS emergency beacon light. Great survival green kit.
For toiletries you can bring bath wash and lotions made from recyclable and sustainable materials, free from harmful materials. They are usually made from biodegrable natural plant materials. We sometimes see products advertisement that toiletries, eco friendly or otherwise are not tested on animals.
Chewable toothpaste tablets. Less weight and more convenient that the conventional tube toothpaste. The plastic bottle is recyclable so it also more environmentally friendly than the toothpaste tubes. Millions of non-recyclable toothpaste tubes are discarded each year. Convenient for hiking, camping and in the airplane. Easy to carry and great for general travel or office use too.
For the photography enthusiasts there are camera backpacks made from durable PET recycled materials or plastic bottles. With lots of pockets, compartment and enough spaces for your DSLR camera and lenses, other gadgets and kits, and the green camera backpack also comes with a tripod carrier.
We have heard of Fair Trade. Where workers from local and usually remote communities are paid fair wages for the goods produced in a sustainable environment for the betterment of the community and the workers in general. Many goods such as shoulder or sling bags or purses are made from yarns or materials which would otherwise ended up in the trash bins. And the bags do look good too! There are also hats, scarves, shawls which are made from recycled materials. When you pay a visit to remote villages or communities you may want to get a bag of two or a shawl or a rug knitted by the local villagers using local materials and you will support their economy at the same time.
Traveling is fun. And we do want to have more fun. Light sticks can be used as party light. They glow in the dark by shaking it and it is quite bright. Batteries not necessary. The light sticks can be used as an emergency light too. And they can last between 8 to 12 hrs.The light stick is light and pretty cheap and they come in various colors.
We may want to write down some notes or sketch something in the diary or journal as we journey on in our travel. There are diaries or sketch books made from paper produced from managed regrowth forests or from sustainable materials using environmentally friendly processes. Many hotels and hostels now supply notepads made from recycled papers.
Backpack drawstring tote bag. Made from recycled plastic or natural jute fiber it is very light and convenient for that short casual walk in the jungle or in town. I brought this along to put some stuffs inside and gave it away to a kid I met during a community visit in Ecuador remote village near the Amazon jungle. The green plastic tote bag comes in various cheerful colors or in the case of jute bag comes in a pleasant natural fiber color.
Solar powered speaker system, with bluetooth and wireless capability. You can play your favorite songs all day long. In the park and in the hostel. And the wireless device can be connected to smartphone. But depending on where you are heading to, it may be a bit bulky to lug into your luggage, so perhaps find a smaller size gadget.
You may want to carry recycled water bottles made from food grade materials such as recycled polypropylene.
The recycled water bottle can be put in the washable shoulder sling holder made from recycled fabric, recycled polypropylene and recycled carabiner aluminium metal. And this eco friendly sling holder has pockets too.
Apart from recycled camera backpacks there are also the casual green backpacks made from recycled PET water bottles plastic. PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic resin and a form of polyester. The backpack has plenty of pockets to put stuffs in just like any other backpack. There are also colorful bags produced from recycled rice jute bags.
Travel green. Wear T-shirts made from recycled polyester and organic cotton. These green Tees are lightweight, soft, wicking material great for warmer climate travel or for biking.
There are recycled socks manufactured from regenerated cotton in combination with lycra and nylon. Good for daily use. They are machine washable. Many of these socks are manufactured from factory powered from 100% wind power! And there are also eco friendly shoes with recycled rubber outsole for a environmentally friendly step.
Apart from recycled camera backpacks and green tote bag there are also the casual backpacks made from recycled jute rice bags. These jute bags with natural plant material look as good.
If you have kids traveling with you, you may want to get eco friendly drawing kit that comes with a drawing pad and a complete set of twelve crayons, two pencils, four stencils and a ruler to keep your kid entertained for hours. Great for plane trips, on the road and while dining in restaurants if a child seat is available. The materials are made from plants, the carrying case made from natural cotton, and the crayons made from soy. There are also eco-friendly crafts set that come with stickers so the kids can create puppets, animals and jewellery with the stickers. However these small crafts may not be suitable for kids under the age of three.
We certainly need a passport to travel. You can put your passport in a eco-friendly passport holder made from recycled material such as recycled rice bags, denim material or recycled polyester yarn. These passport holders will come with a shoulder strap. The recycled rice bag holder is made in Cambodia from survivors of trauma and abuse. The denim passport holder is made in Nepal and each one is unique. Apart from passport holder there are also eco-friendly wallet made from similar or other recycled materials.
If u bring along a tablet or ipad for your travel you may want to put them safely in a zippered recycled felted case made from 100% recycled water bottles and other food containers. The case may come with exterior zippered pocket that can hold chargers and cables so you can keep all your tech places in one place. Similarly depending on your preference there are folio cases made from recycled leather material so your tablets will look more like a diary.
A roll of toilet paper will come in handy during your hiking or trekking or while traveling at remote villages and towns. Toilets at some areas may not be in the best condition of what we are used to. You can take some papers from the bathrooms of your hotel or hostels but the quality may not be as good as what we are used to back home. Do note that many toilets in developing parts of the world cannot cope with toilet papers being thrown into the toilet bowl. Dispose toilet papers in the trash bin. Perhaps bring the recycled eco-friendly composting papers and save some trees. These days recycled toilets papers are as good and soft as the non-recycled ones.
If you have to lug your important laptop during your travels you can get a recycled PET laptop backpack. Similar to recycled camera backpack, this laptop backpack is made from 100% recycled PET bottles. And 35 nos. of PET bottles! Those PET bottles certainly are put to good use. The backpack is super lightweight even though your laptop may not, and to manufacture one requires less energy than if using the traditional polyester. With padded back and generous interior space and plenty of compartments big enough to contain your 15″ laptop. As shown above you can also get the PET backpack with the integrated solar power panel if you are on the go most of the time such as on business travel or you need to work on your laptop during vacation. Personally I would leave the laptop behind and just bring the much lighter tablet or iPad.
And where can you put your cash and credit cards? Those dollars certainly come in handy during travel and are very important. No money, no travel. You can put your hard-earned cash in a wallet made from recycled bicycle tubes. Cycling is a eco-friendly way to travel. Recycling the worn-out wheel rubber tubes into wallets and other paraphernalia makes it even a green way to save the environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment