Leave Only Footprints: Your Guide to an Eco-Friendly Beach Day
Beach days are all about relaxing, recharging, and soaking up nature, so why not return the favor? With a few easy, thoughtful choices, you can have all the fun in the sun while keeping the sand and sea healthy for everyone. Here’s how to make your next beach outing both enjoyable and eco-friendly.
Eco-friendly beachwear:
Sunglasses:
Pela
About the brand: Pela develops products made of environmentally friendly materials. They focus on eliminating plastic waste in our oceans and on our planet. Pela doesn’t focus solely on sustainability in materials; they also ensure that their manufacturers practice sustainable operations.
Materials and Sustainability: These glasses are 100% biodegradable and provide complete UVA/UVB protection, all while maintaining a stylish appearance.
Price: Cocos Eco-Friendly Sunglasses, $64.95
Blue Planet eco eyewear
About the brand: Blue Planet Eyewear is devoted to giving back to the world. With every pair of glasses sold, they donate a pair of corrective lenses to those in need.
Materials and Sustainability: Every pair of Blue Planet sunglasses is crafted from natural and/or recycled materials, minimizing waste and drawing on more sustainable sources. Blue Planet also ensures that it utilizes excess materials instead of simply discarding them.
Price: $
Shoes:
Gumbies
About the brand: Gumbies was founded on the principle of utilizing natural materials, rooted in a strong ethical foundation. Gumbies was a way for founder Michel Maurer to create a brand that encompasses the way of life he enjoyed so much.
Materials and Sustainability: Each pair of flip-flops is made from recycled rubber bonded with jute for added strength and durability. The midsole is also bonded with EVA for added comfort and topped with canvas for a soft feel against your skin.
Price: $
Okabashi
About the brand: Okabashi means the concept of wellness in Japanese. The flip-flops are designed to target specific organs and systems in the body through pressure points. At the forefront of all of Okabashi’s products is comfort and promoting foot health.
Materials and Sustainability: Okabashi operates within a closed-loop manufacturing system and encourages customers to return their old, loved shoes to receive a 15% discount on their next purchase. The materials of all of their shoes are 100% recyclable. They are also vegan!
Price: $
Swim suits:
Andie Swim
About the brand: Andie Swim aimed to simplify the swimsuit shopping process and create stylish staples perfect for modern life. All of their suits are well-made and well-cut to eliminate all the discomforts that come with wearing a swimsuit.
Materials and Sustainability: Andie Swim encompasses sustainability in all aspects, including packaging and the materials used. They ensure that all their manufacturers adhere to practices that align with their company's goals.
Price: $$
Berlook
About the brand: Berlook takes pride in its sustainable practices, as it is a Stripe Climate Member, donating 1% of its proceeds to climate change efforts. They ensure that their items are produced ethically and certify their recycled materials through the Global Recycled Standard (GRS). Berlook also introduces a new collection of suits each season, ensuring that everyone can find a style perfect for them.
Materials and Sustainability: Each suit is made of 100% natural or recycled fabric. Berlook has ensured that each swimsuit has been worn and tested by numerous women of diverse body types. This process ensures that everyone looks and feels confident.
Price: $$
The perfect reef-safe sunscreens:
Why should you care?
Chemicals such as oxybenzone and octinoxate can cause coral bleaching and other damage to marine ecosystems. Reef-safe sunscreen instead includes ingredients such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as its UV-blocking ingredients.
Thrive Natural Care body mineral sunscreen, broad spectrum SPF 50
About the brand: Thrive Skincare exudes a passion for leaving the world and people better than they found them. Thrive began with a passion for discovering better skincare, something that is healthy, natural, and affordable.
Ingredients and Sustainability: Thrive works diligently to nurture plants, restore land to health, and blaze a regenerative path for farmers worldwide. This sunscreen from Thrive leaves you with no white cast and a non-greasy feel. It’s even great for outdoor sports, thanks to its water resistance.
Price: $
Tatcha the Silk Sunscreen SPF 50
About the brand: Tatcha commonly uses the Japanese phrase “too precious to waste”. This way of thinking has a profound influence on the brand's practices and the ingredients used in all its skincare products. Tatcha ensures that everything related to sustainability, including shipping and packaging, is carefully considered and thoughtfully implemented.
Ingredients and Sustainability: This sunscreen is suitable for all skin types, leaving you feeling hydrated and promoting healthy aging. With a light-as-air feel that’s sweat-resistant, water-resistant, non-comedogenic, and gentle on sensitive skin, it's perfect for summer days.
Price: $$
All Good face and body sunscreen lotion SPF 30
About the brand: All Good was founded on the principle of meeting nature at the table and adding minimal else to their products. They follow a triple bottom line philosophy focusing on environmental, social, and economic vitality. They partner with For The Planet, giving 1% to support environmental education and restoration projects.
Ingredients and Sustainability: This sunscreen doesn’t just cover the basics of a sunscreen; it goes above and beyond. They are committed to reef-friendly ingredients that are lightweight, non-greasy, and hydrate and repair the skin. All Good products come with the promise of clean ingredients, nourishing your body, being reef-friendly, cruelty-free, and climate-neutral.
Price: $
Sunbathing essentials:
Eco-friendly towels:
Hilana
About the brand: As a brand, Hilana is deeply committed to the planet. This drives their passion about sustainability, responsibility, and love for craftsmanship. Hilana was founded to achieve its goal of making everyday life better.
Materials and Sustainability: Hilana inspires a sustainable way of living by using and upcycling cotton. Each towel is ultra-light, compact, and super absorbent. Hilana’s usage of upcycled cotton is the cleanest way to close the loop for the cotton process.
Price: $$
Sunrise Bliss
About the brand: Sunrise Bliss provides its customers with intentional mornings and comfort with a purpose. Sunrise Bliss is also a locally owned business in Michigan, and all of their products are manufactured in the United States. Each of their towels also comes in many different cute colors and patterns!
Materials and Sustainability: Sunrise Bliss believes that your hair deserves its own towel. Their knit cotton towels dry your hair quickly while leaving you with less breakage, tangles, and frizz. All of their products are made with GOTS-certified organic cotton, meaning that every part of the production process is closely inspected to ensure sustainable practices are in place.
Price: $
Eco-friendly beach chairs:
Business and Pleasure backpack chair
About the brand: Business and Pleasure incorporates function and practicality into all of their products. They also encourage their customers to sit back and enjoy the nostalgia of the outdoors. They love to elevate your outdoor space and add a touch of glamour to the furniture area.
Materials and Sustainability: The Business and Pleasure chairs are crafted from aluminum frames, canvas, and wood, resulting in sturdy chairs that are neither bulky nor heavy. The fabric on the chairs is tough, UV resistant, and dries quickly. All of their chairs also dry quickly.
Price: $$$
Sunday Supply eco beach chair
About the brand: Sunday Supply gives you a place in the sun. Each chair is designed to accompany you on endless trips and create infinite shade. Sunday Supply designs their chairs with fun patterns inspired by the world around you, making each piece something special for your place in the sun.
Materials and Sustainability: Sunday Supply designs all their chairs to have a powder-coated aluminum alloy and RPET (recycled) fabric. This makes the frame look sleek and holds up well. The chairs include a detachable carry strap and storage pockets. The cushions are also comfortable and resistant to wear and tear.
Price: $$
Ostrich beach chair with cooler bag
About the brand: Ostrich developed their beach chairs after experiencing the dilemma of trying to lie on your stomach and read at the same time. They aimed to design lounge chairs with a more functional approach. Throughout the years, Ostritch has evolved, adding products that are even better than the last each year.
Materials and Sustainability: These beach chairs not only include a cooler bag but also feature face and arm holes ideal for lying down. Ostrich Beach Chairs are made of aluminum, bamboo, and stainless steel. The chairs also feature a side pocket with a zipper, a higher seat, and multiple back and footrest options.
Price: $$
For all of your snack needs
Reusable food containers:
Caraway
About the brand: If you’re looking for cookware for the modern chef, look no further than Caraway. They design home goods that thoughtfully raise the standards of what you cook with. Caraway designs each product to make your life easier and healthier. No matter the material, Caraway strives to provide the cleanest and most sustainable kitchen essentials.
Materials and Sustainability: These non-toxic, ceramic-coated glass cubes, featuring air release technology, keep your food fresh and odor-free. Caraway containers are free from BPA, BPS, PFOA, PTFE, and heavy metals. They come in sets or can be purchased individually, and are also available in three main sizes. A smaller size is ideal for sauces and snacks. Caring for these containers is very simple; they are freezer and dishwasher-safe. They can also be used in the microwave and oven, excluding the lids and the two small snack-size containers.
Price: $$
ECOlunchbox
About the brand: ECOlunchbox is a mission-driven company dedicated to educating, inspiring, and empowering people to say goodbye to plastic for both health and environmental reasons. They are also a certified B Corp business and a California Green Business.
Materials and Sustainability: These food containers are made from a single material: food-grade stainless steel. This material ensures that your containers won’t absorb any bacteria or leach toxic chemicals like BPA, BPS, and phthalates. These are the safest food storage containers on the market. Food-grade silicone is also utilized on the lids of some of their models. They also come in various sizes, shapes, and configurations.
Price: $
SuperBee
About the brand: SuperBee was born out of a desire to design a sustainable product that addresses the issue of single-use plastic. The company partners with various charities and organizations that support people and the environment.
Materials and Sustainability: Reusable beeswax wraps and beeswax food storage bags made from 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton and a proprietary blend of sustainably harvested, pesticide-free beeswax, organic coconut oil, and tree resin.
Price: $
Reusable cutlery:
Duebest
About the brand: Duebest was founded in the desire to find a fair trade cutlery set. Throughout the process of starting Duebest, they remained committed to helping eliminate single-use plastic while staying conscious and intentional.
Materials and Sustainability: Duebest offers reusable wooden cutlery sets that include a spoon, fork, knife, straw, and straw cleaner, all packaged in a convenient fabric case. Fair trade artisans in Bali, Indonesia, make all of their products. Each piece is uniquely hand-carved by these artisans. The cutlery themselves are made of teak wood, making it durable, lightweight, and sustainably sourced. Teakwood is considered one of the strongest and most durable hardwoods. The natural oils in teakwood make these utensils water- and weather-resistant, although it is still recommended to hand wash them.
Price: $$
Save the Manatee
About the brand: Save the Manatee is a brand dedicated to ensuring the safety and future of manatees and their aquatic environments. By purchasing from this company, you can directly contribute to the efforts to save manatees for future generations to enjoy.
Materials and Sustainability: This eco-friendly reusable utensil set is made from wheat straw and is BPA-free. Included are a fork, knife, spoon, and a carrying case. Caring for these utensils is pretty simple; you just need to hand wash them. 100% of the profits support a mission to protect manatees and their aquatic habitat for future generations.
Price: $
Reusable water bottles:
Klean Kanteen
About the brand: Klean Kanteen was one of the first reusable stainless steel water bottles that were offered in the U.S. The company was founded in response to the significant rise in the use of single-use plastic bottles. They knew that at the time, people were unaware of the risks associated with using single-use plastic. Klean Kanteen continues to revolutionize the reusable water bottle market by making them more sustainable, durable, and functional than ever before.
Materials and Sustainability: 95% of Klean Kanteen's products are made from recycled steel, and the company certifies through a third-party audit that the steel is 90% past-consumer recycled. These water bottles feature lids, providing a BPA-free, vacuum-insulated water bottle with a durable finish. Klean Kanteen approaches its supply chain with a circular design mindset, furthering its sustainable goals.
Price: $
Ocean Bottle
About the brand: Ocean Bottle is a certified B Corp reusable water bottle brand that employs a closed-loop recycling system. Their water bottle designs are award-winning, available in various sizes and styles. They even support Ocean Co. on their website, the first ocean health platform. This platform helps connect consumers with different organizations and brands that care about the ocean’s health and make a valiant effort towards that goal.
Materials and Sustainability: Ocean Bottle water bottles are as reusable as possible, and they try to give more to the world’s natural resources than they take. With the sale of every bottle, the proceeds go toward funding the collection of 25 pounds of plastic, equivalent to approximately 1,000 plastic bottles. They work closely with plastic collectors to actualise the collection of the plastic. Ocean Bottle’s water bottle is hot and cold insulated, dishwasher-safe, and features an easy-to-carry loop, perfect for your everyday life.
Price: $$
Responsible beach day reminders:
Leaving the beach better or the same way you found it
Make sure that you pick up any trash before you leave, and in general, don’t leave anything behind that wasn’t there when you got there. You can also take it one step further and participate in a beach cleanup while you’re there.
Using what you already have
If you already have food storage containers or a reusable water bottle, don’t buy a new one, no matter how tempting it might be to buy the next trending water bottle.
Getting some things secondhand
Instead of buying new items, such as towels and chairs, consider checking your local thrift store for something suitable.
A little planning goes a long way in protecting the places we love. By choosing reusable gear and being mindful of what you bring, you can help keep beaches clean and beautiful for everyone to enjoy.
