Eco-Friendly Swaps for Your Medicine Cabinet
Last Updated: June 29, 2022
What’s in your medicine cabinet? We’ve got sustainable tips from an eco-expert to make your medicine cabinet a plastic-free haven, with refillable medicine options and earth-friendly alternatives to single-use products.
Medicine cabinets are one of the last places people think of when they make sustainable changes and transition to a plastic-free lifestyle. And let’s be real: Most companies don’t make it easy to choose eco-friendly health and wellness products, opting instead for single-use containers made from unsustainable plastic.
The good news is that more and more companies are shaking up the industry with plastic-free and no plastic waste packaging and refillable options for over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and other healthcare essentials. We met up with the founder of one of these companies, Russell Gong of Cabinet Health, to get the downlow on creating an eco-friendly medicine cabinet — plus some top-shelf tips for a smooth transition.
What’s hiding in your medicine cabinet?
The issue: The afterlife of plastic
It takes one plastic bottle 450 years to decompose, and with an estimated 580 billion plastic bottles sold in 2021 alone — well, it’s safe to say that the planet is going to be haunted by plastic for many years to come.
“It’s important to include medicine in your sustainability goals because it’s an essential activity of our lives,” says Gong. “Switching to Cabinet can help reduce up to a pound of plastic for every medicine that we switch to.”
The fix: Look for vitamins and medicines sold in glass bottles
Up to 80% of glass is recycled, whereas only about 8% of plastic is recycled.
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Plastic and your health
“There are over 190 billion plastic pharmaceutical bottles created every year, and only 1-2% of those are recycled — the rest go into oceans, landfills, and our communities,” says Gong. “Recent studies show that microplastics are present in our blood, and the average consumer eats about a credit card worth of plastic every year."
"At Cabinet Health, we believe that no medicine company that truly cares about people’s health should be packaging its medicine in plastic," he continues. "Cabinet is the first and only company that sells plastic-free packaging that meets and exceeds FDA standards.”
The issue: Putting a band-aid on it
Over 42 million band-aids were sold in 2019, but most band-aids are made from plastic – which can take years and years to fully decompose.
The fix: Biodegradable band-aids
Band-aids made from bamboo, band-aids made without plastic, and band-aids sold in tins are all eco-friendly alternatives to traditional band-aids.
The issue: The case against cotton
Cotton production is incredibly detrimental to the environment because it uses pesticides and fertilizers that pollute soil and waterways. Cotton also uses more water than any other agricultural commodity — yikes!
The fix: Ditch the single-use cotton swabs and cotton rounds
Reach for reusable swabs and rounds that are made from sustainable sources. Bamboo products and organic cotton are also more sustainable alternatives to commercial cotton.
Eco-friendly swaps for your medicine cabinet
OTC medicine
What you’ve got: Cold and flu syrup in plastic bottles
The swap: Ditch the plastic bottles and opt for cold and flu medicine in reusable glass bottles from Cabinet Health. The brand provides maximum-strength cold and flu relief from symptoms like congestion, fever, and cough – all in a plastic-free refill system.
What you’ve got: Over-the-counter pills in plastic bottles
The swap: Cabinet Health has an entire line of OTC medicine refill systems that use glass jars and compostable medicine pouches. You'll find plastic-free medicine cabinet essentials like gas relief, sleep aids, pain and fever relief, and allergy relief that’ve been batch-tested to meet their high-quality standards.
What you’ve got: Sinus congestion relief in blister packs
The swap: Marie Originals Sinus Congestion Relief Spray comes in an easy-to-recycle glass spray bottle. The brand also carries a wide array of pharmaceutical remedies for everything from athlete’s foot treatments to ear oil, plus poison ivy relief soap.
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How to sustainably dispose of medicine
Improperly disposed pharmaceutical drugs are bad news for the environment — they pollute water supplies and negatively affect ecosystems. If your meds aren’t on the FDA’s Flush List, toss ‘em in a sealable bag filled with cat litter or sawdust, and throw them out with the trash. If your medicine is on the Flush List, go ahead and flush the pills down the toilet, or take them to a drug take-back location. Either way, make sure to cross off your personal information before recycling empty medicine bottles.
First aid
What you’ve got: Plastic bandaids
The swap: PATCH Compostable Adhesive Bandages are made from 100% bamboo fibers, which makes them compostable and biodegradable. They’ve even got kids’ bandages that have an eco-friendly panda print.
Welly Bandages are another great alternative to conventional bandaids. These bandages come in tons of fun prints so you can heal with a bit of flair — and they’ve got a flexible fabric design and cool reusable tin.
What you’ve got: Healing ointments in plastic tubes
The swap: All Good Goop is a natural, non-greasy healing balm made with soothing botanicals that help heal minor scrapes and burns. And with more than 16 ways to use it, this plant-powered salve is going to be your medicine cabinet’s new superhero.
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Prepare for the unexpected
“I’m most wasteful and spend the most money on my health when I’m not prepared. This often happens when I’m at the airport or traveling," Gong says. "What I do is I use one of Cabinet’s refillable pouches and make them into mini travel pouches."
"Instead of even bringing the glass bottles around or paying a ton for travel-size plastic bottles and blister packs, I just carry a compostable pouch with one dosage and whenever I’m done, I’ll just toss it in a compost bin.”
If you don’t have a refillable medicine pouch, a reusable sandwich bag is a great alternative.
Vitamins and supplements
What you’ve got: Vitamins and supplements in plastic bottles
The swap: Vitamins in glass jars are becoming more and more prevalent. Brands like Gaia Herbs, Llama Naturals, and Ora Organics all sport a variety of must-have supplements like multivitamins for adults and children, vegan probiotics, and protein powders that come in earth-friendly glass packaging.
Love your daily multi but hate swallowing pills? Learn all about easy-to-chew gummy vitamins and how they work.
Oral care
What you’ve got: Plastic toothbrushes
The swap: Brands like The Humble Co. carry eco-friendly toothbrushes made from fast-growing, biodegradable bamboo instead of plastic. You can also find toothbrushes from Radius that offer replaceable heads with handles that are made from recycled materials.
Preserve has toothbrushes made from recycled plastic, and you can mail in your old toothbrushes to be recycled — a win-win situation in our book.
What you’ve got: Nylon floss in plastic container
The swap: Eco-friendly floss from The Humble Co. has sustainable packaging and the picks are made from plant-based materials — not plastic. If you prefer spools of floss instead, Radius offers plastic-free packaging with 55 yards of certified organic floss.
What you’ve got: Toothpaste in hard-to-recycle plastic tubes
The swap: Look for brands that partner with take-back programs, like Tom's of Maine. The brand's toothpastes are made from naturally-derived ingredients and come in plastic tubes that you can send back — free of charge — to be recycled.
David’s Natural Toothpaste comes in a metal tube that’s easily recyclable, and each tube comes with a metal tube key roller to squeeze out every last bit, ensuring you don’t waste a drop. Hello also offers both a traditional tube as well as its new toothpaste tabs in multiple flavors.
Learn more about how to pick the best natural toothbrush with our oral care guide.
Beauty
What you’ve got: Makeup remover wipes
The swap: The Superbloom Makeup Remover Towel is a reusable alternative to disposable makeup remover wipes — and it comes without the nasty chemicals. The towel removes a face-full of makeup with just water and handwashes clean with the help of a little soap.
What you’ve got: Face wash in plastic containers
The swap: Instead of using face wash in plastic containers, try face wash bars like these from Peach. They’ve got a line of soap bars targeted for dry skin, oily skin, and skin that needs a little exfoliation.
Don’t wanna give up your liquid face wash? Check out brands like Acure that partner with recycling take back programs. These programs make it easy to send in your loved-up plastic tubes to be recycled.
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Take it from the medicine cabinet to the vanity
Keep the sustainability train rolling from your medicine cabinet to your vanity with eco-friendly makeup and clean beauty products. Brands like Axiology, Terra Beauty Bars, and Burt’s Bees use sustainable packaging, ingredients, and business practices to create beautiful products that benefit you – and the planet, too.
Durables
What you’ve got: Cotton rounds and cotton swabs
The swap: Swap your single-use cotton products for reusable cotton rounds or swabs. Last Object carries reusable swabs that can be used up to 1,000 times, saving the planet from tons of disposable cotton swabs with every purchase. They’re easy to use, easy to clean and fit much more neatly in your medicine cabinet than a box full of cotton swabs.
If cotton rounds are more your speed, check out the facial rounds from Marley’s Monsters or Cocokind. Both are long-lasting, gentle on skin, and ideal for everything you’d use single-use cotton products for.
What you’ve got: Disposable razors
The swap: Safety razors like Leaf Shave’s Plastic-Free Razor are a fantastic way to get a clean shave without the waste that comes with disposable razors. The Leaf Shave Razor has an all-metal construction and comes with 10 refill razor blades — as soon as one blade dulls, just pop in a new one. Easy!
Period care
What you’ve got: Conventional pads and tampons
The swap: Menstrual cups, like those from Sustain or Lena, are a reusable alternative to disposable menstrual products. One menstrual cup can last up to 10 years — and with the average person going through 240 tampons a year, that’s a lot of waste being diverted from the landfills.
Organic cotton pads and tampons are another eco-friendly alternative to conventional period products. Organic cotton is made without the pesticides and harmful chemicals that are used in traditional cotton production, which makes them better for your body and safer for the Earth.
Don’t let PMS ruin your day. We’ve got natural PMS remedies to keep you chill while your body does its thing.
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Make your menses more sustainable
If you want to nix period products entirely, try period underwear. These undies soak up your monthly menses via a layer of super-absorbent organic cotton. They’re machine washable and last for years — what’s not to love?
What is Grove Collaborative?
From natural household to personal care, everything at Grove is healthier for you and the planet — and works! We recommend monthly shipments and product refills that you can edit or move at any time. No monthly fees or commitments required.