What goes into a product really matters. Where it was harvested, how it was manufactured, and what effect it has after use all relate to the earth, but those qualities aren’t enough. Eco friendly soaps use sustainable ingredients that pose no threat to the planet, but if you’re wasteful with them, they’re really not eco at all. It isn’t just that you buy green products but how you use them which matters most. To make a product eco friendly, you should conserve and use it judiciously—especially with soaps.
It seems like simple logic that the more soap you use, the cleaner you’ll be. After a certain point, though, your body reaches a limit of how clean it will get, and it really doesn’t take long to reach that point. Studies have shown that people use an exorbitant amount of soap in the shower, far more than is necessary to clean off oil and dirt. Those who use bar soap are less culpable than body wash users, but even those who purchase eco friendly soaps create a great deal of waste. If used properly, a single bar of soap can survive dozens of showers; you just need to be careful when and how you apply it.
Lathering up beneath a stream of warm water may be refreshing, but it can carry off soap before it’s even applied. Turning off the showerhead doesn’t just conserve water; it saves soap too, allowing you to get many more uses out of it. Using a washcloth or luffa sponge similarly reduces the amount of soap you use, and with scrubbing these products can actually help to clean your skin. It’s a good thing to buy eco friendly soaps, but it’s a better thing to not waste them.
