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Cancel culture is super heightened right now.

While people are getting upset and offended (and rightly so) about the many injustices happening in regards to race, gender, equality, and pretty much all the things, I have one question.

Why is it so easy to cancel television shows and books and restaurants and celebrities but not easy to cancel all the things that are negatively impacting our environment?

Why are we so mad at celebrities speaking out against racism and not the rapid decline of our planet’s health?

Can we please cancel things like plastic straws, trash bags, toothbrushes, and literally disposable anything? Where is that cancel culture happening?

If we’re going to hate on literally anything, can we please hate on that? Why aren’t more people as pissed off about climate change as they are about Meghan Markle being vulnerable and human?

I truly don’t understand.

Perhaps many of you feel like me. And when it comes to climate change and the ever-growing fear of a planet on the verge of imploding, I feel so helpless with what’s happening; I can hardly breathe.

Over the past several years, I’ve been slowly getting into eco-friendly practices, but even now, I know I can still do better. There are always ways to reduce your impact on this earth. Always.

It just takes being mindful and actually giving a sh*t. Sometimes, giving a shit is the hardest, especially when you refer back to my first sentence.

What we can’t do quickly to reverse what’s happening to our climate makes us feel helpless and out of control. But there are very simple and inexpensive things you can do right now to reduce your impact on the planet.

If veganism isn’t your thing, you can do this. If you don’t have the pleasure of riding your bike or walking to work, you can do this. If you don’t have solar panels up yet, you can do this.

So, let’s cancel some incredibly-toxic-to-our-planet sh*t and incorporate things that are going to help our planet survive.

Here are seven products we can cancel immediately for the sake of our planet:

(As a plus, I’ve provided you with simple and inexpensive alternatives to these toxic things.)

1. Plastic Razors

I know you love your Venus or your Gillette razors, but honestly, they need to go, and you need to purchase a straight razor.

This was the best damn thing I ever did for myself. I bought a nice $18 Bambaw straight razor three years ago and a pack of 100 blades for $9.

The long-term costs of razors and their overall impact on the environment once they end up in your local landfill are truly awful when you look at the numbers.

If you spent 10 dollars on a pack of 10 razors (many of you will likely pay more if you splurge on top brands), you’d pay at least $3,800 over the next 37 years.

Two billion razors end up in a landfill each year. We can lower that number by ditching the disposals.

2. Disposable Facial Rounds

Assuming you use a facial round twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, that is still 730 rounds per year. In 37 years, you’ll have used over 27,000 facial rounds, and all that ends up in a landfill.

Along with my straight purchase, I invested in a set of facial rounds that I can use for anything from removing nail polish to applying toner to whatever else you use facial rounds for.

Reusable cotton rounds are the way to go. They can be washed and used multiple times over until they deteriorate on their own. Most packs come with around 20, more than enough for just you or an entire family.

3. Plastic Tooth Brushes and Floss

This is a pretty obvious one that honestly should have been handled decades ago. All toothbrush companies should be on board with making wooden toothbrushes. I still don’t understand why they’re not.

One billion plastic toothbrushes are added to landfills every year, which adds up to about 50 million pounds of waste.

For $6, you can get four biodegradable toothbrushes that will last you a year. Let’s say, over the next 37 years, you buy a pack of four Colgate toothbrushes at $9.50 apiece, which is about $351 in 37 years. That doesn’t seem like too much more of a cost, and we still need to brush our teeth, right?

Maybe you don’t care about spending $351 over the next 37 years on toothbrushes. That’s fine, but each plastic toothbrush you will use, which will be about 148 of them if you swap them out every 3 to 4 months, will end up in a landfill.

It takes 500 years for one toothbrush to wear down. The planet is going to spend 74,000 years to break down all the plastic toothbrushes you tossed in the trash.

Wooden toothbrushes take 4 to 6 months to decompose. And while you’re at, just get biodegradable floss that you can refill.

4. Plastic Shopping and Produce Bags

This should also be a given, but we still haven’t outlawed the use of trash bags, which is something far beyond my understanding. Plenty of other people have made it work around the world. It’s time everyone got on board.

And I could shout more statistics at you; however, everyone is vehemently aware of how unhealthy plastic shopping and produce bags are for the environment. Yet, millions of people still use them.

Remember, we have to be mindful and give a shit to stop using them. And the truth is, many of us aren’t.

So I’ll spare you a lengthy lecture. Please just start using reusable shopping bags and produce bags. And when you need trash bags for your kitchen or bathroom, choose something reusable.

5. Plastic Straws

This is a trend I am happy to see making some progress. Even companies like Starbucks are getting on board with changing how they sell their beverages without straws. They are making their cold beverages drinkable all by changing the style of their lids.

But we still have a ways to go. We still have a long ways to go.

Overall, metal straws are so easy and convenient, and you can keep them virtually everywhere! I keep some in my purse, in my car, and at home. You can buy them literally anywhere now.

Wooden straws are also a good option if metal straws make you nervous.

This article details just how many straws don’t end up in a landfill when we switch to metal straws.

6. Literally Anything Plastic and Styrofoam.

Whether it be Tupperware, sandwich bags, toothbrushes, sunglasses, cooking utensils, coffee cups, plastic spoons, cleaning products, or any other products sold in plastic. Ditch it all. It’s astounding just how much crap is wrapped up in plastic.

Find ways to purchase things in metal or glass. Or, if you are going to purchase anything plastic, make an effort to recycle it. Learn how to make your own household cleaning products so you can use glass spray bottles instead.

Eight million tons of plastic end up in our oceans. Imagine if we could stop just a portion of this right now by switching a few of our daily habits.

7. Plastic Dining Ware

Yes. Get rid of plastic cutlery, disposable plates, disposable cups, the whole shebang. It’s gross how much we use this.

I cringe every time I go to someone’s house and see them religiously using these items because they don’t want to wash a dish.

I mean, come on.

My parents have switched to things like those really old Corelle plates that are as thin as paper, and we have a stockpile of metal cutlery for gatherings. We also have enough napkins to host an army.

You just have to make the commitment.

As for traveling, you can use bamboo travel sets and glass or metal containers.

Eco-Friendly Companies You Can Buy From

There are tons of companies out there that are doing what they can to clean up oceans to help you transition from plastic-lovers to eco-friendly.

Mightiness is one of those. They send you eco-friendly products each month when you subscribe. They help you transition into a more eco-friendly lifestyle and household.

Soundcloud is another one of my favorites. They created an entire line of recycled clothing items, eco-friendly sunscreen, metal straws, reusable tumblers, and a ton of more things. And 10 percent of whatever you purchase goes toward marine conservation efforts.

Pela is a company known for creating eco-friendly cellphone cases, which we all use frequently. Not only do they have beautiful cases, but they also don’t take forever to decompose if they break or you grow tired of them.

Seventh Generation is widely known for creating an entire life of household cleaning products that you can feel good about using. The downside is, many of their products are sold in plastic.

Bamba is where I got my straight razors, and I absolutely love it. You don’t get to do a quick shave with these, but they definitely do the job. 

My Remaining thoughts and a quote from Jim Morrison

“There can’t be any large-scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It’s got to happen inside first.” ~ Jim Morrison

If enough of us did this individually, companies would change how they package their product. If people stop buying plastic toothbrushes and plastic razors, they will change. But we all have to do it to make it large scale.

It also requires fighting against the companies that do sell products that are killing our environment. Recognize that these companies likely know their negative impact and still do nothing to fix it.

Canceling these simple things and replacing them with eco-friendly solutions will give you peace of mind. You and you alone can make an impact.

After that, all you can do is lead by example to influence others.

You can do this. I believe in you.