At ECOlunchbox, we’re hard at work reducing trash at lunchtime, but there are so many more nooks and crannies in our home and lifestyle that can benefit from zero waste thinking. For example, have you thought about your elbows, knees and all those dry rough spots that would appreciate a bit of zero-waste buttering up?

Beauty products can come with some hidden downsides, such as excess packaging, micro-beads, questionable testing, potentially toxic ingredients, preservatives and more.

So, to help you take matters into your own hands and go zero waste and uber healthy with your body care, we’ve invited zero-waste blogger and vlogger, Gitte Mary, to share with you her recipe for an easy DIY body butter she has developed. It’s made with all-natural ingredients and no extra packaging!

Ready to roll up your sleeves and get started right making your own eco-friendly body butter?

First you'll need to source some shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut oil. (We bought our shea butter and cocoa butter at a local soap and candle supply shop, but you can also find them online. Coconut oil is easier to find and is available at most grocery stores). You'll also need some reusable containers to store you body butter, so grab some cleaned jam jars or one of our snack containers to help reduce plastic waste. Follow the steps in this video to whip up this zero-waste body butter:

More Zero-Waste Beauty Tips

If you want to take a deep dive into upgrading your bathroom cabinet we recommend taking a look at these handy apps to help guide you to greener beauty products:

1. Non-toxic

Think Dirty is an app lets you search or scan your makeup and will tell you if its ingredients show evidence of carcinogenicity, developmental & reproductive toxicity and/or allergenicity & immunotoxicity.

2. Animal Friendly

The website Logical Harmony lets you search for cruelty-free, animal-friendly products. If it's not on the list, its not safe for animals. 

3. Eco-Friendly

B Corps is comprised of businesses that making positive environmental impact. Take a look at their list of green companies, including All Good which we featured on our blog recently.

4. Say Goodbye to Microbeads

Does your face scrub contain microbeads? These tiny pieces of plastic are found in exfoliating beauty products including body scrubs, face scrubs, lip scrubs and even toothpaste. When they get flushed down the drain they are often too small to be caught and sifted by water treatment facilities, meaning they go straight into the ocean where they are consumed by aquatic wildlife. Microbeads have been banned in the US effective July 2017, but did you know that the beauty industry can sell these banned products up until 2018. So keep looking at the label!