13 Environmentally Conscious Packing Tips for Your Next Vacation

Your trip’s environmental footprint starts forming before you ever leave the house. If you pack wisely, there’s a lot you can do to reduce the negative impact that traveling can have on the planet. Here’s a short list of ecofriendly guidelines to get you going.

Single-use travel-size toiletries make travel convenient, but they are among the most wasteful products on the market. Swap them out for reusable containers that you refill at home—they're less wasteful, and far more economical anyway. Or, give solid products a try: soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and other products are available in bar form.

Of the sunscreens available in the US, mineral sunscreens are the only reef-safe options. Chemical sunscreens rely on oxybenzone, octinoxate, avobenzone, octisalate, and other ingredients that wash off into the water and harm coral reefs—they can cause coral bleaching, DNA damage, and deformities in developing coral. Stick to mineral sunscreens.

Outside of the United States, keep an eye out for bemotrizinol. It’s approved for use in many regions of the world, but not the US—although the Food and Drug Administration is now considering it for approval. There’s less research into its effects on coral than on mineral sunscreens, but it’s widely considered safer than the chemical sunscreens standard in the US.

If you’re heading off-grid or to high-insect places, it’s possible to stay safe without the DEET. The substance often considered the most effective insect repellant has been associated with negative impacts for human health and the environment, and can also break down plastics and damage clothing made with synthetic fibers. Natural repellants like oil of lemon eucalyptus can work for shorter durations. But a new entrant to the market, from a California startup called Mimikai, has been proven to be as effective as DEET. It’s natural, though—the active ingredient is called undecanone, a compound in wild tomatoes that scientists have identified as the reason that bugs leave the plant alone.

So-called forever chemicals used to be in just about anything labeled waterproof. Things have changed drastically in the last two years, with New York and California banning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in textiles early last year. They're not entirely gone, though, so make sure you're looking for products specifically labeled as PFAS-free, says Marty Mulvihill, a managing partner at Safer Made, a VC firm that invests in companies and technologies that reduce human exposure to harmful chemicals; he also cofounded the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, a