Society is making big changes and the shift towards eco-friendly products and lifestyles has gained serious momentum in recent years. People are looking for ways to live more simply, use less energy, reduce their carbon footprint, eat less meat, and use only sustainable products. One huge step that people can make who are looking to live more sustainably is to only wear eco-friendly clothes and use eco-friendly accessories. Not only is this good for the environment, but it is also really fashionable to do so. In this article, we will look at some of the eco-friendly accessories that are a must-have in 2020.
1. Bamboo sunglasses
There has been a huge trend in using bamboo for all kinds of products. Recently we have seen bamboo toothbrushes, bamboo furniture, and bamboo stationery. Bamboo sunglasses have become hugely popular since a host of celebrities was seen sporting them at Coachella and the other summer festivals. There are so many ranges of bamboo sunglasses available and you can click here to check out some that we found. Bamboo sunglasses are stylish, durable, and are made from sustainable and eco-friendly bamboo. Not only do they use bamboo for their frames but many styles use recycled glass for the lenses. Glass production is incredibly harmful to the environment and so utilizing recycled glass significantly cuts down or harmful gases being released into the atmosphere. Many regular sunglasses frames are made from steel or titanium, but both have serious issues. Making steel from iron ore is incredibly bad for the environment. Titanium mining can damage the environment and there are also many titanium mines with ethical issues like modern slavery and child labour.
2. Eco-Friendly Jewelry
Finding ethically made and eco-friendly jewelry is very easy and there are a lot of small and independent designers who will sell their work through their websites, at craft markets, or through local boutiques. Because they make the jewelry themselves or with their small team you don’t have to worry about sweatshops or anything of the other issues that come up with larger companies and mass-produced jewelry. When buying jewellery, you should always make sure
that they have some sort of standards or policies about the treatment and pay of their workers. Look for fair trade jewellery and do as much research as possible about the jewellery company, its practices, and where it sources its raw materials. Conflict diamonds are a huge issue and cause so much pain and suffering around the world so it is so important that you know where your diamonds are coming from. Eco-friendly jewellery depends a lot on what you’re looking for but in general, the best thing to do is to avoid plastics because they’re just so bad for the environment and contain a lot of harmful chemicals. Eco-friendly jewellery will often say that it doesn’t contain harmful chemicals and especially when you are buying from a small shop or designer, you can check with them how the piece was made. There is a lot of recycled and upcycled jewellery available which involves taking existing metals and jewellery and remaking or redesigning them into new pieces and this is one great way of protecting the environment.
3. Eco Leather Products
Leather accessories are always in style but leather is in the top 10 of the global environmental hit list because of billions of gallons of water and kilograms of food that are needed to produce animal leather. Eco-leather is a perfect alternative to cow leather and scientists use 100% bio-renewable materials to produce a fabric that looks and feels like leather but doesn’t cost a cow its life or harm the environment. Eco-leather is made with cotton or other natural fibres that are mixed with plant oils and then heated and pressed together in layers to create a fabric that looks and feels just like leather. There are so many amazing eco-leather accessories from shoes to handbags to belts and you really could never guess that they are not genuine leather. Many people even believe that eco-leather has a lustre and shine to it that animal leather lacks. Eco-leather products are significantly cheaper than animal leather products and we may come to the point where more people are buying eco-leather than animal leather.
Climate change is a hot topic in politics, culture, and technological circles, and finding new and innovative ways to reduce our impact on the environment is vital for the survival of our planet. Similarly, the world is becoming more conscious of the blight of people working in inhumane conditions for unethical employers and companies and so we must look at the ethics of how our products are produced. Ethical and eco-friendly accessories are not only fashionable but can be purchased with a clean conscience. It is necessary that whenever we buy anything these days, we know exactly how, where, and in what conditions it was made.
