Why Should I buy Eco-Friendly Products? 5 Compelling Reasons [2024]

Our planet is in the middle of an environmental crisis

As we write this, many countries are facing severe consequences of global warming.

Wildfires in Maui and many Canadian provinces have cost hundrets of lives and left whole cities homeless in the worst wildfire season ever recorded.

At the same time widespread floods in Nevada and Spain are leaving thousands stranded or dead.

As if that weren't enough, air- soil- and water pollution is reaching critical levels with millions of Americans breathing polluted air and drinking toxic water. 

Facing these environmental challenges, consumers are becoming more and more aware of the environmental footprint of their consumption with 78% of US consumers stating that a sustainable lifestyle is important to them. 

Still, many consumers hesitate when buying eco-friendly products. They are too expensive, hard to find, and greenwashing has blurred what "eco-friendly" really means. 

With this article, we'll start clearing up a little bit of that blurriness for you, by giving you 5 simple reasons why you should consider buying eco-friendly products (Stay tuned for our next article about what eco-friendly really means).

1. Vote with your wallet

Your consumer choices carry more weight than you might think. Every time you make a purchase, you vote for the kind of world you want to live in.

This principle, often referred to as "voting with your wallet," is a powerful way to influence the market and encourage sustainable practices.

When you choose to buy eco-friendly products and support companies with strong environmental values, you are sending a clear message to businesses that you prioritize sustainability and ethical practices.

As more consumers make these choices, companies are compelled to respond by adopting greener alternatives, reducing their carbon footprint, and investing in sustainable production methods.

As a side effect, you'll reduce the demand for harmful products and companies are motivated to invest in more sustainable alternatives. In the long run, this will lead to lower prices and more avaialability in the future. 

 

2. Eco-Friendly Products Last Longer

Did you ever buy a cheap pair of jeans and got annoyed, when it ripped within the first half year? Or did you ever buy something for your kitchen in a dollar store and the item broke with it's first use?

You're not alone! Environmentally harmful products are often designed to appeal to impulse purchases and are of inferior quality.

Eco-friendly products on the other side are often made to last. While they may seem pricier at first, they often save you money in the long run with durability.

A great example are lightbulbs. A traditional light bulb might only cost you only half of an energy-saving LED light bulb. But the LED bulb will last up to 100 times longer, if you take good care of it.

As another example, take our solid dish soap bar and many of our other kitchen items.

Maybe it seems overpriced to pay $9 for a dish soap, if you get liquid dish soap in a plastic bottle for $3 at Walmart. But if you take into account that the solid dish soap will last you multiple months and replaces up to 4 bottles, you can even save money in the long run.

 

3. Eco-Friendly Products Are Safer For You And Your Family

 

One of the main benefits of eco friendly products is that they are usually safer, as they use natural materials and ingredients. 

That holds true for many areas of your life. From toxic sulfates and parabens in shampoo, to microplastic shedding from cheap clothing.

Another true treasure trove for toxic ingredients is your kitchen. Bleach, ammonia, non-pronouncable toxic chemicals like butoxydiglycol, and many more are found in your kitchen cleaners.

Even your dish soap involves harmful chemicals like foaming agents that are known to cause cancer and are known endocrine disruptors (chemicals that interfere with the bodily hormone system).

Luckily, every toxic kitchen product has a natural counterpart, from natural dish soap, to natural all purpose cleaning tablets.

These products do not use chemicals and are based on non-harmful natural ingredients like coconut oils and sodium. 

Check out our dishwashing & cleaning collection, if you want some inspiration.

 

4. Eco-friendly also means animal friendly and people friendly

 

If you care about the environment, you likely also care about it's inhabitants.

Unfortunately many companies have faced scandals about animal cruelty and human rights violations in context with their products.

But eco-friendly businesses care about more than that.

Take us as example. At SWOP our main concern is fighting plastic pollution, but we won't ever sell a product that was produced in bad working conditions or gives any suspicion of animal cruelty.  

That's the case with many eco-friendly products. If you ensure you're not blind-sided by a case of greenwashing, buying eco-friendly products also means ensuring you care for the planet as a whole and everyone living on it. 

 

5. Eco-friendly products are eco-friendly

 

WOW... what a shocker that headline was, right?

We do recognize that this is a pretty obvious point.

But buying truly eco friendly products means you care for the environment and you are making a small change for a better planet by:

• reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• reducing plastic pollution
• reducing wasteful resource use

Eco friendly businesses try to make an impact by using compostable or recyclable packaging, reducing carbon emissions, and ensuring locally sourced products.

This reduces the damaging impact compared to traditional products, which are often produced under questionable conditions and shipped around the globe multiple times during production.

 

Give eco-friendly a try, you won't regret it!

In a world facing serious environmental issues like global warming and pollution, people are starting to notice.

Many want to live more sustainably, with 78% of US consumers saying they care about this.

But when it comes to buying eco-friendly stuff, some are unsure, because they worry about the cost and where to find truly eco-friendly products.

We hope that this article cleared things up a little bit for you, why eco-friendly products are the better alternative.

We can only encourage you to give eco-friendly a try and see if it's for you.

You ARE making an impact! Don't let anyone tell you something else!

 

We hope you enjoyed this article. If you want to read more like this, make sure to check out our Blog and follow us on Instagram. If you are interested in truly sustainable products, check out our Shop.

Feel free to leave a comment belw if you want to engage in the discussion.