13 Zero-Waste Travel Essentials to Pack This Holiday Season

Jet setting around the globe to explore new destinations may sound glamorous... until you pause to consider the carbon footprint. It’s something that’s clearly been weighing on Bella Hadid’s mind, because last month she announced her donation of 600 trees to be planted in California and the Amazon—20 for each flight she had taken in the three months prior. “It makes me sad how much my job effects my carbon footprint,” she wrote, which of course got us thinking about the environmental impact of our own travels, whether personal or professional.

Cutting back on just one or two flights can bring your carbon footprint down by 10 to 20 per cent, and according to The New York Times, a round-trip from the East Coast to the West Coast generates roughly 20 per cent of the greenhouse gasses a car emits in an entire year.

However, sometimes flights and long car rides are unavoidable, especially during the holidays. If you’ve got to fly, consider buying a direct flight ticket as planes burn the most fuel during takeoff and landing. You can also purchase a carbon offset to counter the emissions produced from your flight. Apart from that, consider the smaller ways in which you can be kind to the environment, specifically in your packing habits. Whether you’re heading home to the family, planning a beach getaway or embarking on a road trip, this curated shopping guide will help you stock up on sustainable travel essentials, making it easy to dodge the single-use items we mindlessly receive or purchase on planes or at airports and hotels. With that, browse our 13 favourite zero-waste travel side-kicks, from a roll-up tote bag made of recycled nylon (for those spur-of-the-moment purchases you’ll inevitably come home with) to a collapsible coffee cup you can keep in your purse for whenever a caffeine craving strikes.

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Photography via Simons

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Zero-Waste Travel

Stojo 12 oz. Collapsible Silicone Cup
($20, Simons)

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