The ultimate list of sustainable must-haves for your summer. From eco sunglasses to compostable beach toys, discover how you can enjoy your summer while looking good and doing good.
12 Sustainable Summer Must-Haves
1. Carolina K
Carolina K is a Latin American lifestyle brand created by Argentinian designer, Carolina Kleinman. Known for unique prints and inspired by a desire to preserve artisanal traditional of indigenous peoples, her pieces are handmade by artisans in remote areas of Mexico, Peru, and India.
Marieta One Piece, $144.50
The Marieta One Piece is made with ECOCEAN® - Recycled polyester from PET bottles, industrial polyester wastes and even clothing. The printing process is environmentally friendly, being a dry print (without the use of water) and ecological and certified inks.
2. Accompany
First and foremost, Accompany’s mission is to help human beings—to change the lives of individuals, families, and communities, for good. They scour the globe for handmade pieces and ethically sourced items, that bring human impact and fashion impact together. They believe that the socially-conscious industry holds the key to that permanent change.
Raffia Desert Fringe Slide Sandal, $98.00
Find the beautiful Raffia Fringe Slide Sandal exclusively on Accompany. It is a beautiful crocheted woman raffia featuring ivory and brown fringe. Handcrafted in Morrocco, it is the perfect kind sandal to add to your closet for summer.
3. Wear Panda
Wear Panda started with the vision that the sunglasses industry could be something different. They realized there were too many cheap, generic plastic sunglasses out there polluting our ocean. They wanted to create something sustainable, eco-friendly, and beautiful. All of its sunglasses are made with Bamboo. Bamboo is a remarkably low impact plant. It requires less replanting, fertilizer, and water than other alternatives. As an added bonus, bamboo forests also produce more oxygen than traditional woods.
Monroe Bamboo Sunglasses, $120.00
The Monroe Bamboo Sunglasses are Wear Panda’s bestselling bamboo frame. They are an eco-friendly & timeless accessory for a Kind Traveler’s summer. Plus, for every product that Wear Panda sells, a portion of the sale is donated to charity. Some of its partners include 1% for the Planet and One Tree Planted.
4. The Dharma Door
The Dharma Door, an Australian based company, is all about woven texture. They look to combine contemporary design, enduring quality, and unfailing ethics to create products that tell a much bigger story than just the item itself. Every product in its collection is crafted by combining natural fibers with intricate hand-making techniques.
Jute String Bag, $47.00
Ideal for farmers' markets, beach days, and everything in between, the Jute String Bag is a kind tote bag that combines style with substance. Hand-knotted from finely twisted jute string, this versatile piece is handmade - from start to finish.
5. OSEA Malibu
OSEA Malibu was created with the intention to deliver the best skin care with the highest quality ingredients. They draw inspiration from the ocean, sun, earth, and atmosphere. OSEA Malibu uses innovative formulas of certified organic, bioavailable seaweed blended with pure steam-distilled and cold-pressed essential oils. This approach has allowed them to eliminate the need for harmful synthetic ingredients entirely.
Hyaluronic Sea Serum, $88.00
The OSEA Malibu Hyaluronic Sea Serum is a burst of hydration for all skin types. The high-performance concentrate visibly improves signs of aging, increases facial volume, and encourages brighter, firmer skin. It is formulated with only three organic seaweeds and is the perfect serum for a Kind Traveler summer adventure.
6. Aloe Up
Most sunscreens and moisturizers are based with water or mineral oil, sometimes manufacturers will put in a drop or two of aloe vera, but that does not do the trick. Aloe Up makes sure we get the true benefits of aloe vera by putting at least 35% in all of their products. The high concentration of aloe vera stimulates your immune system to reproduce skin cells and is great for moisturizing while remaining light and non-greasy.
White Collection SPF 30 Lotion, $14.00
With a refreshing hint of coconut-mango fragrance, the White Collection SPF Lotion from Aloe Up is an undeniable must-have for your summer. This sunscreen is more like lotion - it goes on light and dries quickly to leave your skin feeling airy and hydrated. Based with aloe vera, this lotion is paraben-free, cruelty-free, and reef & ocean safe.
7. Juice Beauty
Juice Beauty goes beyond socially responsible giving and using clean ingredients (and they do both of these amazingly). Juice Beauty only uses certified organic ingredients to limit pesticides & synthetic fertilizer residue to protect humans, animals and the planet. They also incorporate sustainability practices into its packaging, manufacturing, headquarters, and farm.
Stem Cellular CC Cream with SPF 30, $39.00
The Stem Cellular CC Cream with SPF from Juice Beauty is the perfect addition to your summer sun care routine. As a 12-in-1 multi-tasking color-correcting cream, it delivers amazing age-defying, skin-perfecting results. Plus, it is reef safe and packaged sustainably with FSC paper.
8. Public Goods
Public Goods works to make products you use every day healthy, sustainable, and easy to access. They deliver eco-friendly essentials directly to your door. You'll love its simple and minimalist packaging design, focused on looking good, instead of catching your eye in a drug store. They are a healthy and sustainable company that refuses to make products that are not good for you and the planet.
Eco Dental Floss, $2.50
Public Goods dental floss is made from real silk, coated with all-natural candelilla so that it will glide comfortably between the teeth. Its gloss is 100% biodegradable and compostable as opposed to typical plastic floss. Plus, the packaging is made out of paper, metal, and glass - all materials that have a very high recycling rate.
9. Firewire Surfboards
Modern surfboards are typically not a friend of Mother Earth. Most are made from toxic, petroleum based chemicals. The opportunity for re-use is very limited once broken or damaged. Firewire is the first high-performance surfboard made from the latest innovations in green chemistry and recycled materials. We love its ENVIROFLEX boards as they are glassed with resin made from 25% biologically derived carbon content and meet the ECOBOARD Project benchmark developed by Sustainable Surf an environmental non-profit organization.
Firewire, Longboards, Mannkine, $925-$1300
10. Sand Cloud
When you purchase products from Sand Cloud, you help to preserve our marine life. 10 percent of their profits go toward marine conservation (we're excited to see two charities on Kind Traveler as beneficiaries that you can support when you book Kind Hotels: Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, California, and Pacific Marine Mammal Care in Laguna Beach, California). All products are sustainably sourced and fit nicely in your beach bag (say goodbye to big, bulky towels). You’ll love its super soft and absorbent material that’s sand-resistant and dries 3X faster.
Mandala Sea Turtle Large Towel, $64.00
Mandala Sea Turtle design, made from Turkish cotton for a softer hand feel and a better sustainable product, single weave jacquard, twisted tassel fringe and sand resistant.
Related: 6 Eco Warriors Share Their Favorite Ocean Conservation Wins for World Oceans Day
11. Rogue Wave Toys
Rogue Wave is the result of a diverse community rallying around a common belief: that we can make it better. All of its products are designed with the earth and ocean in mind. This company started after a day at the beach. Founder Kate Reimann knew she needed to make better products using better materials, and started 3D printing plant-based prototypes from her home office with the goal of making conventional plastic obsolete.
Compostable Beach Toy Set, $34.99
The Rogue Wave compostable beach toy set comes with a certified compostable beach pail, sifter, and shovel. At the end of a very long life of play on the beach, these toys will compost back to soil — you can toss them in your municipal yard waste bin or your trash; they’ll compost in industrial facilities or active landfills. So, no matter what, these toys won’t be hanging around like conventional plastic, because they're made from plants! This beach toy set is the ultimate way to play sustainably on the beach this summer.
12. Soma
Kind Traveler’s Sustainable Summer Must-Have Guide would not be complete without a reusable, BPA-free water bottle that helps you fight plastic pollution as you venture out into the world – while also staying hydrated and classy. Soma, a B-Corporation, takes sustainability seriously and is committed to using post-consumer waste and recyclable materials in its production. To go even further, they offset emissions with conservation-based forestry and donate to charity: water projects upon every purchase.
Soma 25 oz. Glass Water Bottle, $35.00
Soma has innovated a new water bottle with a greater capacity to keep you hydrated. The 25 oz. bottle (original bottle is 17 oz.) is a taller, slimmer design with a sturdier base. They’ve also added a soft-touch silicone handle to carry you seamlessly through your day.
Related: 11 Sustainable Stays in Sonoma