Blog - My Green Closet

Minimalism & Gift Giving – How to Talk to Friends & Family about Unwanted Gifts

by Verena Erin | posted in holidays & events |

Are you trying to live sustainably or more minimalist but your family or friends love giving presents? This can be a difficult topic and conversation to have, but it’s worth it!

You might get resistance at first but if you follow these suggestions most people will understand and eventually come around. In my experience some are often very grateful or appreciative of you initiating a shift!

Tips to Reduce Unwanted Gifts

Keep the conversation positive

This is the most important. Gift giving can be very personal to people so telling someone you don’t want “junk” or their sweatshop-made gifts is hurtful and will make them upset and defensive. Instead focus on how other things make you happy or bring you joy.

For example you could explain how you’ve worked hard on decluttering and instead of physical gifts the thing you’d love most is to enjoy some quality time together.

If there’s something specific that you’d like, instead of talking about how other similar items might be unsustainable or unethical, focus on how that item would work really well for you and be a meaningful gift.

If you don’t want anything but know people will definitely want to get something, ask for a donation. Explain that you really care about a certain cause so it would mean a lot if instead of gifts they made a donation to a certain charity/organization you support.

You want them to see how this is something that would make you happy, not feel bad about their gifts or like they are unappreciated.

Make alternative suggestions

Maybe your family, friends, or coworkers are feeling the same way about all the gift-giving but no one else has expressed it. Try offering some other fun ideas to change up your traditional gifting:

Instead of getting individual gifts you could suggest that everyone draws names and buys 1 “big ticket” gift for 1 person. This way you can spend a little more on the gift and get something the person truly wants.
You could agree to gift experiences – dinners, movie tickets, coffee dates, or any activity they enjoy. Instead of giving gifts why not spend time together and make memories!
You could decide to gift consumables like homemade cookies, coffee/tea, favorite liquors, etc.
Or another option if you’re all crafty is to give handmade gifts
You could all use a wishlist. There are apps like Giftster where everyone lists things they’d like, you can share it with a group and mark things that are purchased so there won’t be duplicates. This way people can ask for things they actually want and it makes shopping easier for everyone.

Show extra appreciation when people respect your wishes

Remember that it can be a big deal for some people to change their habits. If your relative who loves piles of presents gave you a charitable donation like you asked, they might be worried that it’s “not enough” or you’ll feel left out when everyone else get their gifts. Make an extra effort to thank them and explain that it’s a wonderful gift and really means a lot to you!

Of course you should show gratitude, but taking extra time to explain how meaningful it is will help the person know they made the right choice and they’ll also likely remember for the next time how special that gift was to you.

What about when you receive an unwanted gift?

I think it’s important to still be gracious receiving unwanted gifts and then try to find that item a home where it will actually be used. I really like how Courtney Carver explains gift giving; that the “gift” isn’t the physical object, the gift is meant to be an expression of love or appreciation so you can keep the intention of the gift but still let go of the object. The person who gave you the gift likely wouldn’t want it to cause you stress or negative feelings.

If you know someone who would use and appreciate the gift, re-gifting can be a great option. Also look for charities you might be able to donate it to, for example if you received skincare products that you won’t use try to find a local shelter that takes care and hygiene products.

Then try again with gentle suggestions next time. Remember that it can be a process and take a while for people to adjust.

Photos from Unsplash

Why I’m Not Zero Waste

by Verena Erin | posted in Activism, low waste |

I’m all for reducing waste, and I think that lowering your impact and waste is an important part of living sustainably. I also make a habit of sharing low/zero waste products and solutions. However, I can’t see myself adopting a zero waste/plastic-free lifestyle with the way things currently are. Here’s why:

Garbage is not my top priority

Focusing on “zero waste” means prioritizing waste, but sustainability-wise I think other things are more important. I try my best to find products and brands that have a sustainable and ethical focus throughout their supply chain, production and use. Things like sustainable materials, quality/longevity, ethical manufacturing, low impact production, versatile styles, and supporting small, conscious businesses all come before waste for me.

For example, given the choice between an ethically-made garment from organic, fair-trade cotton shipped in a polybag or a regular cotton garment from a non-transparent brand that I can buy without the bag, I will always choose the first option. This is because I feel that supporting the first company has a much greater impact throughout the supply chain, than the impact of saving a plastic bag.

Also it’s important to note that most clothes are shipped in plastic bags. Even if you buy the item in store, it still likely came to the store in a bag and therefore generated the same waste, you just didn’t have to deal with it. Of course sustainable brands should be trying to reduce their waste and use sustainable packaging and most do a very good job. However, as People Tree explains in their post, things like the use of polybags can be very difficult and brands often have to weigh the importance of a lot of different areas to decide on the best packaging to use.

Beauty products are another example. For me, supporting a cruelty-free brand that uses high-quality, natural, non-toxic ingredients, and makes effective products is the most important. There aren’t a lot of plastic-free options with makeup or care products; even glass containers almost always have plastic lids. If there are comparable products, I will choose the one with less packaging, but I prioritize sustainable ingredients and responsible brands over less plastic.

The guilt is real

I don’t think sustainability movements should be motivated by guilt, and I talked about this in my video on guilt and judgement. When I tried out Plastic Free July, my motivation shifted from wanting to do something positive to trying to avoid the guilt. A garment with plastic on the tag; forgetting to ask for no straw; having to buy certain groceries that aren’t available package free; the plastic packaging for medication; these things all made me feel bad. And this was only something I had to consider for a short time; I didn’t have to replace my makeup or beauty products during that month.

What keeps me motivated to live greener is knowing that I’m trying to work towards positive change, and that I’m learning, growing and improving. While I did learn a lot from trying a month of plastic-free living, instead of feeling like I was doing something good, I always felt like I was messing up, having to weigh difficult decisions, or being reminded of my “failures” by holding onto a jar of my plastic trash. Maybe over a longer period of time living this lifestyle, the feelings would’ve changed, but I definitely didn’t feel very good or motivated.

I believe in a “do good” approach instead of a “do no harm” approach; I find this positive perspective to be more effective. Usually when I talk with people who are struggling, or feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, they’re focusing on all the negative and harmful aspects of their lifestyle instead of looking at where they can make changes and have a positive impact.

Zero waste living is very dependent on access/specialty stores and also time

Some cities are amazing and have lots of bulk options and easy access to zero waste products. We were lucky enough to have a package free store (now two!) open up in our city about a year ago, but before, there was no way to buy things like rice, dried beans/lentils, pasta, and other staple foods without plastic. Now, even though the zero waste stores are pretty great, they still have a limited selection of items and we can’t find everything. While one is luckily not too far from me, it’s still a 30ish min walk with heavy glass containers and limits how much I can buy. If you don’t have one in your neighborhood it mean carrying tons of glass jars and big bags on the bus and train which isn’t possible for everyone, or driving which of course has other sustainability issues.
Also, while traveling, we’ll often try to save money and cook where we’re staying, but unfortunately at most grocery stories you can’t find foods plastic-free. If you don’t have access to stores that sell bulk, it’s just not a realistic lifestyle.

Additionally it often requires more time. A lot of things need to be DIY’d and it basically means the majority of pre-made, packaged foods are off the table. I really enjoy making things myself and cooking, and things like my DIY deodorant are definitely doable for me, but the reality is that making everything can take a lot of time that I (and most people) don’t always have.

It can conflict with eating vegan

I have been vegetarian for over 10 years now and eating mainly vegan/plant-based is important to me. Now that we have a package-free store we’ve been able to reduce the amount of plastic that comes with our groceries, but for some items, this is still unavoidable. For example, plant and nut milks are a staple in our fridge and we have no plastic-free options or time to DIY them.

Another big one for me is vegan faux meats. Especially in the summer when we’re barbecuing with friends, I want eating vegan to seem “normal” – i.e. I want to show that you can eat the same foods you’re used to and they can be really delicious! For a lot of meat-eaters, realizing that they can still eat the foods they like, is a big part of being open to and incorporating more plant-based meals into their diet. Introducing my friends and family to meat-free options is more important to me than avoiding the plastic that comes with them and giving the impression that plant-based diets are very difficult and restrictive when they don’t have to be.

So while zero waste is not where I choose to primarily focus my attention, I’d love to hear if you live zero waste or have tried it! Have you encountered similar issues or conflicts?

Foundation of a Sustainable Wardrobe

by Verena Erin | posted in conscious fashion, shopping tips |

The 4 areas I consider to be the basics of building a sustainable wardrobe are:

Wear – make sure you’ll actually wear and get a lot of use out of your clothes. When buying something new, commit to at least #30Wears and ask yourself questions before buying it like, ‘How often will I wear this?’. I get a lot of wear from my clothes by keeping it minimal with a capsule wardrobe.

Quality – buy clothes that will last, and definitely avoid anything that looks like it’s likely to fall apart or wear out after a few washes. Check the stitching and material for quality issues. More about how to identify good quality clothes.

Care – looking after your clothes increases their lifespan, and using low temperatures and less water lowers the environmental impact of your wardrobe. How to care for your clothes so they last.

Next Life – what happens to your clothes when they can’t be worn anymore or when you’re done with them? They shouldn’t be thrown away! Many textiles can be recycled or reused, and clothing in good condition should be donated or go to someone else. Watch my video about what to do with your old clothes.

Fall 10×10 Challenge Recap

by Verena Erin | posted in capsule wardrobes, style |

This year I again took part in the fall 10×10 challenge. Created by Lee Vosburgh from Style Bee, the challenge involves selecting 10 items and styling them in 10 outfits over 10 days.

What I love about this challenge is that it’s not only a great way to try out a mini capsule wardrobe, but I find it also helps you get creative with your wardrobe and try new combinations. Both times I’ve tried it I came up with new looks I really liked.

The 10 items I chose

From my capsule wardrobe I selected a grey cotton jumper, long shirt/dress, velvet bodysuit, black knit trousers, mustard/navy knit jumper, black hat, grey tee dress, linen skirt, heeled ankle boots, and an over-sized denim jacket. I tried to avoid items that were in my last fall 10×10, and there were two new items I specifically wanted to in my capsule (the long shirt and bodysuit) in order to use the challenge to figure out some different ways of wearing these pieces. Day 2 I actually wore them both together and even though I wasn’t sure about it at first at first, I now really love that outfit and will be repeating it often.

This challenge confirmed that the long tencel shirt was a good choice as a new addition to my capsule wardrobe: I love it as a dress, top, or layering piece; It’s really versatile and can be styled a lot of different ways.

I also realized I don’t wear skirts enough. I love this linen skirt but my go-to outfit is usually pants and a top, so this season I’m going to try to wear the skirt more often.

This challenge was a lot of fun and I’m a little sad that it’s now over, although I am happy not having to take outfit photos everyday (posing for these photos was so awkward – look 8 is me just flailing around because I have no idea what to do with my limbs :P).

I highly recommend trying it, or some version of it (e.g. 6×6 or even 20×20) if you’re interested in testing out a “mini capsule” and especially if you’re feeling in a bit of a rut wearing the same outfits and want to play around with different combinations.

Have you done the 10×10 challenge, or if not, are you interested in trying it?

See the other pieces in my fall capsule wardrobe.

Low Waste Flying

by Verena Erin | posted in low waste, travel |

My husband Ben has a job that requires him to fly often. He was getting frustrated by all the plastic generated on his trips, so here’s what he brings to reduce the amount of plastic waste created when flying:

A cup/bottle – plastic cups are probably the biggest culprit. Especially on a longer flight, passengers will be served (sometimes multiple) drinks multiple times. Ben brings a stainless steel mug which can be used for hot or cold beverages. He also fills up his water bottle at the airport and also during the flight.
Cutlery – typically meals are served with a little plastic bag of plastic cutlery – skip this and pack your own. Ben usually finds a spork is fine, butchopsticks are another option, and some people also bring a bamboo cutlery set with a spoon, fork and knife.
A straw – if you typically order sodas or other canned drinks on a plane, you can ask for the can and use your own reusable straw (although whether or not they’ll let you have the whole can depends on the airline/flight attendant).
Headphones – the headphones you get on a plane are always wrapped in plastic and generally pretty low quality; bring your own instead!
Snacks/food – if you want to have a completely plastic free flight, you can bring your own food in reusable containers.

It’s also great to carbon offset the impact of your flight. Read my post about carbon offsetting.

Fall 2017 Capsule Wardrobe

by Verena Erin | posted in capsule wardrobes |

please note: this post contains some affiliate links

The items I’m including in my capsule wardrobe for this autumn are:

1. Wine bodysuit from Miakoda*
2. Velvet bodysuit from Underprotection (read my brand review)
3. Navy tee from Lanius
4. Black tee from Funktion Schnitt
5. Grey tee from Kuyichi
6. Grey jumper from People Tree
7. Red jumper – old
8. Grey top from Comazo | earth
8. Black sweatshirt from Dedicated*
10. Long shirt from ArmedAngels
11. Sweater from People Tree
12. Icelandic sweater – secondhand

13. Knit vest – DIY/handmade
14. Gold jacket – secondhand
15. Beige cardigan – old
16. Green cardigan – DIY/handmade

17. Linen skirt from NotPerfectLinen* (read more about my love of linen)
18. Light jeans from MUD Jeans*
19. Dark jeans from Naked & Famous Denim
20. Black pants from People Tree

21. Check tunic from People Tree
22. Black dress from People Tree
23. Draped dress – secondhand
24. Tee dress from Kowtow

25. Brown jacket – DIY/handmade
26. Denim jacket – secondhand
27. Woven cape – secondhand/vintage

28. Beige purse from Angela Roi
29. Black purse from Matt & Nat (please read why I no longer support Matt & Nat)
30. Back pack from Matt & Nat (please read why I no longer support Matt & Nat)
31. Black hat – secondhand
32. Knit scarf – DIY/handmade

My capsule wardrobe is adapted from the Project 333 challenge. Over the course of creating my many capsule wardrobes I’ve been fine-tuning them to figure out what works best for me. The most recent change I made in the spring was to no longer include shoes as part of my capsule wardrobe, because I feel I have a good core “shoe capsule” and the one thing I often seemed to miss was some pair of shoes that I hadn’t included.

I also find that I need more pieces in the fall and winter and fewer in the spring and summer, so I don’t try to hit a specific number, I just build a wardrobe I think would work well, and it usually ends up being 30-35 pieces.

I want to say that I didn’t do the best job with my colours this season (even though there is very little colour). Like I mentioned in my how to build a colourful capsule wardobe video, it’s best to keep different colours in the same “area”. I really love the deep reds and greens but I have the reds as tops and the greens as layering pieces (I’m not really into dressing like Christmas). This is mainly because I started knitting the green cardigan years ago and just finished it a few weeks ago. In hindsight, I wish I had chosen a different colour, but while it’s not ideal, it’s still a really versatile and functional capsule wardrobe. I just wanted to mention it in case you’re wondering why I’m not following my own advice. XD

I also did the 10×10 Challenge again this year!

* this item was gifted to me from the brand

Hygge Holiday in Belgium

by Verena Erin | posted in travel |

Ben and I recently planned a little trip to the country. We wanted to relax; spend time hiking and walking in nature; cook meals together; and just enjoy some time away from the city. We stayed in a beautifully renovated barn on a Belgian farm and it couldn’t have been a more lovely holiday.

We filmed a lot and I edited this video. I hope you enjoy coming along on our little “hygge” holiday.

I love cooking with Ben, so a trip to relax out in the country for me definitely involves making some delicious meals. We picked up groceries at a bio-market on the way and ended up making:

Mushroom and leek risotto (Minimalist Baker’s recipe) with garlic bread
Pancakes with berries and pineapple (we had pancakes for breakfast on a couple of days, but also brought some muesli)
Baked sweet potatoes, hummus, and kale chips – one of my favourite simple meals
Sun-dried tomato, mushroom, and spinach tofu quiche (adapted from Oh She Glow’s recipe)
“Cheesy” pasta with kale and tomatoes (a cashew, garlic “cheese” sauce + veggies – Minimalist Baker has a bunch of different vegan Mac n’ Cheese recipes)

We found the farmhouse on Airbnb. I’ve found Airbnb is great for farming, glamping, cabin, and rural destinations (and you can get €30 off your first trip if you book with this link!)

The house was not only gorgeously designed and decorated but it’s in a great location within driving distance to lovely little towns and lots of parks with walking trails.

This was a perfect vacation for us and just what we needed to relax and recharge.

What’s your ideal holiday?

*Indicates an Airbnb referral link, you get €30 and I get a €15 credit.

Best Facial Oils to Try for Beginners

by Verena Erin | posted in skincare |

I love using oils; I’ve completely replaced creams and moisturizers with them, and enjoy the simplicity and benefits to my skin that come with using them. The questions “Which oils do you prefer?” and “How can I find the right oil for my skin?” come up a lot . There are lots of different options, all with their own benefits so here’s a brief overview and some good first facial oils to try.

Jojoba Oil

Good beginner oil, especially for combination or more oily skin.

The first oil that I tried was jojoba oil. I selected it because it’s a good versatile oil, and it’s recommended for both oily and dry skin, although it’s generally better for skin that’s more on the oily side since it’s not heavily moisturizing. A great mix for combination skin like mine!

Jojoba oil is actually not a oil, it’s a wax that is very similar to the sebum your skin produces. This makes it good for helping to balance your skin’s sebum production, and it’s also good for acne.

I really liked how lightweight it was, especially for my first time using oils, since I was worried that they would make my skin really greasy. I really liked using jojoba oil and it got me excited about facial oils, so when it was time to get more, I decided to experiment with s few different oils.

If you’re unsure where to start, I think jojoba is a great, “all-types” oil. It balances sebum, is good for both dry and oily skin, and it can help skin conditions like acne or eczema; also, it’s also inexpensive and has a long shelf-life.

Argan Oil

Try for for mature and drier skin.

Argan oil is recommended for different skin types, but particularly dry skin, and is high in vitamin E. It’s also know for its anti-aging benefits: reducing wrinkles and helping heal the skin. Argan oil is heavier compared to jojoba, but it still absorbs well.

A big reason why I wanted to try argan oil was because it’s anti-inflammatory and can help with redness, which I get around and on my nose. Using it however I never noticed any improvements in that area.

It seems like argan oil works really well for some people, and not so well for others. Since it is a pricier oil, for me it wasn’t worth it, although it was really wonderful on my hair.

Sweet Almond Oil

Good pick for dry skin.

Sweet almond oil is more moisturizing and recommended for dry skin. Sweet almond oil has vitmain D, E and anti-oxidants which can help soothe and heal the skin from irritation and sun-damage. Sweet almond is a good moisturizer for dry skin, and can also help to remove dead skin cells and relieve itching and inflammation.

Even though it is a heavier oil, I found it still absorbed fairly well. Although overall it wasn’t the best for my skin, but would be a good choice for drier skin.

Some other oils to consider for different skin types:

If you have Oily and Acne-prone Skin

You will want to look for an oil with linoleic acid. Try grapeseed or hemp seed oil. Grapeseed is easily absorbed, known for combating acne, and can help reduce oil production. Hemp seed is another oil high in linoleic acid and has anti-inflammatory properties.

If you have Dry and Acne-prone Skin

Safflower oil is another options to help your skin keep in moisture, but it also contains linoleic acid to help with acne.

If you have Very Dry Skin

Try coconut or olive oil. Both of these are comedogenic (meaning they can clog your pores) which is why they’re typically used on the body, but both oils can provide moisture and nourishment to dehydrated skin.

*When purchasing oils look for pure, preferably organic, cold-pressed oils!

Also don’t be discouraged if the first oil you try doesn’t work the best for you, it can take a few to find the right one.

Choosing an Facial Oil Blend

I think it’s helpful to first figure out what base oils are best for your skin and then try some blends or facial oils with other additives. That way if they don’t work for you, you know it’s likely the other components and not the oil you’ve already tried, and it saves you some time (and money) experimenting and trying different oils to narrow down what’s best.

You can also build on the benefits; so if you know what main oil you like but you wish it had a few other features you can find blends that combine that oil with others that offer the extra benefits you want.

After trying various facial oil blends these are my favourite brands:

Skwalwen Botanicals – Beautiful handcrafted products. Both their Kalkáy Wild Rose Facial Oil and Tewín’xw Cranberry Rose Facial Serum are high-quality and carefully crafted blends to be highly beneficial and multi-purpose. They also have a Oil Sampler Set which is a perfect way to test them out before committing to a full bottle.

Oil + Water – I love their minimalist skincare routine. The Face + Hair Oil is a lovely, multi-purpose blend with benefits for all skin types. Their Starter Set is a great way to try out the routine. (You can also use code MYGREENCLOSET10 for 10% off the Oil + Water line!)

Learn more about different oils:

Naked Truth Beauty has a helpful post explaining linoleic vs. oleic acid, comedogenicity, and some common face oils.

Gothamista’s Face Oil video explains lots of different oils for different skin types.

Natural Living Ideas has a post about making your own oil blend.

Is it Inauthentic to Edit your Photos?

by Verena Erin | posted in Lifestyle, Thoughts |

There are always discussions around the “fakeness” of social media and Instagram – how it’s made up of perfectly composed images that crop out the ugly parts, people doing something just “for the gram”, only showing all the best parts of your life, and editing/photoshop.

I totally understand this; obviously I’m not going to post a photo of my sweatpant-outfit or a breakfast I just threw together, and even though my reality is mainly me sitting at a computer, I’m not going to post that either – I’m going to post the interesting places I go. It’s normal to want to share the best parts of our life and have nice photos. We already edit what we post quite a bit just through deciding what to share and taking a bunch of photos to get the perfect one. What I’m unsure about is photoshopping or all these other photo editing tools. When does editing go from improving a photo to making it misleading or fake? Heavy editing generally seems to acceptable and endorsed with artistic/creative photos but where is that line? And the big question for me is, as a content creator focused on ethics and promoting transparency, does editing my photos make them and me inauthentic, and is editing something that should be disclosed?

Consider the following as Instagram photos and how you’d feel about the editing in each case:

A beautiful beach photo with the litter edited out.
A fashion photo where the person has been edited to appear taller and thinner.
A food photo where the colours and textures have been enhanced to make it more appealing.
A beauty photo where the model’s skin has been smoothed, and wrinkles and spots have been removed.

Maybe, like me, you feel conflicted. I asked members of the My Green Closet Facebook group what they thought of Photoshop and editing on social media which resulted in a really interesting discussion. The vast majority of people, however, thought that some editing was fine.

Another perspective also came out of the discussion – it matters whether the image is intended to sell something. So for the above examples, would you feel different if the beach photo was promotion for a vacation spot, the outfit sponsored by a fashion brand, the food to promote a restaurant, or the beauty photo to advertise a makeup brand? Also, with companies, we know that they are trying to sell something, but with “influencers” it’s more of a grey area. You could argue that even if a blogger wasn’t paid to advertise something, by posting an image they are still helping sell that product and promote the brand.

Something else I find interesting is how editing is often seen negatively, but skilled photography, styling, or makeup is not. People seem to assess a photo more critically if they know it was edited after it was taken. While you can edit someone to look taller and thinner, you could also light and shoot them in a way to make them appear taller and thinner (those low camera angles make a huge difference!); but Photoshopping to create those same changes is typically seen as wrong. Of course it depends on the extent of the editing – there is only so much you can do with lighting and how it’s shot – but it’s an interesting distinction even though both might have the same result. Another example of this is the use of makeup, which can drastically change a face, but is often viewed differently than editing. For the beach travel ad example, would it be viewed differently if they had instead moved the garbage out of the shot beforehand? Besides “unnatural” editing, there often seems to be two ways to achieve a similar photo, one with more work before the photo itself is taken, and one with more after; and yet these are judged in a different way.

Is there a line where images are manipulated “too much”?

Here is an example using one of my photos; the leftmost shot is the original image. The center image shows how I would typically edit photos: brighten the light, clean up some spots and blemishes, and maybe make some other small corrections. The rightmost image has a lot more editing: the texture of the skin has been smoothed, any lines and uneven skin has been fixed, areas have been brightened and darkened, the hat’s shadow has mostly been removed, and more. You can really see the difference with them all side by side, but if I posted the last image alone you probably wouldn’t think too much of it. I’d likely also get comments about how nice my skin is, which I think also speaks to the issue of misleading images because I don’t look like that in real life. Something else to note is that the final image is tame compared to some editing on Instagram; it could easily be taken much further.

Personally I feel the final image is edited too much and it feels inauthentic, but I also can’t say where exactly the line is.

There’s also an issue of disclosure. In the group discussion people mentioned that editing should be disclosed, but what kind of editing should be disclosed? Technically an Instagram filter edits a photo a lot and almost every photo is edited in some way; is lighting adjustment okay but body/skin changes not?

I unfortunately don’t have answers to these questions. I think it’s an important discussion and we need to be aware of these things regarding social media, but here is how I can at least be transparent about my image-editing:
All my videos and photos are edited in some way. Typically, there are light and colour adjustments or a filter added. My Instagram photos likely have some skin/blemish editing as well. Because of the discussion around disclosure, I also have decided that if I ever post a heavily edited photo, it will be disclosed as such.

So that’s where I’m currently at with this- a lot of questions. I’d love to know what you think about photo editing, authenticity in social media, and transparency. Do you think the creator, brand, or blogger/influencer has a responsibility regarding editing or does it lie with the content consumer to be media-literate and understand that editing is happening?

Low Waste Bathroom Swaps

by Verena Erin | posted in Beauty, low waste |

Some of the changes I’ve made to reduce waste with my care and hygiene products.

I now use:

Bamboo toothbrush
Toothpaste tabs
Concentrated mouthwash – you use a few drops in water
Menstrual cup – Read my post about switching to a menstrual cup
Washable menstrual pads – I have a couple thin liners made from hemp and organic cotton
Glass nail file
Peel-off nail polish – I like using Little Ondine
Cream Deodorant – my DIY recipe
Face/body oils – I’ve liked using jojoba, argan, and sweet almond on my face and I use sweet almond as a body moisturizer (here’s a really helpful video about choosing face oils for your skin)
Washable cotton/makeup remover pads – I crocheted my own from organic cotton yarn
Shampoo bar
Bar soap
Safety razor

What product swaps have you made?

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