A few months ago our airplane travel kit was all about compression socks and snacks – weren’t those the days?
If you’re planning on travelling in the near or distant future, by now you have probably realised that face masks, gloves and sanitiser will be the new essentials in your airplane travel kit. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Even before 2020, a lot of people were wearing face masks on planes and while they were out and about.
Now that wearing face masks while on planes and public situations will be a requirement, it’s still essential to put our best foot forward by prioritising eco-friendly and sustainable PPE for the inevitable coronavirus travel kit. Think reusable face masks and bio-degradable gloves. In this article, you’ll find five essentials to throw into your airplane travel kit before setting off.
Sustainable PPE is important
With the need for PPE, there’s been a surge in the use of plastic, especially single-use. This opens the door for trailblazing producers and consumers to come through and create products that can preserve the planet while keeping us healthy.
For example, sustainable retail specialists Duty Free Innovation have put out an affordable FlySafe protection kit which includes a reusable certified face mask, three pairs of disposable gloves and a pack of three sanitising wipes.
DFI spokesperson Simon Best says, “the sustainable kits present a practical and affordable solution. [sic] While the mask filters themselves are not very sustainable – unfortunately, they are a necessary evil, we have tried to make the rest of the kit as sustainable as possible. The outer packaging is made from 100% home compostable corn starch material, and similarly, the gloves and wipes are also bio-degradable.”
Sustainable PPE essentials for your airplane travel kit
Do your part to stop a health crisis from turning into an environmental disaster by investing in some eco-friendly and sustainable PPE for your travels. The most important thing to remember is your items while eco-friendly must meet CDC recommendations.
1. Immunity boosters
It’s important to remember that no supplement can protect you from COVID-19. Having said that, while boosting your immunity alone can’t prevent you from catching the coronavirus, travel does take a toll on the body and taking care of yourself while on the road is a must.
Proper nutrition, eating well, getting sufficient rest and staying hydrated have never been more important, especially if you’re planning on travelling. You can also try products like Saje’s Anti-Bacterial Diffuser Blend to keep nasty colds and flu at bay or their Germ and Virus Fighting Remedy Roll-On to stop sniffles in their tracks. They also sell a Get Well Cough and Cold Kit which includes their Fortify Cough and Cold Nasal Inhaler as well as the Echinacea Throat Spray.
2. Eco-friendly face masks
The lack of face masks for frontline workers caused mass panic, and a flurry of brands pushed out face masks and initiatives to curtail the shortage. When buying a face mask, look for sustainable brands – many of whom are also donating face masks to healthcare heroes.
Masks should fit snugly, be secured with ties or ear loops, have multiple layers of fabric, be breathable and washable without damage or change of shape. The Avocado Organic Cotton Face Mask, secured with ties, is a great eco-friendly option, but if you prefer ear loops, try Groceries Apparel.
3. Bio-degradable gloves
Unlike face masks, you needn’t use gloves the entire time you are on a flight, but they may come in handy for when you need to use the washroom or while in the airport – bio-degradable gloves are the best bet.
Latex gloves can wreak havoc for the environment. You may have already seen discarded gloves on the street – and the fear is they may pass through sewage filter systems and end up in rivers and out at sea.
According to an article published in the New Yorker, “when the plastic in vinyl and nitrile gloves gets in seawater, it becomes coated with dimethyl sulfide from algae and bacteria, which smells delectable to some species of birds, turtles, and marine mammals. Once ingested, the debris—even biodegradable plant-derived latex—can obstruct these creatures’ digestive tracts and kill them.”
So responsibly disposing of your gloves, whether they are bio-degradable or not is incredibly important.
4. Hand sanitiser
Eco-friendly sanitisers can be a little tricky as they have to meet recommendations for antiseptic standards. With our reliance on single-use plastics on the rise, those small bottles of hand sanitiser especially can prove costly to the environment.
Enter by Humankind. Not only does their gel hand sanitiser contain 65% alcohol and meet CDC requirements, but this all-in-one product also kills virus germs, moisturises your hands and keeps single-use plastics at bay. Sold in an eight-ounce recyclable aluminium bottle, you can refill your reusable travel-sized bottles several times. The added moisturising ingredient – hyaluronic acid – will also take care of your hands while you take care of the planet.
5. Disinfectant wipes
Keep a stash of disinfecting wipes with you to wipe down surfaces that you may come into contact with. This is something that most of us already used while on the road. If you’re travelling now, you’ll want to take extra-precautions to wipe down things. For example, if you buy packaged food in an airport and your seat at the gate.
Finding eco-friendly disinfecting wipes comes with a caveat as many plant-based versions don’t always deliver the same results. However, companies like Method have created all-surface wipes that are compostable and made sustainably. Ecozone’s anti-bacterial multi-surface wipes are also a good option for travel and are 100% biodegradable.
