Now you can travel in eco style, head to toe: newly launched ecoLiving Essentials kicks off with two first-ever eco-friendly products: Biodegradable Travel Booties and a Biodegradable Shower Cap. Established by two moms with a shared respect for the planet and a passionate concern for their children’s future, the founders “wanted peace of mind when traveling, and we hope that these products give that to consumers.”
“Very few airports offer disposable booties for travelers to use when passing through airport security to protect their feet and socks,” said Quyen Huynh, co-founder of ecoLiving Essentials. “While there are other options out there, our commitment to the environment inspired us to create an eco-friendly alternative that won’t do any harm to our planet, while also protecting travelers from germs and bacteria.”
ecoLiving Essentials’ travel booties and shower caps biodegrade naturally through microorganisms like bacteria, algae and fungi; are able to co-mingle with trash and recycling, or can be composted; and are BPA-free. The bags are made of plant material and are certified biodegradable and compostable, while the labels are printed with soy ink on recycled materials. As a socially responsible company, their products and packaging are made in the United States with local materials.
($5.95 for two sets of travel booties or three shower caps) @ ecolivingEssentials.com
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Two problems with this: 1. Corn-based PLA plastic is biodegradable — but only if kept at 140 degrees for 10 days — not in simple composting or in a landfill where it might break down no faster than PET. Most recyclers are not set up for it, and it actually screws up PET plastic recycling systems if it gets mixed in. Also, the marketing here seems not out front that these are PLA. 2. Shouldn’t we be avoiding products touted as disposable? So, when you consider these products, consider they are made from corn, not petroleum, that’s good. But do not consider them disposable or compostable.
[...] Alternative Consumer reviews Biodegradable Shower Cap and Travel Booties from ecoLiving [...]
Being a frequent traveler I embrace this product as a viable option to the alternative. I don’t want to pick up any germ from the thousands of passengers that walk through the airport security in socks and bare feet. I clicked on the links when reading the specification for the booties and am impressed with in how much eco friendly this companies product are.
I am the co-owner of ecoLiving Essentials and really appreciate the feedback of your readers! I wanted to quickly address the concerns of reader Skeptic. The film material used to make the travel booties and shower caps are actually confirmed to not have any PLA. The bags do contain PLA, but that is public information as we’ve put it on our Web site – and even though the bag contains PLA, it is still certified as compostable, which was our ultimate goal!
I love the shower caps ,have used up my supply and want to order more, but now I can’t find them. The ecoLiving website is of no help. Did the company go out of business?
Looks like their site is now just a link dump. We’ll look around. Their Twitter feed has been quiet since June 2009.