10 Sustainable Summer Swaps for a More Eco-Friendly Season

Every month, Brightly co-founders Laura Wittig and Liza Moiseeva highlight a handful of their favorite eco-friendly finds. They’ve tried thousands of products, and the sustainable summer swaps they chose to spotlight this time around are nothing short of the real deal. 

In the latest episode of Good Together, Wittig and Moiseeva focused on their favorite brands to shop for summer. From sustainable swimwear to eco-friendly camping accessories, they cover everything you need to keep your eco-footprint as small as possible while enjoying the warm weather.

Every brand highlighted on Brightly meets our high standards for sustainability. Here are eight of Wittig and Moiseeva’s sustainable summer swaps to add to your cart.

10 Sustainable Summer Swaps

1. Pine Mountain Java Log 4-Pack, $25

Why Liza Loves It: "Essentially, this is a fire log made from recycled coffee grounds. It burns like the real thing, and it's a greener alternative to the fires you enjoy. I personally am so captivated by fires. I know there are environmental impacts when we're burning stuff in terms of carbon dioxide and all of the other chemicals that go into the environment, but this is a more green, more eco-friendly option for you."

2. Impossible Burger 20-Pack, $70

Why Laura Loves It: "The cool thing about Impossible Burger is, first of all, the taste—it's really similar to beef. It kind of even behaves like beef, which kind of sounds gross, but it does texturally. Choosing an Impossible Burger over a traditional ground beef one uses 96 percent less land, they generate 89 percent less of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and they also use 87 percent less water than a traditional beef burger. So this is pretty cool."

3. LARQ Self-Cleaning Water Bottle, $78

Why Laura Loves It: "What's cool about it, like the name says, is that it's self cleaning. So basically, you can just put water in there, and you're gonna feel a lot better. It literally gets rid of contaminants in the water in like a minute, which is cool."

4. Lettuce Grow Farmstand, $348-$649

Why Laura Loves It: "The thing that I love about it is it really helps me waste a lot less food. I'm very guilty of going to the grocery store and having hopeful intentions for what I'm eating and maybe getting too many veggies and then they go bad. So you're going out, you're picking it, and it tastes amazing. So we love this."

5. Coola Organic Face Sunscreen, $32

Why Laura Loves It: "It's so important to put sunscreen on daily, even if it's not the summer. Making sure that you're applying it to the top layer of your makeup can sometimes feel gross and weird, so I love Coola. It smells good, it's a really thin layer, and it doesn't leave a white cast."

6. Genusee Sunglasses, $99

Why Laura Loves It: "What's really cool about Genusee is they're a brand out of Flint, Michigan, and they use recycled plastic from all the water bottles that are unfortunately still needed in Flint because their water supply is still toxic. [Because of that], the community generates a lot of plastic waste. The founders of Genusee decided, we should go build a company that uses this recycled plastic in a unique way. So they came up with sunglasses, and they're really cool. I love mine."

COUPON ALERT: Use code BRIGHTLY20 for $20 off!

7. Epsom Salt, $5

Why Laura Loves It: "If you got your whole body sunburned, which I hope you didn't, you can actually use Epsom salts. They're kind of an old grandmother-style hack, if you will, but they work really well. You can actually either bathe in them, or you can make a compress or a paste using Epsom salt to put on that sunburn. It actually soothes really well."

8. Patagonia Bikini Set, $124

Why Liza Loves It: "I had one of their swimsuits for over four years. It's amazing. I really appreciate the swimsuits that kind of stay in place because I used to be a swimmer, so I definitely move a lot in the water. There's a high chance that if the swimsuit is not made for active swimming, it's just not going to stay in place for me. We just got their new collection, and I love it. It feels amazing, and they just do amazing, quality work."

9. Anact Towels, $10-$60

Why Liza Loves It: "It's so absorbent. The founder also wanted to make those towels pretty lightweight too, so they are pretty good for for travel as well. I was pretty surprised by how affordable they are for sustainable towels."

10. ECOCOOL Cooler, $25-$65

Why Liza Loves It: "Last year, we went to Utah and brought our cooler with us. And that helped us, first of all, save on going out to eat—especially when some of the places were also closed. But it helps to prevent food waste. This one is their eco-friendly line made with recycled plastic from yogurt cups and milk jugs. That's pretty cool."

Want more sustainable summer swaps? Check out these finds from Target: