Zero Waste Cotton Pads

Cotton pads. As a girl who wears make-up, I can hardly live without them. A little bit of make-up remover on there and you can scrub. But then what? Jep, after just one use these pads end up at landfill. That has to change! Today I am telling you about zero waste cotton pads!

Cotton Pads

When you’re starting a zero waste lifestyle, a great first step is to go through your personal trash. This way you get an insight of what things are the biggest problem. I went through mine and guess what I found most? Cotton pads full of make-up. The worst part? Cotton pads are non-recyclable, they go to landfill (or in countries like the Netherlands where the landfills are full, get burned). Also, cotton pads are almost always packed in plastic (which is made from oil). Hello unnecessary emissions and loss of non-renewable resources!

Zero Waste Cotton Pads

Okay, what’s important here is that you don’t throw away the unused cotton pads you still have. That would be an even bigger waste! Finish it up or give it to someone who does use them. I gave them to my mom. Okay, but then? Reusable cotton pads! I read online that you could crochet them yourself too, so I tried that. I thought that if I make them myself this prevents additional emissions, packaging and labour. If you make it out of fabric you already have, that is even better! No new resources are used (which is what zero waste is about too). You can find that tutorial here. Unfortunately I found it too hard to crochet.

DIY or Not

Fortunately for me, there are enough creative people on this planet. And so, I bought them from someone else. This is less sustainable than making them myself, but at least it will save me waste and resources in the long run. And so, I bought the cotton pads at www.lanaluna.nl (A Dutch entrepreneur who uses organic cotton). This post is not a sponsored post though. I suggest you research what brand works best for you personally. At Lanaluna they’re available in sets of 7 pads for €6,25. How much pads you buy depends on how often you wear make-up and how often you do laundry. I bought 14 pads at the time, but after having used them for a long time I realized this is too much. I still own all of them and since I still live with my parents my dad washes them for me.

About the Pads

The pads I have are pink and as I said, made out of 100% cotton. Yes! Organic! They’re pretty big, 8 centimeters, much wider than single-use cotton pads. I personally really like this. The pads can be washed together with other laundry, you just need to put them in a washing net. After having them for a while, I would recommend using (or ordering) a dark color fabric, since you don’t see the make-up stains on those in the long run (from black mascara or such). But if you choose a light color, you can see when you’re make-up is entirely off your face. So both colors have benefits.

All in all, a small invest of €14,50 and I never have to buy single-use cotton pads again! This way my investment will be returned very soon. But most importantly, no more waste due to these zero waste cotton pads!

Yours sincerely,
Romee