Lightweight luggage and environmentally friendly suitcases and bags – you can also pack your suitcase sustainably. We show you a packing list with 5 tips on how to pack your suitcase better. And be prepared for your perfect holidays to play Azurslot.
Whether it’s the beach in Spain, skiing in the Alps or a city trip to Rome or Paris: going on vacation is great. What’s less nice is that it’s not always sustainable and environmentally friendly.
But everyone can do something to keep their ecological footprint as small as possible when traveling. It starts with packing your suitcase – our packing list for your vacation shows you how.
Our List
Tip 1: Make a packing list for your vacation
Our first tip sounds banal: write a packing list for your vacation. Honestly, when was the last time you did that?
We usually pack everything we think we might need – without checking whether it’s really necessary. However, everything we pack unnecessarily has to be transported by plane, bus and train. This increases the climate-damaging emissions of the means of transportation.
So find out in advance exactly how your accommodation is equipped, what the usual weather conditions are at the time of travel and what items you absolutely need at your destination. And only then write your packing list – preferably a few weeks before the start of your vacation.
The packing list only contains what you really need. This also gives you enough time to get any missing items. You can find good packing lists for every purpose on packlisten.org, for example.
Tip 2: Pack eco-friendly suitcases instead
Your packing list for your vacation is written, now it’s time to pack your suitcase. But wait – what about the suitcase itself? It’s chic and trendy, practical, light and spacious. But not usually sustainable. Cheap items are often produced in the Far East, under poor working conditions and with toxic chemicals.
Of course, you shouldn’t throw away a suitcase or bag that you already have. But if you are thinking about buying a new one make sure it is more sustainable.
Look for a manufacturer such as Vaude or Patagonia, for example, who value sustainability and in some cases offer repairs for their products.
There are also fair travel bags from many different brands.
Suitcases and luggage made from recycled materials are also exciting, for example from Dakine (plastics) or Kapron (recycled leather).
Lightweight weekenders are available from Upcycling Deluxe, Globe Hope (vegan) or Milchmeer Ecobags, for example.
Or you can rent a suitcase for the duration of your trip, for example on different platforms, via rental platforms or from a friend – this is more environmentally friendly than buying one for two weeks a year.
By the way: having your suitcase wrapped in plastic film at the airport is of course not good for the environment – and usually not even necessary. If necessary, a reusable luggage strap will do.
Tip 3: Shorten your packing list = lighter luggage
Minimalists take over! The less luggage and the lighter the suitcase, the less fuel is consumed by plane, train, car or long-distance bus.
So take your packing list for your vacation and try to shorten it. Do you really need five different pairs of pants, or would three be enough? Do you need to take the elegant evening dress with you or will the simpler beach dress do for the evening? Three bikinis or just one? How many T-shirts and pairs of socks do you really use on vacation? Wouldn’t a pair of gloves, a scarf, a hat and a pair of boots suffice in winter?
Minimalism has another advantage: you’ll finish packing your suitcase faster.
Packing list: Packing suitcases – you shouldn’t take everything you want to take with you.
Make sure you pack light: you shouldn’t take everything you want to take with you.
Tip 4: Avoid environmental polluters from the bathroom
Almost every hotel has small soaps and bottles of shampoo or shower gel. Very practical since safety regulations only allow 100 milliliters of liquid in hand luggage when flying. And the contents of the suitcase are protected from leaking shampoo bottles even if you don’t have any with you.
However, this is not at all sustainable. The soaps and shampoos you have used will be thrown away after your departure and the plastic bottles will not be reused.
Alternative 1: Take the bottles home with you and refill them at home with your own products.
Alternative 2: Use solid shampoo soap. Nothing leaks out and the soaps do not require any packaging waste. By the way: There are also shaving soaps for men, so you don’t need to pack shaving foam in your suitcase.
Read also: Skin, hair and body: how to find the right soap
Alternative 3: Instead of packing mini skincare products in travel sizes, you can fill your shampoo and shower gel into refillable bottles – these are available in every drugstore. And you can simply leave the hotel products behind.
Tip 5: Don’t forget anything!
If you forget something when packing your suitcase at home, it’s not so bad. After all, you can buy it at your destination…
Yes, that’s true. Thanks to globalization, you can find most products almost anywhere in the world. But are they also produced sustainably and ecologically? These wishes are probably difficult to fulfill at your vacation destination of all places. And buying your third umbrella because you forgot yours at home is not really necessary either.
So it’s better to write everything on your packing list for your vacation and take it with you from home. And if you don’t have a good hiking rucksack, wash bag or beach towel: borrow it instead of buying it for one vacation a year.
Extra tip: Always pack an empty, refillable drinking bottle, possibly insulated. In southern countries, drinking water is often only available from bottles or canisters. Here it is better to fill up from a large canister or water dispenser instead of constantly buying new plastic bottles. And if the drinking water quality is good enough, you can of course fill your water bottle from the tap.