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Hooray for Eco Shower Caps – and Airport Booties

Funny what turns me on and this one hits the spot! It’s a biodegradable shower cap that can be used again, composted, or thrown straight to the trash. Guilt free is the key emotion here.

ecoLiving Essentials is an impressive young company created by a couple of moms who share a passionate respect for our planet and concern for our children’s future. As frequent travelers, they became annoyed with the “remove shoes” routine at airports. Their naked or thin-hosed feet were subject to bacteria, fungi, and who knows what else? So they cleverly coordinated the invention of disposable footwear for airports that meet Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requirements.

The polyethylene film is free of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), which is in most plastic products and has become a publicized health concern. It’s also polylactic acid (PLA) free. The moms’ favored material then led to shower caps.

The shower cap film material is disposable, but with a reasonable shelf live and multi-use option. It’s also anti-static and the elastic is made from natural rubber. How cool is this?

Yet what is polyethylene? Polyethylene film is a resinous material with thermoplastic properties that is synthesized by inducing oxidative polymerization of ethylene gas. Thermoplastic means that it can be melted to a liquid and remolded as it returns to a solid state.

BPA is generally understood, but I was confused about PLA and so asked. Cofounder Quyen Huynh explains that BPA-free is terrific, but PLA-free is questionable. 

The problem with PLA products are that they need to be separated when you recycle.  To my understanding, they can not be recycled in the same manner.  Also, the other controversy is that PLA products seem to be not as efficient to produce, using more energy.

So the best compromise is the result of conscious consumer use studies. The caps are manufactured without PLA because they are made to go into the trash, or reused. The film can commingle in any environment and degrades naturally through microorganisms. Packaging is a biodegradable PLA bag with recycled gloss paper and a soy ink label.

Find shower caps in single or triple-item packs. Both caps and travel booties are available wholesale and cater to travel and hospitality industries. Let’s all commend Quyen and ecoLiving Essentials for supplying such well-needed products for every eco travel bug.

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Written by Delia Montgomery

I am Delia, d/b/a Chic Eco on www.ChicEco.com, and established myself as an eco fashion guru by learning "who makes what in the world of environmental fashion and design."

Enjoy reading some of my freelance writing about environmental design, fashion and art -- from both consumer and supplier perspectives. You may notice I focus most on individual eco designers, movers and shakers.

From sustainable fashion apparel to paint and flooring, discoveries are a rush. I get my kicks this way. I also offer sales representation of earth-friendly designed products for wholesale buyers. Retailers may take advantage of my services with factory-direct pricing. Spend less time sourcing and prevent green-washed purchases!

My other forte is connecting suppliers with business-to-business tools. Aspects of my business vary with consulting services while I'm proud to be the aide that embraces unique and innovative gigs.

I'm originally a Kentucky Blue Grass gal who relocated to Maui early 2006 and the tropical Puna District of Big Island, Hawaii late 2007. Walk the talk is my motto here.

Early 2009 I constructed a yurt home office in a semi-urban setting on a tiny lot. My water comes from the sky, contained in a catchment that's not likely to dry in this rain forest. The electric is designed for solar conversion. I grow about 30% of my food organically, compost, and recycle to the hilt. Permaculture with a full eco system is my gardening style.

In fact, gardening is my ultimate joy. I seek gigs like design, weeding and planting between other jobs. My love is Hawai'i which has more climate zones than any state. There are frequent earthquakes here, typically under a 3.0 magnitude, and I happen to dig the vibrations. It's a wonderful simple life in paradise. As I grow older and wiser, I become more and more grateful.

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