The Low-Tox Simple Swaps List

Going low-tox isn’t about being perfect overnight — it’s about making small, intentional swaps that protect your health and look after Mama Earth. Every day, toxins and synthetic chemicals can contribute to all sorts of long-term health concerns, from premature ageing and hormonal imbalance to weight gain, low energy, and mental health struggles.

The good news? Every swap you make reduces your exposure and lightens your environmental footprint. Here are our favourite low-tox beginner swaps to help you get started:

1. Kitchen – Cook Clean

• Skip non-stick: Most non-stick coatings contain chemicals that can leach into food and the environment. Switch to cast iron or stainless steel for cookware that lasts decades and only gets better with age.
  

• Ditch plastic scrubbers: Go for natural brushes, wooden dish scrubbers, and compostable sponges instead. They do the job, last well, and don’t shed microplastics.
  

• Choose natural cleaning: Simple ingredients like castile soap, baking soda, and vinegar can replace most store-bought cleaners. Your lungs and waterways will thank you.
  

2. Bathroom – Gentle Care

• Toothpaste swap: Try Denttabs Tooth Tablets — low-abrasion, natural ingredients, and no plastic tube waste. They are proven to work as well as, or better than, conventional toothpastes, too!
  

• Body brushes: Use natural bristle brushes for body and feet to boost circulation and gently exfoliate without rubbing plastic into your skin.

• Go bar or refill: Replace bottled shampoos, conditioners, and body washes with natural solid bars or refill options. They’re better for you and drastically cut packaging waste.

3. Laundry – Fresh & Natural

• Better bedding: Switching to organic cotton or linen can improve sleep quality and reduce your exposure to pesticides and processing chemicals.
  

• Fragrance-free clean: Ever walk past someone who has their clothes on a Percil overdrive? Not nice. Opt for natural, unscented laundry liquids to avoid synthetic fragrances and dyes that can irritate skin.

• Air dry when possible: Minimising dryer use cuts power bills and reduces airborne microplastics from synthetic fabrics (lately identified as a big contributor to microplastics).

4. Personal Care – Skin Deep Matters

• Audit your products: Check everything you put on your skin — moisturiser, sunscreen, makeup — and swap to low-tox, natural alternatives where needed. Check ingredient lists!
  

• Wood over plastic: Wooden combs and Bamboo brushes increase scalp blood flow, protect hair health, and are free from shedding microplastics.

• Water care: Consider a shower filter and add vitamin C powder to baths to neutralise chlorine and chlorides.

5. Diet & Clothing – Inside Out Wellness

• Fibre matters: Gradually phase out synthetic clothing and choose natural fibres like organic cotton, hemp, linen, and wool to reduce microplastic pollution.
  

• Better water: Filter all drinking and cooking water with a filter that removes chlorine and fluoride for cleaner hydration. 

• Eat local & organic: The fewer chemicals and food miles, the better for your body and the planet.
  

• Plastic-free food storage: Don’t heat or store food in plastic — use glass, stainless steel, or ceramic instead.
  

Start small, stay consistent, and you’ll notice the difference in your health, energy, and overall well-being.