When it comes to making life easier, the first thing you might think of is some snazzy little gadget. Well, what if the city’s design itself was the gadget? Here we will look at the brilliant designs that make life easier in the city for anyone lucky enough to live there! Whether it’s nature that picks your fancy or you prefer a more technological route, explore them with us here!

The ever-advancing technology has only led to more innovative ideas for city life and improving the lives of the inhabitants. The latest and greatest is this starlight path that lights up as you walk or bike across it at night. Bliss guaranteed!

Not only does this path keep you on your way at night, but it also provides a safer route for people to travel in the dark knowing it’s always shining. There’s nothing like a starlit path to bring peace to cities.

There aren’t enough fingers and toes to keep count of how many people have gotten their pants soggy from a wet bench. Well, that’s no longer a fear with this design! Just turn the handle to swap to the dry side.

This effective design helps keep public places more accessible after rainfall and a visual change from the usual. It’s safe to say that with such a design, no more pants will be cursed with a wet patch after standing up!

Everyone always goes running to cut the calories, but who stops to consider the impact just walking up steps has on your calorie count? This city does! Keep fit with the stairs that count the calories you burn per step.

City design just took fitness up a step, if you’ll pardon the pun… Who would have thought that staircases could at once be both educational and motivational for fitness goals? Step up to the challenge with this creative new design!

The picture below should be self-explanatory, but we will elaborate. This is the best thing for cyclists since they introduced bullet-proof tires! An escalator for cyclists to climb the steepest of hills is a sure route to an easier life!

It couldn’t be simpler, just place your foot on the step to be transported up a hill in the exact same manner as a normal escalator. This design just made city life and the route to work a lot easier!

It’s easy for men to see a urinal that’s free, but what about when both women and men need the bathroom? Do you knock? Do you push the door open in hopes it’s empty? These are now questions of the past!

With smart toilets, you can clearly see a green or red light above each door to indicate whether someone is occupying it. A green light means the toilet is free while the red means it’s occupied. Finally, no more knocking!

If you thought hammocks were great, get ready for the next best resting place in the city! This resting place allows users to take a load off and socialize with their friends in comfort in the great outdoors.

This design helps commuters take a moment in their day to just relax and breathe, making the city life that much calmer. Rest in the sun and with others and this city design definitely has the safety net for you!

You go for a picnic and normally you sit at a table or on the grass and simply rest and eat. Why not sit at a solar-powered table instead to enjoy your leisure time? Keep it green with solar power!

The way this table makes city life that much easier is by enabling you to sit and charge your electronics through the stored solar power. A great way to study, browse, and recharge your phone for the rest of the day ahead!

These lovely flower chairs provide a simple, yet effective alternative to benches and other municipal public furniture. Simply pull down the seat and rest your legs for a moment amidst your long commute or even to take a breather from work.

City living is tough with the huge population rushing around all day and very little access to resting areas. These flower foldable public chairs make rest a more common public option and ease the pressure of city life. Rest well!

Nothing says elegance like a balcony, but what if you don’t have one? Well, now you can as long as your home has windows and isn’t a solitary confinement cell. This window opens up into a balcony whenever you wish!

On a significantly hot day, sometimes, having the windows open just doesn’t cut it. Those days are now gone! Converting your window into a balcony in the city brings the breeze back into your life with elegance and great innovation!

Any adult that has ever said a swing in a bus stop was a bad idea will have a quick change of heart after seeing this! Why wait by simply sitting or standing when you can swing? Let’s change that!

The inner child that’s been buried away for years seemingly comes out just by looking at this picture of the bus stop with a swing. Boredom will be a thing of the past so just let your inner child out!

You might have heard of Baymax in the Disney movie Big Hero Six and always wanted him to be real. Fear not. Now, he is! If you thought waiting times needed a drop, so too did this medical screening robot!

It’s almost like Back to the Future and Big Hero Six had a child and created what might be the ultimate waiting time resolution. Want to have your symptoms checked fast? Baymax is now here to care for us all!

City design is always about the buildings and so rarely about bringing just a bit more nature into the equation for balance. Why not take a moment to sit, breathe, and attain zen-like calm on this bench that brings both?

As a beautiful attempt to blend city design, nature, and culture, this design actually grows plants! Potted comfortably along the bench, the growing plants provide a unique and eco-friendly backdrop for pedestrians to sit, rest and breathe it all in. Nature will prevail!

Gear up for exercise and head on down to your public gym to workout! But wait, there’s more! These energy-generating pieces of equipment actually convert the motion of your exercise into electricity! Put a buzz into fitness with public gyms!

The friction of these machine designs generates electricity which can be monitored on the hub in the center of the picture. It’s a very effective design! Green exercise, generate electricity, socialize at a safe distance and all the while keep fit!

For all non-drivers out there, imagine walking down the street and seeing all the dirt and litter. Now imagine the equivalent on the roads! These road sprinklers keep the roads clean and safe for the drivers that traverse them.

They are purposed with cleaning off all the dirt, but consider how effective these might be in winter! The build-up of snow can completely halt all transportation, but with hot water shot through the road sprinklers it’ll be goodbye snow!

In some cities, space is a rare sight for rest. To combat this lack of respite, small parcels of space are used by some cities like the picture below for people to sit, eat, and socialize. A much needed luxury!

Imagine running around for work all day and would you believe it? A place to sit, enjoy the greenery, and take a moment to breathe. More cities should follow this example and make the most of the space they have.

This remarkable addition to certain cities is the new smart city sign. This pole-like structure is both vocal and visible. They provide more light for people with impaired vision and vocalize instructions and warnings for people that can’t see at all.

To utilize these excellent city additions the user has to download a specific application to their phone. This app allows the user to choose what assistance to be provided when walking past them. This design provides support where it’s needed!

As the world of trash cans sees a constant pattern of overfilling, a lack of respect and incorrect use; that all changes now. Introducing smart trash cans that only accept the specified trash and even know when they’re too full! No room for litterbugs!

What’s more, is that these smart trash cans actually notify municipal cleaning staff when their capacity is reached. Some models even use solar energy to compress the trash to free up more space. The times of overflowing garbage are through and the era of the smart trash can has begun! Better bin it right or suffer the consequences!

We all know the nightmare that can occur when trying to park in a generic parking lot. You spend ages searching for a spot, hoping one appears and when you see one…someone takes it. Well not anymore with this parking lot!

This circular lot has a lane for looking, a circle-shaped space for allocated parking, and a lane between for breathing room. This is exactly what the doctor ordered for drivers who need to reduce the stress of parking. Finally, it’s here!

Sometimes, it’s the little things. So often we wait for the light to turn red so that we can cross the road safely, but it’s not that easy for everyone. Sometimes, the lights are hard to see, unpredictable, and stressful.

This simple design makes city life far easier. It’s accessible for everyone no matter their disability or visual impairment. It shows exactly when the road is safe to cross, produces audio to confirm, and is simple to operate.

Parking lots always become full with no way to know where the spaces are. As this happens time and time again, frustrations begin to rise. Well, not anymore! Introducing smart parking as the big next step in parking lot evolution!

This light-up car park guide indicates using two light indicators on either side of each parking space. A free space will show up as two green lights while a pair of red lights indicate that that space is taken.

We see solar panels increasingly visible on all home roofs in our modern times, but have you seen a solar panel on a bench? Benches are considered simple public furniture, but how about a bench that potentially powers a building?

At a time where global warming and air pollution are on the rise, these solar benches enable us to live life easier while contributing fewer emissions! Imagine featuring a warming function; the term benchwarmer would take on a whole new meaning!

Not just a tribute to Rihanna, the efficiency of solar-powered street lamps should be a global trend that we all follow. These delicately shaped street lamps power through the day and light up the night for all evening social occasions.

Shaped almost like stems growing up from the ground, the seats below them grant passers-by rest and comfort beneath. Better get the green-thumb out because there’s nothing that says ‘green’ like solar-powered street lamps shaped like growing plants!

Ever been in need of some shade, a place to power your phone, and perhaps a cool drink to satisfy your thirst? Well, you’re in luck! This amazing solar-powered ‘tree’ will provide for all of your needs, with no carbon footprint.

At the top of this design, it features a solar panel to keep the water in the fountain cool and filtered, as well as power USB charging ports and even lights up at night. Talk about the next generation of trees!

When the day is hot and the weather is heavy upon your brow, take a moment under these self-inflating giant flower streetlamps! At a whopping size of nine by nine meters, when these flowers bloom, the shade appears and rest begins!

This combination of mechanical genius and visual appeal creates Jerusalem’s patch of shade for all weary pedestrians in Vallero Square. Simply walk under them and watch them bloom as you go or sit comfortably in the chairs beneath in awe.

I guess most of you go to work, sit at a desk, have very little time to rest and then go home. What if work was the place you wanted to be to relax? These hanging cosy spheres provide that!

Imagine these bad boys in your office for break times, consideration-based work, and just time to take a breath in throughout the busy working day. This design makes life in the city much easier as it brings playfulness to work!

Getting on the metro with your bike in rush hour can be an absolute nightmare. Well, why not just park it on the front of the train in the allocated area exclusively for bikes? City life just got even easier!

All cyclists will rejoice to see such a creation exists as the process of lifting your bicycle onto the train fades to the past. Bike up and ride comfortably with trains that accommodate not just you, but your bicycle too!

Looking at the picture below, if the first thing you see is the slide then there might just be a chance your childhood is intact! This creation is something children have been waiting centuries for and it is finally here.

Designed for easier living, this covered slide is only for the brave-hearted souls that will defy using the escalator to take a slide less traveled. Slide into happiness with this design that ensures you always have fun while you shop!

This strange and creative design might simply look like a set of benches and an odd structure for visual appeal, but there’s more… The circular structure actually amplifies music resonance for bands and musicians looking to showcase their acoustic tunes.

By settling in front of this circular structure, the music played reverberates similarly to the way singing in the shower makes you sound like a superstar! City life is easier with great music, so let’s start there!

We’ve all been on those family days out, exploring the nearby cityscape and suddenly, our phone dies. With no way to know the next landmark to hit and how to get to it, the day gets called off and home becomes the direction. Well, no more!

This smart bench provides the ability for people sitting to charge and rest while waiting for their phones to recharge. This design ensures no more journeys come with the fear of your battery dying so sit down and charge up!

Whether it’s a short journey or a long one, a book always helps take the imagination away to a nicer place in the meanwhile. What happens if you forget your book? Never fear, the library bus service is always here!

Some cities design buses in this way to encourage the intellectually stimulating activity of reading and providing an escape for passengers on the journey ahead. This method makes city life easier for all avid readers and the journey more manageable.

For all car owners, this one goes out to you. Was your car scratched by a nearby parked car reversing out poorly? Those days are gone as we gladly introduce this protective invention to prevent just such an incident occurring!

This car protector ensures that the next car parked beside you will not damage your car. Situated in each parking space, this design makes cities more bearable knowing your car is safely tucked away out of harm while you work.

Most cities have benches, chairs, or some form of a seat for pedestrians to rest their weary bones. Not this city. This design ensures users can rock and rest themselves at any point in their day! Hammocks have finally arrived in the city!

These hammocks let the busy lives of people working in the city just fade away. Imagine one minute you’re filing reports and scheduling meetings in a busy office, the next you’re swinging in a hammock. This design is peace incarnate!

Finally, smart traffic lights came to fruition, but so did the pedestrian crossing lights. These lights indicate to pedestrians and drivers alike when it is safe to move and when to stay put. It definitely makes nightlife far safer!

Knowing when to cross the road in this city doesn’t require looking up at lights or at a small indicator. This design ensures you’re looking at the road you intend to cross!

It’s a known fact that drivers will park in a multi-story parking structure,  which can feature five or more floors. and forget the floor they had parked on. With the forget-me-not car park elevators, this becomes a thing of the past!

These smart, but simple elevators feature a huge number on the door to indicate the floor you are on and the word ‘Remember’ as a call to action. Even if you forget which floor you parked on, you most certainly will not forget that massive number on the elevator!

Another design created to make life easier in the city is the GPS location bus stop. These public transport waiting areas have been transformed into interactive maps that enable pedestrians to find their way around and locate the nearest attractions.

Getting lost is now a fun thing to do when living in a city that has these GPS bus stops. They make the day more enjoyable, help all passersby find their route, and ensure no one ever gets lost again.

Male pattern baldness is no laughing matter. Many men casually stroll under the sun which results in them burning their heads. This innovative design ensures this traumatic experience never happens again and shapes itself elegantly as a giant green hat!

For all other human beings on the planet without male pattern baldness, this green hat provides a pleasant patch of shade to ease the heat of the day. Enjoy the breeze without fearing sunburn under this lovely giant green hat!

Charging stations are an electric-powered car or bike owner’s dream to come across. When you charge up your electric car, you reduce its reliance on fuel and therefore, save money. These designs in cities are making commuting easier for everyone.

Even some bicycles use specific dynamos that require charging to ease the strain on the rider’s legs and these charging stations keep it juiced up to go. Park up next to one of these on your journey, charge up, and go!

Do you get to that point in the day where your phone battery hits that dreaded 20% warning and then you realize that you’ve forgotten your charger? Well worry no more, as city designs now feature social hubs that contain multiple charging outlets for your electronics.

These social hubs allow multiple people to stand and charge their electronics together and socialize as they fill up on juice. Just another tech design that makes city life that much easier.

It is becoming increasingly modern to ride a bicycle to work both to save money on fuel and to keep active and healthy. With cities that feature the hire and ride service like the picture below, a bicycle is always around!

Cheaply priced for hire, these bicycles make getting around cities cheap, fun, and easier for commuters and tourists alike. Simply pay the small fee to hire, get a helmet for safety and get on your bike and ride it away.

Living in the city, everyone eventually becomes used to seeing billboards pasted just about everywhere they can, but what if they had another purpose? A line of smarter billboards have been created and the featured piece functions to provide shelter.

Ultimately, rainy days should not be feared now that billboards offer shelter along with their advertisement. Their incorporation into city designs ensures any pedestrians caught out in the rain have the opportunity to run for cover closeby and avoid soggy clothing.

There’s a common issue with trying to get comfortable on a bench and having to shift position multiple times to avoid a numb bum… The sitting area on this bench is much longer and allows users to put their legs up!

This is a great solution for couples to lay out, and for groups of friends to enjoy a chilled out social gathering. These benches are designed for complete comfort and to create respite amongst the busy city life. Lay back, sit and stretch out!

This urban street bench is called Steora and allows pedestrians lucky enough to come by it to upload videos and pictures to their chosen benches. The upload allows a campaign to be created, its duration determined and frequency aptly selected.

This Croatian firm design makes city life much easier for those that want to promote their own campaigns throughout the city. The campaigns can even be connected to a wi-fi homepage for bench users to see them on their phones.

This peculiar constructed design is a very interesting addition to any city and actually makes meeting new people a daily occurrence. It’s called the MeetWall and begins solid, but suddenly spins when its sensors sense people close by to it!

As the MeetWall spins with people on either side of the wall, it reveals strangers on the other side of the solid barrier. This kind of city structure design might not be wi-fi connected, but it ensures we stay connected!

It’s tough to find a great flat space for kids to play in within cities because they tend to be so built up in busier areas. The mechanical handle allows children to spring a table up in time for lunch!

Ideas like this design make the most of the limited spaces available in built-up cities and give children and families more room to play. Life in the city is easier when you have pop-up tables in your neighborhood!

Get more than just the times for the buses with this innovative design by Google. Check your social media, search the web, and enjoy some leisure time online while you wait for public transport without sacrificing your phone’s battery percentage!

This design makes city life easier by providing access to the internet for public transport users. Instead of waiting unproductively, this design grants users the opportunity to enjoy the time they wait. Waiting for a bus? Don’t wait, just browse!

It grows increasingly important that we go green and think of the environmental impact of what we do. This includes the acts of businesses and corporations. The way that they operate can potentially have a massive environmental impact, so it’s always impressive when a company goes the extra mile to reduce its carbon footprint. These companies got creative in their efforts to be greener.

If you love pizza, you’ve probably received more than one pizza with a plastic table in the center. This is what keeps the top of the box from touching the pizza.

While it’s pretty handy, adding an unnecessary piece of plastic to every pizza does produce quite a bit of waste. So, this shop decided to replace the plastic with something that would never go to waste! When you order here, a spare garlic knot will keep your pizza intact.

When you order something in the mail, there are parts of the package that are protective. This usually comes in the form of something like styrofoam packing peanuts or bubble wrap.

Unfortunately, both of these options aren’t particularly good for the environment. As a result, some companies have started to ask themselves what they could replace this with that would both serve as a greener option and still protect the merchandise. This company found its answer by using cut paper and cardboard.

Every time you blow your nose, you probably aren’t thinking about the environmental impact of that action. In the end, it’s only one tissue, right?

Well, just like anything else, everyone uses tissues and that can add up. This particular brand aims to offer a greener option for your next sneeze. These tissues are made out of bamboo pulp and aren’t bleached. Yet, they still offer a soft touch for sensitive skin.

It almost goes without saying that paving a road or parking lot isn’t great for the environment. This is especially true when it comes to clearing the way for these spaces.

This developer didn’t want the parking lot to completely overtake the local plant life, though. To avoid this, they opted for bricks with open portions rather than traditional pavement. This way, the grass could grow through the spaces to add a bit of greenery to the scene.

Earlier, we looked at a company that tried to come up with an alternative to the usual plastic packaging. They turned to cardboard to fill that need with something greener.

Still, that’s not the only option that companies have. This company looked at the same problem and came up with a different solution. Instead of using cardboard or, even worse, plastic, this company wrapped each part of this vacuum in easily recycled paper.

Walking through the produce section of grocery stores, you see a lot more plastic than you might expect. This goes for everything from the bags to put your food in to the ways each individual unit is packaged.

Take grapes, for example. Most of the time, if you were to buy grapes from the store, each bunch goes in its own individual plastic bag. Not at this grocery store, though! If you want to buy a bunch of grapes, they do come protected in a bag. That bag is just made out of paper, not plastic.

Earlier, we mentioned that some of the plastic you see on the produce aisle is the produce bags the store offers. The good news is that if you want to skip them, some companies offer an alternative.

The specific example we’re looking at here is a bag made from cotton netting. These come with a lot of benefits, all of them helping with one main goal: going greener. They’re both reusable and they don’t require the same use of plastic.

You probably see billboards almost every day. After all, they tend to line streets and highways almost everywhere, advertising a variety of products, services, and ideas.

What you might not have considered is what happens once these billboards have run their lifespan. Sadly, the answer usually ends up in a landfill, contributing to waste. What else would you do with them? According to Rareform, you reuse that vinyl to make bags and backpacks! Not to mention, they’re a vegan brand as well.

If there’s one source of plastic waste that’s gotten a lot of attention over the last few years, it’s the use of plastic straws.

Luckily, with so much attention on the problem, there have been quite a few companies who have decided to answer with creative solutions. In this restaurant, the server brings each person a tube of raw pasta to use as a straw. It breaks down naturally over time but not so soon that it’ll ruin your drink!

The best part of creativity in creating greener business practices is that two different companies can find different solutions for the same problem. This can lead to a collection of answers to consider.

This is another restaurant that tackled the concept of the straw problem. Rather than reaching for pasta, they decided to go with another dry ingredient. This time, customers had the chance to sip their drinks with dried wheat stems rather than contributing to unnecessary waste with plastic straws.

At the end of the day, wouldn’t no straw left at all be the best-case scenario? On the other hand, how could a company possibly make a straw that just disappears?

This company had the perfect answer to go with their fruity drinks. Instead of opting for something inedible, they added a candy straw to their menu. This way, instead of throwing anything away at all, the customer just enjoys their straw as a snack when they’re done with their drink!

If you live in Australia, you might see a creative and greener solution to your usual order at Kentucky Fried Chicken. The answer is right in the silverware.

When you order at many fast-food restaurants, they’ll throw in a packet of silverware. It’s almost always a plastic knife, fork, and spoon in a small plastic bag. For KFC in Australia, customers instead receive a paper packet that features the silverware they need in a much greener cardboard form.

While recycling is great, it’s crucial to remember to reduce and reuse waste as well. This coffee shop definitely has the concept of reusing down.

Just like any other coffee shop, they go through a lot of milk. However, instead of just throwing the milk cartons away when they’re done, they wash them and cut holes out of them. Now, they’re ready for a new use as a coffee carrier after life as a milk carton!

Once again, we’re coming back to the issue of storing leftover food or a packed lunch. You have to make sure it’s stored correctly but you still want to make a greener choice.

Plastic sandwich bags are handy but they produce a lot of unnecessary waste. This is another problem that companies like Stasher have come to the scene to solve. As for Stasher, they do this by offering you food bags made out of reusable silicone.

There’s a lot of plastic that we see every day but might not think about. How about that microwave lunch or dinner you made? Did it have a plastic sealed cover?

In most cases, yes, this protective layer is plastic. Upon opening this Primal Kitchen dinner, this person made an interesting discovery. To replace the wasteful choice of a plastic film, this company swapped the component out for a layer of parchment paper, making the process greener.

Pela is a company that started on environmentally-friendly values. They don’t just want to make their products greener but use them to make the world greener.

The idea behind their products is simple: they’re all biodegradable. Pela originally came to this mission upon learning about the waste that plastic phone cases make each year. They’ve gone on to make a variety of answers to this problem, including the first biodegradable phone case.

Once you buy a coffee at a coffee shop, you might not drink it as is. Many people take a moment to add something like sugar or cream.

To mix it together, most restaurants and coffee shops rely on small plastic coffee stirrers that almost look like little straws. This means that they have a negative environmental impact too, just like straws. That’s why this company decided that dry pasta was a greener choice.

Trying to live a greener lifestyle is what leads many to a vegetarian or vegan diet. Overall, there are a lot of negative environmental factors to eating meat.

How can companies help make this an easier option for their customers? There are some that go beyond simply offering a few vegetarian or vegan menu options. Companies like Beyond go even further by dedicating their brand to creating alternatives like burgers and sausages that even the most dedicated meat-eaters will love.

Anyone can tell you that if you leave bread out in the open, it’ll go stale pretty fast. That’s why most packaged bread comes with a bread tie of some sort to close the bag with.

Once again, though, this a problem usually solved with plastic. That means that it’s left space for companies like this one to solve the issue of how to keep bread fresh without adding to unnecessary plastic waste. They simply swapped out the plastic in the tie for a cardboard alternative.

Whether you’re a beauty guru or just like to casually try out new looks, you’re probably familiar with the fact that not every makeup palate is as green as the last.

Still, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t options for a greener makeup alternative. Some companies like Aether Beauty are dedicated to serving looks and staying green. They achieve this with recyclable boxes and completely vegan ingredients. This way, the next look can be guilt-free.

As we’ve seen, really ridding the world of plastic waste means thinking of the small things. In the end, even small pieces of plastic add up over time.

That’s why this grocery store in Portugal did away with stickers on their produce. In a more modern approach, they opted to use a laser to print the information that would usually be on a sticker or plastic packaging. It reduces plastic waste and it doesn’t really affect the produce!

Like many people, you might turn to paper towels when there’s a mess in your home. Again, though, using something disposable is never as green as using something that can stick around for a while.

That’s why many companies are offering what many people simply refer to as Swedish dish towels. Rather than offering a roll of single-use options, the towels can be used again and again. All they need to get ready for a new use is a quick wash!

Coffee shops are a must-stop for many people whether they’re on their morning commute or need an afternoon pick-me-up. The biggest downside is that disposable plastic cups are wasteful.

That’s where Kaffee Form comes in. While they’re namely active in Berlin, they have an idea that could catch on and help companies go greener. Instead of plastic or even paper, Kaffee Form makes cups out of coffee grounds. Even better, they work with local shops for materials to reduce waste!

The problem with learning to reuse things isn’t always just a lack of willpower. Sometimes it’s hard to think of ways to incorporate what you usually think of as trash into something else.

That’s why the plastic bags that this company has to offer are here to help. Printed right on the side of the bag, they have a list of options that you can choose from to reuse this plastic bag rather than just throwing it out.

Going green isn’t always something that happens directly from a business to a consumer. Even further, some companies just aren’t sure of where to start.

That’s where a service like what Wipro EcoEnergy offers comes in to help out. They aim to help the businesses they work with go greener in the ways that best suit them. This will help a number of businesses move forward with knowledge on how to be more eco-friendly.

The fashion industry can be pretty wasteful at the end of the day. That doesn’t mean there aren’t companies looking to defy that status quo.

Alternative Apparel is a great brand for this. To start, they make their clothes with only post-consumer recycled components and organic cotton. When you receive it, the clothes are in packaging that’s completely biodegradable. There’s even a program run by the company for vendor recycling!

Many people turn to dryer sheets to help get the static out of their clothes. Not to mention, they’re usually nicely scented as well.

Yet, once that load of laundry is done and put away, that dryer sheet usually goes right in the trash. As a result, the concept of a traditional dryer sheet can get fairly wasteful, especially in larger households. In response, companies have started to offer wool balls that act as a substitute.

Earlier, we took a look at a biodegradable shoe option. The good news is that greener shoes seem to be an idea that’s catching on!

Samba Sol is another greener footwear company, this time focused on more sustainable flip-flops. Their beach or poolside shoes are only made with recycled rubber, reducing waste. Even further, they don’t use any chemical processes which contribute greatly to a company’s carbon footprint. Best of all, though, they use part of the proceeds to help protect the Amazon rainforest.

There are a lot of things that make Patagonia stand out from other companies like them. It makes sense too since Patagonia caters to a crowd that loves nature so much.

This includes concepts such as donating to environmental causes but there are direct benefits for consumers too. For example, you could get your Patagonia gear repaired by the company in an effort to reduce thrown-out products. Meaningfully, Patagonia is also honest in how they can continue to improve rather than claiming perfection.

When a company sells produce, they usually only include the ripest and juiciest piece of produce. The closer it looks to perfect, the more likely it will sell.

Sadly, this mostly leads to a lot of food waste. This is especially true since usually nothing is wrong with this produce save for aesthetic appeal. To solve this problem, Imperfect Produce was created. They specifically sell this flawed produce so that it doesn’t just go to waste.

Another area of life where it seems impossible to avoid excess waste is toiletries. After all, what do you keep your shampoo and conditioner in, if not a plastic bottle?

There are actually companies looking to go greener with the shower products they make. A great example of this is the company Bathing Culture. Not only do they commit to using organic and cruelty-free ingredients but they solve the bottle problem by using recycled and biodegradable bottles.

No matter how much you love your shoes, they eventually fall apart. Maybe those running shoes have been on a marathon too many or a heel finally snapped on a night out but it’s time to throw them out.

Sadly, most shoes aren’t actually very green because they aren’t biodegradable. This isn’t the case with the company Native Shoes. The company strives to offer options that don’t use as many harmful components. Plus, to keep their shoes from polluting the Earth later, they created the first biodegradable shoe.

There are areas of life that create a lot of waste that we don’t always want to think about. You might not wonder if there’s a greener way to approach toilet paper.

Companies like Who Gives a Crap have considered this question carefully. As a result, they started their business to offer a more eco-friendly toilet paper option. Not only did they rid their products of plastic but they only use recycled paper or bamboo in their toilet paper.

Kids’ toys are a huge source of plastic. Still, not many parents are willing to sacrifice their child’s happiness by not getting them toys, so an alternative is necessary.

That’s where a company like Green Toys decided to step in with a creative idea. They create toys that are made up completely of recycled materials and even the ink they use is environmentally-friendly soy ink. On top of that, Green Toys works to divert their supplies from landfills too.

There are some problems that are solvable by stopping the use of something. There are other environmental problems that come from seemingly irreplaceable parts of life.

For instance, it’s not a good idea to stop cleaning your house to avoid using chemicals. That’s why companies like Seventh Generation try to step in and help come up with an alternative. They make their cleaning products without harsh chemicals which is good for not only the planet but for the health of individuals as well.