Suri toothbrushes
From refillable deodorant to e-ink notebooks, these are the everyday upgrades that prove good design and sustainability are no longer mutually exclusive.
We asked the Creative Boom community a simple question: what have you swapped out that genuinely feels like an upgrade? The response was overwhelming.
Dozens of designers, art directors, illustrators and brand strategists weighed in… and the thread quickly became something more interesting than a mere shopping list. Instead, it became a window into how creatives think about consumption: critically, aesthetically, and with a healthy scepticism for greenwashing.
No sackcloth energy here. These are the swaps that people have actually stuck with. You can read the full discussions on LinkedIn and The Studio. (Not joined The Studio yet? Do it today: it’s free!).
1. Fussy / AKT deodorant
Wild was, for years, the sustainable deodorant of choice among creatives. Refillable, plastic-reducing, beautifully packaged. But its acquisition by Unilever prompted many in the community to reconsider, including senior designer and lettering artist Rebecca Duncan. “I used Wild for many years, but have recently switched to AKT Deodorant,” she explains. “It’s been very nice so far, and the packaging is drool-worthy.”
Fussy is a commonly cited independent alternative, thanks to its compostable refills (memorably featured on Dragons’ Den) and its independent ownership. Marketing manager Bryan Larkin adds, “As a surfer, I appreciate their efforts to prevent toxic waterways and unnecessary product waste going into landfill.” Charlotte Stapleton, senior designer at Fishfinger, is also a fan.
2. Suri electric toothbrush
Suri electric toothbrushes came up repeatedly in our discussions, and for good reason: they close the loop on one of the most wasteful personal care products around.
Rebecca recommends them enthusiastically: “I’ve been using them for the past year, because they recycle the brush heads for you, the charge holds nicely, and it also came with a mirror mount so the bottom of the brush doesn’t get so grotty,” she explains. “Definitely recommend.” Brand and communications strategist Ginny Seymour adds: “They’ve just partnered with ReBorn Homewares to create soap dishes out of their recycled toothbrush heads. A fabulous circular partnership.”
3. Chilly’s water bottle
Long-haul durability is the test of any sustainable product. That’s why William Norton, assistant producer at Sony Music Entertainment, says: “My Chilly’s bottle may be the best investment I have ever made. There’s no going back once you’ve got used to having a nice chilled bottle of water with you all the time.”
Stephen Wells
, creative director and founder at edp, backs him up, as does interior designer Chloe Wynn, who rates Chilly’s alongside her KeepCup: she’s had both for around 10 years.
4. KeepCup (glass version)
Two versions of KeepCup, in fact, came up in our discussion: plastic and glass, with the latter winning particular praise for the drinking experience. Katie-Louise Herring, owner of Tribe Zero-Waste, says simply: “I love my glass KeepCup: nice to drink out of and less plastic than other brands.”
For coffee on the go, Alexander Parker, head of wellness at Burgopak, highlighted what a nudge from a favourite café can do: “Monmouth Coffee Company in London did away with paper cups for takeaway drinks back in 2022, introducing a reusable loan cup scheme. Pay a £5 deposit, get a great Monmouth Ecoffee Cup, which you can return for a refund or recycling as needed. It was a leap of faith on their part, but an intervention that changed my habits for the better.”
5. The reMarkable tablet
For creatives who live and breathe through notebooks, the reMarkable tablet is the most commonly cited big-ticket swap… and the one that gets the most evangelical responses.
As branding specialist John Whalley
puts it: “From small forests of paper to the remarkable reMarkable. Saves a ton of paper, works a treat, connects seamlessly with my MacBook, Scandi design looks great. Sustainability without compromise. Love it to bits.” Eve Macdonald, creative growth at KISS Branding, adds to the approval. “I know a landscape architect who LOVES her reMarkable,” she says. “Used to fly through notebooks and now uses that.”
6. Pith notebooks and sketchbooks
For those who prefer the tactile experience of real paper, Pith came up more than once in our discussions as the gold standard. “These guys make some amazing notebooks and sketchbooks: my favourites for a few years now,” enthuses designer and illustrator Iancu Barbărasă. “They do several things to keep their impact low; for example, making most of their products to order, and planting trees for each order.”
7. Refillable pens: Pentel, Lamy, Tom’s Studio and Kaweco
Several creatives flagged the humble refillable pen as an underrated swap; one that costs almost nothing to switch and pays off immediately.
Designer Sarah Schroeder
says: “My favourite pen is a black Pentel gel pen that you can refill. I’ve had it for ages and only buy new refills regularly. Minimal design, classy.” Similarly, Katie-Louise Herring uses a Kaweco fountain pen with a refillable cartridge. “It’s saved loads of waste and looks lovely,” she says.
Artist and designer Berenice H tells a similar story. “I no longer use biros and have a Tom’s Studio ink pen which has refill ink: that saves lots of plastic,” she explains. “I also use dip pens with metal nibs, so they only need ink and a mechanical pencil. I re-use paper by chopping it up into note pads, and generally buying a lot less.”
8. Who Gives A Crap (toilet roll)
“I’ve been a loyal consumer of Who Gives A Crap toilet roll for more than six years now,” says Anna Stanford, marketing director at Brandon Consultants. “It’s great packaging design and fun tone of voice means I’ll happily have the individually-wrapped rolls, made from bamboo, and the shipping box on display in my bathroom, rather than having to hide it all away. It’s all around a better product for consumers, the plane, and those they benefit through their not-for-profit partnerships. It feels like I’m contributing to something better as a consumer, even in a small way.”
Meanweile Bamboo Bobbi was flagged as a 100% not-for-profit alternative to premium bamboo loo roll brands. As graphic design and marketing assistant Molly Sutton puts it: “Bamboo Bobbi really walks the walk. They do a lot of work with food banks across the UK, providing them with toilet roll so they don’t have to spend money getting it in.”
9. smol household products
Compact, subscription-based, plastic-free packaging. smol covers dishwasher tabs, laundry tabs, toothpaste, toothbrushes and soaps. Designer Gary Lawson recommends them without reservation. “I’ve been subscribed to their everyday cleaning products for a few years and wouldn’t go back,” he enthuses. “No plastics, free trial, donate option. Great design and price to your door.”
10. Laundry detergent sheets (The Lab Co.)
Stephanie Feather
, head of creative at UAL, makes a strong case for laundry detergent sheets as an overlooked swap. “They save so much energy and carbon in production and transport,” she explains. “All brands I’ve tried so far come in plastic-free packaging. The Lab Co. is the nicest brand experience I’ve come across so far.”
11. Kinfill Care cleaning products
Kinfill Care is a B Corp-certified range that concentrates cleaning products into refillable tablets and bottles. “I’d definitely recommend them,” says art director Karyna Hruzdieva. “All their products are not only good quality, but also aesthetically pleasing.”
12. Estrid razor
Refillable, subscription-based and designed with real attention to aesthetics: Estrid came up in multiple discussions. Karyna prizes their “packaging, communication and inclusivity above all!”, while Charlotte and Courtney both include it in their trio of daily-use sustainable swaps alongside Suri and Fussy.
13. Waxed cloth food wraps
Rob Cursons, head of marketing at n-fuze creative, stumbled across waxed cloth food wraps in Rotterdam and started using them to replace aluminium foil. “They have structure and stay closed,” he explains, “plus there’s no metal, which can interact with some foods. I use them daily and have probably saved several rolls of foil from being used. The wax is antimicrobial and can be rinsed, plus the surface can be restored by gently heating once or twice a year.”
Project manager and editor Niamh L., meanwhile, suggests using beeswax sandwich wraps as a swap for single-use plastic bags in lunchboxes.
14. Bar soap and shampoo bars (Lush, KinKind)
Remember bar soap? Graphic designer Tim George has reverted to it, and he’s loving it. “There are lots with eco-friendly production, mostly paper-wrapped,” he notes. Then there are shampoo bars: Courtney, for instance, enjoys using Lush shampoo bars as part of her sustainable trio while Katie-Louise suggests KinKind B Corp shampoo bars as “a super effective and simple swap”.
15. Miniml refillable shampoo, conditioner and hand wash
Miniml offers refillable shampoo, conditioner and hand wash with clean ingredients and low-impact packaging. Niamh L. uses it daily, and marketing strategist Clotilde Muller
recommends it for skin and body care alongside smol and neat.
16. gomi power banks and tracker tags
Made in Brighton from waste materials, gomi‘s power banks and tracker tags are designed to last and look genuinely good. As co-founder Tom Meades put it: “They’re handmade in Brighton, using waste materials, designed to last, and they look great too.”
17. ZAO Essence of Nature makeup
Artist and designer Patricia Shea has a nuanced take on the aesthetics of sustainable products. “Being an old-fashioned decorative art lover, I find nearly all eco products strive, understandably, for very clean design; but I could go for some more elaborate packaging,” she says. “My latest switch has been to ZAO Essence of Nature makeup: zen design, sustainable, vegan, refillable and a delight to use. It’s also UK-based, which is another avenue I pursue with my purchasing.”
18. Refurbished hardware and electronics
Senior product designer Kevin Klein sees hardware as a space where eco-friendly and “watching the pennies” dovetail nicely. “I’ve been buying more refurbished hardware for the last two years,” he says. “Not only better for financial reasons, but also to make sure products don’t end up in landfill too soon.” Platforms like Back Market make finding quality refurbished tech straightforward.
Being sustainable is also about how often you upgrade. With that in mind, photo retoucher and creative artworker Sandrine Bascouert recommends Motorola’s budget range for phones. “They’re not shiny new things, but I can swear they do the same things as £800 models,” she says.
“They are also unbreakable.”
19. Second-hand clothing (Vinted and charity shops)
This came up more than almost anything else, and with real conviction. As illustrator and graphic designer Sam Osborne puts it: “I’ve cut down on how much I buy in the first place and buy most of my clothes from Vinted and charity shops, which has had the bonus of making me a bit braver with what I wear.”
Matt Munday, who has worked in the fashion industry for some time now, adds: “I’ve made a real effort to only buy second hand. For me, 2026 is the year of not buying anything from Amazon.”
Creative leader Ben Catchpole distils the mindset shift: “In 2023, I bought no clothes, except underwear, at all. It really brought home how many items of clothing I own and don’t wear.”
20. Binding your own sketchbooks from waste paper
Creative director and illustrator Lydia Thornley went further than any ready-made product. “I swapped out bought sketchbooks for binding them myself from waste and offcuts,” she reveals. “Which uses up waste, is handy for a clearout, and gives me exactly the right size to have one with me every day. The place where I relearned the skills to do that: London Centre for Book Arts.”
21. Metal tube key (Captain Fawcett)
Here’s an unexpected but much-loved recommendation from brand storyteller Cate McKay-Haynes. “If you use tomato purée, shaving cream, toothpaste, paint or any ointments, gels, serums and lotions packaged in tubes, you need a Metal Tube Key from Captain Fawcett Ltd. Zero waste, reusable, very pleasing to squeeze out every last drop of whatever takes your fancy, and comes in a sturdy brown gift box. There are other brands, but none so handsome.”
22. Vinegar and bicarbonate of soda for cleaning
Several creatives name-checked the classics. “I always clean my sinks, the dog’s bowl and kettle with vinegar,” says designer Sally Piperis. “It works better than any chemical cleaner at getting limescale off.”
UX consultant Becky Colley offers a similar take: “Mirror and window cleaner: a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water, used with newspaper instead of a cloth. Mattress refresher: sprinkle bicarb of soda, leave for a while, vacuum up.”
23. Period pants and menstrual cups
When it comes to female hygiene, senior designer Natty Harris recommends: “Period pants and moon cups instead of pads and tampons. A proper metal razor instead of disposable ones.” Rebecca Duncan adds WUKA period pants to the list. “A lovely brand redesign recently, and it saves on chemicals going out into the environment.”
24. The swap you already have: use what you own
We’ll conclude with this point from graphic designer Sarah Kirkbride. “The most sustainable product is the one you already own,” she points out. “Water bottles are such a biggie for this. Unless your old plastic one is totally knackered, buying a new metal one isn’t better than using your plastic one.”
Designer Zoe Foreman puts it even more plainly. “I’ve just stopped buying stuff,” she says. “The idea of buying empty jars for storage when old peanut and jam jars do the same job. I don’t need a fancy pen when I’ve got a random biro that still works. The world doesn’t need a themed cup or water bottle for every event.”
