✧ Resources For ✧

The Sustainable Singer

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We are Nature and Nature is Us.

Is it possible to protect the Earth's resources through mindful buying and consuming? While these sustainable choices alone won't save the planet, small acts add up—and together, we can create positive change.

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Mountain landscape with pine trees and misty hills at sunset or sunrise.

Mindful choices for your body and the environment.

This curated collection features eco-conscious products for performers—from stage wear and gear to makeup and personal care items. While my search began as a way to protect my health after a breast cancer diagnosis, it's grown into something more: a guide to help fellow artists make choices that benefit both their bodies and our environment.

(Full disclosure: I don't receive any commissions for recommending these products—they're simply items I've found helpful in my own sustainability journey.)

Sustainable Stagewear

Eco-friendly fabrics, second-hand options, capsule performance wardrobe.

A vintage clothing and accessories store with racks of clothes on both sides, a display case with jewelry in the center, and wooden walls. A long orange dress and a green dress are hanging on the back wall. The store has wood flooring and warm lighting.

A Word About Fast Fashion…

Fast fashion may be cheap, but it wastes resources, pollutes the environment, and mistreats workers. Many workers face unsafe conditions and unfair wages. Instead of supporting these practices, here are better ways to shop:

  • Shop secondhand first – this extends the life of existing clothing and reduces waste.

  • Invest in high-quality items that will last.

  • Look for sustainable brands that use eco-friendly materials and ethical manufacturing.

  • Create multiple stage outfits with a ‘capsule wardrobe', using well-made, mix-and-match pieces that last longer and can be styled different ways. This also makes choosing performance outfits much easier, plus your touring suitcase will be lighter and make travel easier, too!

You can find high-quality designer pieces at thrift stores and charity shops without breaking the bank. Buying used clothing is both budget friendly and environmentally conscious!

A white A-frame sign on a grassy area with a wooden frame, displaying the text 'thank you for supporting local!' in black, handwritten-style lettering, with a rustic building and greenery in the background.

Buy Local First

Buy local first, when possible. But if you’re still searching for that perfect outfit for the stage and you can’t find it close to home, here’s a short list of online resale shops:

  • ThredUp - Wide selection of secondhand clothing at various price points.

  • The RealReal - Authenticated luxury consignment.

  • Poshmark - Peer-to-peer marketplace for new and used fashion.

  • Depop - Trendy vintage and contemporary pieces popular with younger audiences.

  • Vestiaire Collective - High-end designer resale with global reach.

A row of hangers with various clothing items, including dresses with heart patterns and orange scrubs, hanging on a metallic clothing rack inside a room with teal walls.

And here’s a short list of some sustainable fashion websites offering stage-worthy pieces:

  • Stella McCartney - High-end sustainable designs with bold stage presence (check resale sites for better prices).

  • Farm Rio - Vibrant, eye-catching, sustainable pieces ideal for stage presence.

  • Rent the Runway - “Say goodbye to buyer’s remorse. Rent it first, then buy it if you love it.” Rental platform for designer pieces, reducing fashion waste while providing stage-worthy options.

Musical Equipment & Accessories

Durable gear, responsible brands, repair vs replace.

Room with musical instruments and equipment near sliding glass doors with black curtains, sunlight streaming in, and a balcony visible outside.

More audio companies are beginning to embrace sustainability and social responsibility. While they're not exactly leading the pack yet, there are some cool eco-friendly gear and practices popping up in the industry. Here are some music equipment companies known for their sustainable practices:

  • Shure Microphones has robust sustainability initiatives and offers a wide range of microphones. (However, I don’t recommend their SM58 for singers. Find out why here.)

  • Taylor Guitars is known for its responsible wood sourcing and forest conservation initiatives

  • Thinksound Headphones only uses wood, natural, and recycled materials in their audiophile-quality headphones.

  • House of Marley uses sustainable materials like bamboo and recycled materials in their audio equipment

Cosmetics & Personal Care

Plastic-free alternatives, cruelty-free products, natural ingredients.

An older woman with short gray hair and glasses smiling while sitting on a vibrant orange sofa, holding a white mug. She is wearing a black and gray striped top and appears to be in a cozy, well-lit room with colorful pillows and framed artwork on the wall.

My journey into sustainable products began many years ago, shortly after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis.

I was doing "all the things"—eating right, de-stressing my life, exercising—to stay healthy and cancer-free. Then I realized I needed to pay attention not just to what I put IN my body, but what I put ON it as well.

I started researching organic makeup and skincare brands, determined to eliminate potentially harmful chemicals from my daily routine—both for my personal health and to prevent these toxins from polluting our waterways and natural environment.

Over time, this search evolved beyond just organic ingredients.

I began considering the environmental impact of packaging and shipping distances. I discovered brands that use glass containers instead of plastic, offer refillable options, or ship from locations closer to home—reducing both waste and carbon footprint.

Eco-friendly shopping essentials including a reusable net bag, stainless steel straw, soap, reusable tote, apples, dried fruits, a metal skewer, reusable cleaning brush, bandana, eco-friendly wool brush, and cloths on a wooden surface.

Photo Credit: Living Pantry

Refill Store

One of my favorite discoveries has been local refill stores, where you can bring your own containers and fill them with everything from shampoo to cleaning products. These shops have become community hubs for sustainable living, offering education alongside eco-friendly alternatives. If you live in the U.S., you can find one at this national refill directory.

Pact Recycling Program

I'm also a big fan of Credo Beauty's PACT recycling program. Since many beauty containers use mixed materials that are difficult to recycle through standard programs, PACT accepts hard-to-recycle beauty packaging and makes sure it's properly processed. Plus, you earn rewards points for participating! You can drop empties at Credo stores or mail them in if you don't live near a location.

Beauty products floating above a cardboard box labeled "THINK DIRTY. clean beauty." on a light blue background with colorful confetti and a large blue question mark in the center.

Here are a few of my favorite makeup and personal care websites & products:

Let's start with my all-time favorite app, Think Dirty®-Shop Clean. It became my essential resource after my cancer diagnosis, helping me find makeup and personal care products free from hormone disruptors. It cuts through marketing claims to focus solely on ingredient safety without "greenwashing." As a truly independent resource with no corporate ties, it's my trusted guide for healthier product choices.

Download App
Four orange multi-stick tinted lip balms on a beige surface, three standing upright and one lying down, with visible colored tops in shades of red and brown, and white text on the packaging.

Makeup

  • Axiology is vegan, plastic-free, cruelty-free, handmade in the U.S.A., BIPOC-owned, and woman-run. PLUS, their products are great! I use the lip-to-lid Balmies for, well, everything from my lips to my lids to my cheeks!

  • I also really like the Canadian company, Elate Beauty. (Yay, Canada!) They have refillable palettes made from bamboo that you can personalize with eye shadows, powder, and more.

  • I found these biodegradable makeup sponges and false eyelashes sold in paper packaging at this Etsy shop.

Three amber skincare products from One Love Organics on a white platform with a shell, set against a pink background. The products include enzyme cleansing oil, hydrating serum, and coconut water cream.

Personal Care Favorites

Travel

Eco-friendly touring tips.

A green hard-shell carry-on suitcase with four wheels and a retractable handle stands on a sidewalk in a garden with succulents and rocks.

As vocalists, we're often on the road…

…and that means packing our lives into suitcases.

While sustainable travel may seem like an oxymoron (especially when flying is involved), there are practical ways to reduce your environmental footprint without breaking your touring budget. From eco-friendly luggage options to what goes inside them—reusable water bottles, travel eating kits, and sustainable toiletry containers—small choices add up.

The reality is that most working musicians can't afford premium prices for carbon offsets or the latest sustainable gear. However, investing in durable items that last through countless tours, choosing products with minimal packaging, and adopting a "leave no trace" mentality can make a significant difference. The most sustainable option is often what you already own, used mindfully and maintained carefully.

Sustainable Jungle is the best resource when it comes to curating eco-conscious options. Here’s a well-researched blog post about all things travel from them.

Wooden fork, knife, and spoon tied with string on a beige fabric holder, with green leaves above, on a white surface.

Suitcases & Travel Bags

  • United By Blue - www.unitedbyblue.com - Removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways for every product sold

  • Solgaard - www.solgaard.co - Creates luggage from ocean-bound plastic with sustainable initiatives

Utensils and Food Storage

  • To-Go Ware Bamboo Utensil Set - Features bamboo utensils in a recycled PET carrying case. TSA-friendly and compact for travel. This website sells a cover that includes a bottle opener, too. Find it at to-goware.com

Close-up of a person wearing a white sweater with leopard print cuffs, holding a black insulated water bottle with a teal bottom, at a train station platform with a train and green signal in the background.

Water Bottles—A Singer’s Gotta Stay Hydrated!

  • LifeFactory makes my favorite water bottles. They're glass with silicone caps and protectors, and the cap has a flip lid—no hard-to-clean straws that can harbor bacteria. You can wash them in the dishwasher, and if the glass breaks or chips (mine has only done so once in more than a decade!), you can order replacement parts.

A person standing in a train station holding a transparent water bottle connected to a filtration device inside their suitcase. The person is wearing a pink and white shirt with a large teal shoulder bag, and has a stack of bracelets on their wrist.

Filtered Water

I've been excited to see the growing number of filtered water stations in airports across the country. These stations make it easy to refill my reusable bottle after security instead of buying another plastic one. According to the Airports Council International, over 60% of major international airports now offer these stations, saving millions of single-use plastic bottles annually.

However, if your travels take you to places where filtered water isn’t easy to find, there are other options.

  • For sustainable water filtration on the go, consider the LifeStraw Go water bottle. I used it for years before airports started providing more filtered water stations.

  • Another option is the GRAYL GeoPress water purifier bottle. Made from durable materials with replaceable filter cartridges, it purifies water in just 8 seconds through a simple press mechanism. It's the most expensive option, but may be worth the investment as it filters out harmful heavy metals.

A pink fabric makeup or cosmetic bag with a floral pattern, partially open, revealing the inside pocket and some makeup brushes, resting on a wooden surface.

Travel Accessories

Getting quality sleep while touring feels like trying to nap during a soundcheck. For a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) like me who's particularly reactive to light and sound (learn more about HSPs at Dr. Elaine Aron's HSP resource), finding rest on the road feels almost impossible.

A good sleep mask is essential in my travel kit, and the Quince Silk Eye Mask has been my absolute favorite for blocking light while feeling gentle on sensitive skin. Quince has some affordable organic home and fashion products, too.

I also found this beautiful makeup roll on Etsy. Since I use my makeup brushes daily, I need a quality item that’s both practical and gives me a little shot of joy. Plus, instead of being made from plastic or pleather, it’s crafted from cotton, a more sustainable option.

Sustainability Focused Websites

Marketpaces for eco-friendly items.

Two hands in gloves hold a small inflatable globe of the world with a small green plant growing from it against a black background.

My favorite sustainable shopping websites

Though not specifically designed for musicians, these websites serve as excellent general marketplaces for eco-friendly items. Sustainable Jungle is my go-to resource—many of the items mentioned above were actually discovered through their newsletter.

  • Sustainable Jungle is hands down my favorite websites for all things sustainable. They have detailed guides, comprehensive product reviews, and excellent sustainability tips. Their newsletter is one I always open and learn from. Highly recommend!

  • Earth Hero is a carefully vetted marketplace offering everything from clothing to home goods.

  • Grove Collaborative offers plastic-free and sustainable personal care, home, and wellness products.