r/Sustainable

Hi everyone, I'm conducting a survey my academic research project on sustainable packaging.

I'm studying what consumers think about everyday packaging and whether they'd be willing to switch to more sustainable alternatives if they're practical and convenient.

I would really appreciate the help!

Does anyone else only look for actual third party certifications when buying daily products? Honestly I am so tired of the greenwashing. Every second brand slaps a green leaf on the bottle, writes natural in big letters, and calls it sustainable. But when you check the back it is just standard cheap chemicals and synthetic fragrance.

Lately I have been trying to find brands that actually do small batch production and hold real organic certifications. For skincare I found an australian line called mukti organics that uses verified ingredients and glass packaging. It made me realize how hard it is to find companies that don't just fake it for marketing.

What specific eco labels or third party certifications do you guys actually trust to avoid greenwashing? Looking for recommendations for household and personal care stuff.

If setup is mid to large scale, with Napier grass and other organic waste, is it viable? Does anybody has any experience with it?

Hello everyone! 👋

Since it's the peak of summer, i was just sitting and thinking about how every year seems to be hotter than the last It made me wonder why is extreme heat increasing so much every year Is it mainly because of climate change rapid urbanization, deforestation, or are there other factors were overlooking over the past few years, heatwaves haven't just become hotter, they've become more frequent and longer lasting events that were once considered rare now seem to happen almost every summer what concerns me is that most of our response still feels reactive. We rely more on air conditioning, governments issue emergency heat alerts and people adjust their daily routines. While these measures help in the short term, they don't seem like long-term sustainable solutions If extreme heat continues to become more common, are our cities infrastructure, and energy systems really prepared to handle it sustainably Or are we simply responding to each new heatwave without addressing the bigger problem i'm genuinely curious to hear different perspectives. What do you think is the biggest reason behind rising temperatures every year And what do you think real sustainable adaptation should look like greener cities, better urban planning, renewable energy, more trees, or something else?

What do you all think about this topic???

My wife and I have been on Kindred for about a year now, with over 50 nights hosted and booked. We're expats living in Valencia, Spain, and home swapping has become a real part of how we travel. Here's the unfiltered version of how it's gone.

It’s different than booking an Airbnb

I came in treating it like a standard booking platform. Specific dates, specific cities, specific requirements. If you approach Kindred like Airbnb, you'll likely get frustrated. It takes some patience and a bit more work than popping in dates to book something immediately.

You will likely interact with the host through a few messages before you are approved to stay. I don’t mind it because I like to get a feel for who will be staying in my home as well.

What Actually Works

Flexibility is everything. Using Kindred without locking in rigid dates and locations opened things up for me and started finding a lot more stays. Kindred rewards members who can adapt. If you can say "sometime in May" instead of "May 14 to 18," you're going to have a much easier time.

The easiest approach we've found: if you're open to traveling anywhere, browse homes you love and book one. Then plan your trip around the Kindred you booked. It sounds backwards but it works really well and takes a lot of the frustration out of the process of the booking process.

If you already have a trip planned and need a specific city and dates, it gets harder. What we do in that case is check the app daily to see if something new has popped up, then request to book quickly before someone else does. It takes patience but it does work more often than not.

In these situations, we always also have a backup plan. We will book something for our stay elsewhere that has free cancellation. Then, if we find a Kindred, we will cancel the existing reservation. We just did this for a 4 night stay in Dublin. It saved us $1,200!

Cleaning (This Is Huge for Us)

This doesn't get talked about enough. My wife and I both work while we travel, so we genuinely do not have time to strip beds, deep clean, and prep a home before we leave, whether that's our own place or someone else's. The fact that professional cleaning is included on both ends has been a game changer for us. It's one of the main reasons we've stayed on the platform as long as we have.

That said, it hasn't been perfect. We had one experience where the cleaning at our home was subpar and didn't meet the standard we expected. It was disappointing, but Kindred's support team was responsive about it. Worth knowing going in that the quality can vary.

The Numbers After One Year

We've saved approximately $5,500 through Kindred over the past year. That's money that would have otherwise gone to hotels or Airbnbs. This is honestly what keeps us coming back despite it taking a bit more work than simply booking elsewhere.

Where I'm At Now

We've hosted a lot and built up a decent credit balance, but finding stays for trips we already have planned is still the hardest part of using this platform. It's a real supply and demand issue and something I'd like to see improve. The daily check-in habit helps, but it's not ideal for everyone.

Still, the value when it works is genuinely hard to argue with. Staying in real homes, in real neighborhoods, at a fraction of what hotels or Airbnbs would cost, adds up fast over a year.

For Anyone Curious About Trying It

If you've been on the fence, I have a referral code that gets you 5 free nights immediately after approval and helps move your application along faster. Just DM me and I'll send it over.

Happy to answer questions in the comments too.

TLDR: After a year and 50+ nights, we've saved around $5,500 through Kindred. Book a home you love first, then plan the trip around it. The included cleaning is a standout perk, especially if you work while you travel. It's not flawless, but for frequent travelers who can adapt, the value is real. DM me for a referral code and 5 free nights to get started.