The shipping for this box was such a tease. When I finally got and checked the confirmation, (this account is not linked to my phone, so I have to intentionally look it up) it said that it would be arriving “early – tomorrow”! I was so excited. I waited with anticipation the whole following day, only to not have it come. I looked at the shipping again – once again arriving “early – tomorrow”, but now for the day after. I kept my expectations low, but it actually did arrive the following day. Most delivery drivers don’t come to my door anymore, so it sat baking on my fence for a couple hours.
Let’s Go Eco Subscription Box Overview
Cost: $89.99 CAD + $10 shipping + Tax
Value: $120+
Frequency: Quarterly
Cancellation Policy: Cancel any time after 2 boxes
Payment: Quarterly with notification 1 week before billing cycle
Focus: “Items are sustainable, made from natural materials, cruelty-free, encourage a low waste lifestyle and most are fair trade, organic and/or biodegradable. We proudly support small businesses and focus on women-led Canadian businesses.” from their FAQ
Ships From: Toronto
Inside the Box
I don’t know why this scarf smells so good, or what it even smells like, but it’s strangely pleasant. This is a fair trade scarf, block-printed by hand in India. Made of 75% cotton and 25% silk, I thought it would be a little softer than it is, but it is light, and perfect for a summer evening. This was a lovely bonus item with an $85 value! I’m a big supporter of fair trade and it’s nice to see Ichcha have that as part of their mandate. I can’t find this print on their website, so I’m going to assume that the design is exclusive to the Let’s Go Eco boxes. This one doesn’t come in the regular summer box, so you do need to have a subscription to get it.
If you’ve been following my blog, you may already know that I have a small head. Possibly strangely, I haven’t noticed it affect me that much throughout my life with wearing hats. Sure, most hats are too big for me, but they can sit a little high or look a little off while still being functional. This hat can’t really do that. The bucket part of the hat is so deep (is anyone’s head that tall?) and the brim so floppy, that unless I completely roll up the front rim, I can only see if I’m looking down. Thankfully there is that piece of pliable metal in the rim so that it can be shaped, but I don’t think this hat is very functional for someone like me.
I’ve been using more environmentally-friendly toilet paper since I was uncool in Guatemala in 2007 and bought my own. I couldn’t stand the scented stuff they provided at the school I was living at, so I would purchase this undyed, recycled toilet paper much to the amusement of my classmates. When I came back to Canada I always made sure to buy recycled toilet paper for myself, because why should we cut down trees to wipe? My only exception is Bounty. I bought recycled paper towels for years, but when I had puppies I was going through more than a roll a day. I bought a roll of Bounty just to see if it made a difference and I can’t go back.
I became aware of bamboo toilet paper only within the past few years and have given a few brands a try. I ordered a giant box of Who Gives a Crap, bamboo edition, and my partner hated it. We had 48 rolls and he couldn’t wait for it to run out. It’s actually a good thing he didn’t like it that much because they have since halted shipments to Canada. Supply-chain issues and all that.
One of the real benefits of these subscription boxes is that you get to try things without much of a commitment. Here we have one cute, individually-wrapped, plastic-free roll of bamboo toilet paper to try. This is a very soft toilet paper. On Roll Up’s site the only option seems to the be the premium, 350 sheet, 3-ply toilet paper, so I’m assuming this is the same thing. Despite this toilet paper being very soft, it is not very durable and any liquid on it makes it immediately dissipate. This might be too much information, but I have found pieces of it in unexpected places much later. I really should start using a bidet.
I appreciate that we have a softer, Canadian alternative to Who Gives a Crap, but I’ll stick with my Bonterra for now. It doesn’t last long, but I don’t find pieces of it later. Roll Up does get bonus points for cool packaging though.
I don’t really know what a summer spray is. There is no mention of it detracting bugs on the can, but it does mention it in the box’s flyer. This makes a lot of sense because when I sprayed myself with it tonight, I smelled like I was wearing bug spray. This is not exactly a pleasant scent for me. It is very strong, but if it works against bugs I’d prefer this to ones with chemicals.
Unfortunately for me, this bottle broke almost immediately; the spray nozzle doesn’t function properly and it comes out in globs that sting my skin. This is probably a large contributing factor as to why the scent is slightly bothersome – it’s too concentrated. I may try putting it into an empty spray bottle when one comes about and see if that makes a difference.
Having gone to their website now, it looks like this is primarily used as a bug spray, as opposed to a moisturizer, perfume, or fabric freshener. Consistency in marketing is important, not that I follow any of that…
I’m not really one to use a lot of Tiger Balm, but my partner is very excited about this as it’s basically the same thing and I think our Tiger Balm is running low. It’s not straight menthol so the scent isn’t painfully strong. If it’s as effective as Tiger Balm, then this might be a nice go-to instead.
Onsight’s specialty is liquid-free products, which is appealing to me. They offer a variety of products, including shampoo and conditioner, which I would like to try. They make these products in Nelson, which is in my province, and have some local (to me) stockists.
I really love the smell of this sunscreen. I’m not usually a big fan of citrus, but this orange blossom scent is quite lovely.
I can’t speak to its ability to block the sun, but it goes onto the skin fairly smoothly. It’s a bit greasy, but I’ll take that over the white film that zinc sunscreens often leave. It’s not the easiest to apply, especially for me because my skin is like a sponge, and I can see it taking a long time to put this all over my body, but I am definitely willing to give it a go once my other containers are done. I love that Attitude is plastic free and reef-friendly.
The tagline on their website is “The perfect gift for any cocktail lover.” I am not a drinker, and honestly prefer virgin cocktails to their alcoholic counterparts, but I think I will enjoy this.
This bottle is a full 360ml of tasty syrup. I absolutely adore cranberries and cranberry-flavoured things, so I really lucked out with this one. I tried some straight, as well as adding it to my water, and I actually really like it. I think it would go really well in a lemonade, or with some sparkling water as they suggest. I’m excited to see what experiments we come up with.
Last, but definitely not least, is my favourite addition to the box: the copper-plated, stainless steel mugs. And thank goodness there are two of them! I have admired this style of dishware since I went to a fancy restaurant with my (now ex) husband back in maybe 2018? A few months ago I ended up with a pure copper water bottle in a similar style, which kind of terrifies me because I’m worried I’ll clean it wrong. I used it for a week and then haven’t touched it since. These mugs, however, have stainless steel interiors so I don’t have to be concerned about them oxidizing and leeching bad things into my body. I don’t have room for these in my cupboard, but I welcome them anyway.
Overall Impression
Let’s Go Eco’s customer service is great. I had a slight complication after subscribing where I kept getting emails telling me I’d left something in my cart. After a few days of that, I emailed asking what it was about and I got a kind and prompt response and it was soon all sorted out. They also hand-wrote a note on my packing slip. I don’t know why, but it’s something I really appreciate. When I first started donating to The Lung Association, I always got a hand-written thank you note that I’d put on my fridge. They’ve since abandoned that practice, but I enjoyed it while it happened.
One thing I don’t understand is why there is no brand listed for the mugs and hat; surely they were purchased somewhere!
I had a discount code that got me 20% off my first box, which was nice, but even with the discount I don’t know if I feel I got a good value. The scarf obviously increased the value of the box by a lot, but I’m not truly excited about most of the products. It doesn’t help that the spray bottle is broken and the hat really doesn’t fit. I’m giving each of the subscription box companies (I’ve subscribed to 7 so far) a year to be able to fully judge what they provide and what I really want and am interested in. I’m not a big shopper to begin with, and it’s actually been my job of mystery shopping that turned me on to these boxes. We’ll see what boxes I’ll continue with, if any. Most people I know who had subscription boxes eventually abandoned them.
wanderingfawn 