With much sadness I’m saying goodbye to Birchbox.

I’ve enjoyed over five years of opening their gorgeous boxes and sampling hundreds of products. Some fun (teal eyeliner), some useless (eyeshadows and other products that are still using parabens), and many interesting to try (I now use dry shampoo).

But as someone who is trying to de-clutter my life and cares about the environment – I’ve gotta cut back. Here’s why.

1- Plastic and foil/plastic packets. While most of the tubes are recyclable, the foil/plastic pouches are not. When foil is bound to plastic, it’s too difficult for most recycling facilities to separate so it has to go the the landfill.

2- Carbon footprint. Each month I get a box, within a shipping box, lined with a foam pad. While delightful to open, each package must be created using fossil fuels and must be shipped with fossil fuels. At five years I’ve gotten at least 60 boxes!

3- Too many items. I donate what I don’t use, but I also tend to hang on to things I might use and end up with a lot of tiny items in my cabinets.

4- not enough eco friendly, low toxin products to try. This is my main interest and I’d like to stay on course.

So although I did get joy from the service, I’m going to cancel – at least for now – and take a little load off Mother Earth.