Top 5 Sustainable Shops for Plastic Free Living
The average American produces 4–5 pounds of trash per day. This includes a multitude of items such as health care products, disposable cups and silverware, cleaning tools and supplies, shopping bags, and even office supplies! Plastic items are cheap and easily break or wear out quickly. Ultimately, they take extended periods of time to break down and during that process, they leach harmful toxins, damage ecosystems, and can impact human health as well.
However, over the last 5–10 years, sustainable retail platforms have been on the rise. Unfortunately, some of these platforms are guilty of greenwashing, or deceitful marketing that exaggerates a business’s current or past practices in order for them to appear more environmentally friendly. Despite this, there are many sites and stores out there who are effectively producing and selling truly sustainable, plastic-free goods! Here are my top 5 shops since I took on living more sustainably in 2019.
1. Package Free
Membership Fee: None
Subscription Service: Yes
Rewards program: Yes
Package Free is perhaps one of the most comprehensive shops with a wide variety goods available for a holistic approach and many options from multiple vendors. While they do produce their own goods, they also source goods from other retailers making it an excellent source for discovering and exploring new sustainable retailers. Each product includes the exact materials or ingredients listed and also provides a detailed description of how to use product, what it is an alternative to, the packaging that it ships in and if it is recyclable or not, care instructions, and how to dispose of it at its end-of-life. One downside I have noticed is that the product line is constantly changing, or at least has changed often in the past which is not always the fault of Package Free but still occasionally caused the supply disruption of my subscriptions. That being said, the site always lists the original vendor so you can always bookmark.
The rewards program earns you 1 point for every $10 spent, 10 points for reviewing a product, and a variety of points for following their social media profiles. Every 100 points can be redeemed for a $10 coupon.
2. Public Goods
Membership Fee: $80
Subscription Service: Yes
Rewards Program: No
Public goods is an excellent site to get sustainable groceries and general household goods. The grocery section has foods from all major food groups and is always organic and sustainably sourced. Notable household goods include bar soap and shampoo, both of which lasts 4–6 months, plastic free dental floss, tree-free paper products, recycled and compostable garbage bags, and organic cotton towel. All products have materials and specific environmental characteristics listed. Most products are plastic free and some are plastic reduced. Additionally, a tree is planted for every order through the Eden Reforestation Projects and all surplus food that is not sold is donated to St. Mary’s Food Bank and food bank!
There is not a rewards program but there are regular deals up to 90% off for surplus goods every month. Unfortunately, there is also a membership fee of $79 but the products themselves are much cheaper overall and the cost is comparable, if not less, when you shop there regularly. With lower costing goods and surplus deals, you will definitely be saving money.
3. Boston General Store
Membership Fee: No
Subscription Service: Yes
Rewards Program: Yes
Boston General Store was created as a tribute to the founder’s Nanna, who valued well-made things and practiced the virtue of using and reusing things until they were completely worn out. Their main principle is that “not everything has to be disposable and that high-quality goods built to last a lifetime still exist”. They are also passionate about community. In the spirit of traditional general stores in the past, they strive to develop a deep connection with the communities they serve.
They have curated a market with the best wares for your home, office, kitchen, bathroom, and everything in between. However, high-quality goods come at a high-quality price, but you’ll also probably only need to buy whatever you need once! The subscription service, branded as The Office Club, is a quarterly released box of best office goods with a theme for each month.
4. Rockwell Razors
Membership Fee: None
Subscription Service: Yes
Rewards Program: No
Rockwell Razors is the reason I began to see the possibility of living sustainably. While at Texas A&M, I was in the Corps of Cadets which required me to be clean shaven. Originally, I used a Gillette then switched to Dollar Shave Club which I dropped for Harry’s and finally started using the Rockwell 6s. I ran the numbers to factor the base and annual costs. I used costs of the most general option for each brand. Gillette razors were costing me ~$250 per year. With DSC, costs were cut to ~$150 but cartridges were only available through mail delivery which increased shipping costs and impacts. I also experienced a severe breakout the first time I used their shave cream. Harry’s also ran for approximately ~$150 per year and at least encouraged recycling on their packaging. However, I was still not satisfied with the overall quality and realized this was the main source of plastic waste for me. Then, I discovered Rockwell’s! The starter kit can run anywhere between $160–$400 but there are multiple sales throughout the year. Additionally, these kits include a high quality, well-designed handle, 2 years worth of blades, pre-shave oil, a shave brush, alum sticks, aftershave, and a steel tin to recycle your blades in. I now spend roughly $20 dollars a year with minimal waste and I get the best shave possible every time. With a limited lifetime guarantee, Rockwell razors are the best way to go.
Additionally, consider checking out Well Kept, another great sustainable bath and body care store based out of Canada!
5. Zero Waste Cartel
Membership Fee: None
Subscription Service: Yes
Rewards Program: No
Zero Waste Cartel is a smaller shop with a focus on sustainable bathroom and kitchen supplies. It’s my go to source for sustainable toothbrushes which I like to use for a lot more than brushing your teeth too! They are also a supplier of Humby Organics, an excellent all-natural shampoo company.
Other notable shops:
Avocado Mattress, Bambu, Bell Mountain Naturals, Bite, Boba & Vespa, Eco Lunch Boxes, Food52, Life Without Plastic, Marley’s Monsters, Medley Furniture, Paper Culture, Rawganique, Zero Waste Store
Joseph Mohr is a Catholic, Athlete, Craftsman, Writer, Stoic, and, most importantly, a Floral Enthusiast. He graduated from Texas A&M in 2019 with a B.S. in Human Geography but quickly became an aspiring polymath. He currently works as a data analyst in the education sector and runs The Night Watch, his personal office. In his spare time, he enjoys studying art, architecture, cartography, psychology, and language, and is a lover of running, lifting, drawing, camping & hiking, hockey, and Texas Two-Stepping.
