Online shopping is becoming more and more popular as we shift into the digital era. With this popularity comes increased waste through individualized plastic containers, shipping emissions, and cheaply-made international products.
As with most negatives, there are positive actions we can make to counter the effects of individual shopping. By supporting “Green” businesses that go out of their way to provide customers with environmentally-friendly products, packaging, and ingredients, we can promote a sustainable online shopping movement.
Below we have compiled 15 sustainable Etsy shops that utilize zero-waste practices such as plastic-free packaging, return and reuse programs, and donations to conservation organizations that help protect the earth. We have also included the official websites for shops that have them so that you can eliminate the middleman and directly support those companies.
*Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best, sustainable choice for you and your family.
How to Shop Sustainably Online?
Before we go into the specific shops, let’s discuss how you can find sustainable shops beyond the ones featured here. It’s really important to do research before choosing to make a sustainable purchase online. Many name brand companies value profits over the planet and are therefore unsuitable to sustainable living.
What we love about Etsy is that, though they are a growing company, they are dedicated to a greener future. In 2015, the company created the Etsy Sustainability Commission (ESC), which is comprised of more than 70 employees and 9 task forces working together to create carbon neutrality. Their goal is for the company to run on 100% renewable energy by the end of the year. You can read about all the work they’re doing to promote sustainability here.
With that in mind, you can take extra measures to ensure your payments are going into trustworthy hands by searching company websites for “green” characteristics. Here are just a handful of sustainable qualities to look for as you investigate:
- zero-waste
- diverse team members
- vegan and cruelty-free
- use of renewable energy
- community involvement
- fair trade, local ingredients
- strong environmental beliefs
- biodegradable/reusable packaging
- donates/volunteers to environmental charities
Now that you’ve got an idea of what to look for in a company, let’s look at 15 of the most popular Etsy shops that have zero waste options for sustainable living.
1. Rainwater Botanicals– Hoquiam, Washington
Rainwater Botanicals started with its infamous healing salve but is now a popular sustainable Etsy shop with a variety of cosmetics in which to choose.
The green company sources many of the high-quality ingredients locally and always opts for sustainable, organic ingredients when possible. Their first and main ingredient is comfrey, which, by the success of their business, holds up to its medicinal properties of healing damaged skin.
Rainwater Botanicals also puts special attention on the ways in which their products are packaged. They implement a number of zero waste mailing practices including using 100% recycled paper and biodegradable peanuts to offset their carbon footprint and recycle cardboard boxes for larger orders.
In addition, the green company is part of the Safe Cosmetics Business Network- a network that advocates for safe, non-toxic business practices in the cosmetics industry.
Home Website: https://www.rainwaterbotanicals.com
2. MeMotherEarth– Las Vegas, Nevada
MeMotherEarth is a small shop run by a husband and wife who reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. They are dedicated to creating eco-friendly, high-quality products that are free of plastic packaging. As avid travelers, the importance of having portable and efficient products that help reduce single-use plastics consumption became evident to the couple, who originally started as a collapsible straw kit company.
Now they have an entire line of products ranging from zero-waste cutlery and dish-cleaning supplies to brushes, soaps, and laundry detergents. MeMotherEarth is proud to donate 10% of their profits to Ocean Conservation to further help remove plastics from the environment and protect the wildlife that resides in our oceans.
Home Website: https://memotherearthbrand.com
3. PigeonEcoStore– Minneapolis, Minnesota
PigeonEcoStore is passionate about reducing the amount of waste in the world. They have partnered with notPERFECTLINEN, an eco-friendly clothing company, to use the remnants of their sustainable linen clothes to make the products available in their shop. Their goal is to educate the community on how harmful single-use plastics are for the environment, and they take great pride in upcycling durable fabric that other companies would otherwise throw away.
One way that PigeonEcoStore has gone above and beyond to provide us with sustainable products is by using a circular economic model to make the most of what they have to offer while keeping a low carbon footprint. They recycle linen remnants and take extra efforts to use biodegradable packaging and materials in the making of their products.
The best part is that PigeonEcoStore plants 1 tree for every order purchased from their store!
4. SeaWitchBotanical– Bellingham, Washington
SeaWitchBotanical is a small, Certified B Corporation that is run by Alesia and her husband. Alesia hand-makes all of the soaps, lotions, makeup, shampoo, bug spray, perfume, candles, home cleaning products, tinctures, and infusions that you can find in her shop. All of her products have been tested on herself and her friends. The products are vegan certified and completely natural, and their cocoa and shea butter are fairtrade.
SeaWitchBotanical donates to a number of charities and is a member of 1% for the Planet, a global network of socially-conscious businesses that donates 1% of proceeds to environmental nonprofits. Earthjustice and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) are just two of the many nonprofits Alesia donates to in her quest to promote the protection of the environment.
Home Website: https://seawitchbotanicals.com
5. HippyMonkey– Vista, California
HippyMonkey is a family-owned business that has an assortment of household supplies. From kitchen to cleaning to cosmetics, you can find all kinds of sustainable products to replace unsustainable items around the home. What makes HippyMonkey such a great company to support is the number of wildlife, environmental, and social nonprofits they donate a portion of their proceeds to in their mission to make the world greener.
A lengthy list of organisations they’ve donated to are as followed:
- Australian Red Cross
- Black Visions Collective
- Planned Parenthood
- Raices
- Sandy Hook Promise
- St. Francis Center
- The Action Pac
- The Ocean Cleanup
- UCLA Health Masks for Medics
Home website: https://hippymonkey.com
6. BambooSwitchShop– White Bear Lake, Minnesota
BambooSwitchShop is a 100% zero waste shop run by a couple that sells organic body care products and kitchen supplies. Bamboo is an invasive species that is not only completely biodegradable, but also is antibacterial, grows quickly (up to a whopping three feet a day!), and releases more oxygen into the air than trees, making it a great material for combating overgrowth and deforestation.
With these amazing properties, it makes sense that a zero waste company uses bamboo as the main ingredient. BambooSwitchShop has done exactly this. In fact, one of their best-sellers is a plastic-free razor, which includes 10 blades and utilizes both bamboo and stainless steel to achieve its sustainable and sleek appearance.
The shop ships its products in recycled cardboard that is biodegradable and avoids using plastic and otherwise unsustainable materials in products or packaging.
Home Website: https://www.bambooswitch.com
7. BeechersBotanicals– Richmond, RI
For those looking for zero waste lotions, face and body products, and soaps, then look no further. BeechersBotanicals is a lovely shop run by owner Jessica Beecher, who fondly refers to her shop as an organic, eco-friendly indie brand. Indeed, all of her products are vegan, non-GMO, chemical-free, toxin-free, and have been handcrafted and tested on by loved ones to ensure no animals are harmed in the making of her products.
Beecher is dedicated to a plastic-free business by mailing products in biodegradable packaging, so you can be sure that your vegan purchase has a low carbon footprint.
Home Website: https://www.beechersbotanicals.com
8. BrooklynMadeNatural– Los Angeles, California
BrooklynMadeNatural is a top sustainable essential oil shop on Etsy. They go above and beyond to make sure their oils are of high quality by choosing to work with as many companies who carry USDA certified organic essential oils as possible. They have a high criteria of qualifications to make sure their oils are pure, and that purity is translated through the success of their shop.
With nearly 17,000 sales, BrooklynMade is well-loved by Etsy shoppers. Not only do they sell essential oils, but they also have sustainably-made soaps, shampoos, lip balms, lotion, and more- all free of chemicals, preservatives, and synthetic ingredients. They even use locally-harvested plants from the deserts of California in the making of some of their products!
9. OAKPOPAPERCO– Oakland, California
Warning: this shop has amazing items that will make you wish you had them! OAKPOPAPERCO is one of the best-selling, zero waste shops on Etsy, and with good reason. With over 10,000 sales, their alternatives to numerous unsustainable products make this shop a popular go-to for eco-friendly shoppers.
The company sells a variety of eco-friendly kitchenware, including their ever-popular reusable kitchen towels and sponges, all natural face and body cleaning supplies, and sustainable books for journaling.
Though they use leather in some of their products, OAKPOPAPERCO only uses recycled materials so that no additional animals are harmed. This helps keep animal byproducts from accumulating in land fills and also provides people who would otherwise buy leather from less sustainable sources with more sustainable leather options.
Home Website: https://oakpopaperco.com
10. SpruceAndPineCo– Poland, Maine
SpruceAndPine is another excellent shop for a zero waste lifestyle. Not only do they have cute zero waste utensil kits that come in convenient cases, but their products are especially useful for women looking to go zero waste. Their zero waste menstruation pads for women are sustainable replacements for women looking to reduce their use of pads but who don’t want to invest in period cups.
11. FlowerMamaGoods– Ramsey, Minnesota
Speaking of zero waste products for women, FlowerMamaGoods has an amazing assortment of sustainable products for pregnancy, breastfeeding, periods, and babies. Shop owner, Samm, is a holistic birthing doula who values the importance of quality products to help support women as they transition into motherhood. She decided to take matters into her own hands by making eco-friendly motherhood products.
Not limited to solely mothers, FlowerMamaGoods has beautifully-crafted, reusable period pads that can easily be tossed in the wash rather than in the bin where most unsustainable pads go.
Home Website: https://flowermamabirthservices.com
12. Greendly– Tracy, California
Greendly is a 100% plastic-free company you’ll want to bookmark. Their products are creative, useful, and best of all, sustainable! Here are just a few of their eco-friendly products you’ll want to use in the place of plastic:
- Beeswax food wraps– Beeswax wraps can be used to wrap produce or cover containers and thus serve as the perfect replacement for traditional plastic films.
- Re-usable ziplock bags– While you’re switching out those plastic saran wraps, consider replacing flimsy plastic sandwich bags with silicon ziplock bags that you can re-use again and again.
- Stainless steel collapsible straws– The ingenious reusable straws come in a key-chain container to protect from dirt and even have a complimentary brush to make cleaning a breeze.
- Cotton produce bags– These organic cotton bags are perfect for replacing plastic grocery bags.
- Biodegradable toothbrushes– Get rid of the guilt of using plastic toothbrushes by using bamboo toothbrushes designed to be composted.
13. ShowerTreatShop– Portage, Michigan
Clean clothing starts with the products you use to clean them. ShowerTreatShop has an amazing stock of sustainable, zero waste laundry products, as well as soaps and deodorants, many of which are vegan. ShowerTreatShop’s laundry detergent is packaged in paper bags and uses no pods, scoops, or plastic so that you can wash your clothes in the cleanest, most environmentally-friendly way.
In addition, the shop donates five percent of their sales to Women for Women International, a charity that helps women from around the world receive the education and care needed to live good lives. ShowerTreat sponsors 2 women a year and has sponsored 24 thanks to the help of sustainable shoppers.
14. Momgaroo– Charlotte, North Carolina
Momgaroo is a zero waste cloth diapering shop on Etsy. Their organic cloth diapers have many raving reviews from parents who say that their babies and toddlers experience less leaks with their diapers. Nearly 30 billion disposable diapers go to landfills each year and are estimated to take 500 years to decompose (Steinbrecher). Making the switch to cloth diapers is key to lowering one’s carbon footprint.
If you are timid about switching to sustainable cloth diapers, Momgaroo’s pocket cloth diapers are an easy way to begin your transition. Pocket diapers have an opening where you place the eco-friendly inserts inside. Simply take the inserts out when the diaper is used and put them in the wash to use again and again.
15. WellEarthGoods– Bedford, Oregon
WellEarthGoods is an affordable zero waste option for those on a tight budget. While it is no secret that quality products tend to be more expensive than imported, unsustainable products, shop owners Jocelynn and Lee Anderson always ship their items for free in attempt to offset the cost of sustainable living.
The shop has many household products that are often over-looked in the transition to zero waste living:
- Unpaste– This zero waste toothpaste is vegan, cruelty-free, non-GMO, and preservative-free and comes in compostable bags made from non-GMO corn starch. There are no plastics in their toothpaste or containers, making them perfect for your at-home compost bin.
- Bamboo Bandages– Most plasters contain unnecessary toxins and cheap plastics. WellEarth’s natural bandages use less water than traditional bandages, are fully biodegradable, and natural.
- Coffee Sock– Yes, even making a cup of coffee can be an unsustainable process. Thankfully, WellEarth has created a solution to unsustainable coffee filters that are often bleached and wrapped in plastic. Their zero waste cotton coffee filters are tasteless and can be re-used time and time again, unlike paper coffee filters.
All of the company’s products use 100% recyclable paper packaging in an effort to reduce waste.
Etsy is home to so many zero waste shops looking to make a difference in the world. These top 15 eco-friendly shops are only the tip of the iceberg of all that Etsy has to offer.
If you know of a sustainable Etsy shop that isn’t mentioned here, or perhaps you run a shop of your own, drop us a comment below so that we can include it on our list!
Citations
Steinbrecher, Stephanie. “Compostable Diapers Take a Load off Landfills.” Sierra Magazine, May/June 2015 issue, 3 June 2015, https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2015-3-may-june/green-life/compostable-diapers-take-load-landfills. Accessed 9 Sept. 2020.