We’re living in sustainable product boom times. With customers clamoring for eco-friendly shopping options in every market — from home goods to vehicles to beauty products to food — companies are taking serious notice. Eco-friendly shopping has never been easier, and today, nearly every product you might need has a sustainable counterpart to pick instead.
Lately, the challenge isn’t practicing eco-friendly shopping itself — it’s knowing which eco-friendly companies are worth your time. There are plenty of, say, “eco-friendly phone cases” you can find online. But which of these phone cases are actually helping save the planet, and which are just deploying advertising buzzwords? And maybe more importantly, which of these eco-friendly phone cases actually keeps your phone safe?
You shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality to practice eco-friendly shopping in other words. Nor should brands that are “eco-friendly companies” in name only take advantage of your good intentions. That’s why we’re making a list of our favorite eco-friendly companies to shop this coming year — digging through the hype to find brands that blend quality and sustainability into everything they do.
We’re looking for eco-friendly companies that see the green revolution as an opportunity to improve not just the way we shop but the stuff we buy as well. With all that in mind, here are our favorite eco-friendly companies that are doing good and doing it well:
Best Eco-Friendly Shopping Bag
Blue Q Shoppers
When it comes to eco-friendly shopping, it’s not just what you buy — it’s also how you buy it. Bringing your own bags to the store is a small step with a big impact that helps keep plastic bags from ending up in landfills or despoiling natural ecosystems.
Choosing eco-friendly shopping bags can be as simple as reusing any bag as many times as possible. But for those who want to go the extra mile, there are the eco-friendly shopping bags from Blue Q. They’re not just reusable but are themselves woven from 95% recycled plastic materials.
Why We Love Them: Let’s be honest — we all forget our reusable shopping bags from time to time. Maybe that’s because reusable bag designs can be pretty, well … forgettable. But Blue Q makes distinctly unforgettable bag designs — always straddling the line between sassy and artful — that begs to be shown off. On the whole, these are sturdy, well-made bags you’ll be excited to incorporate into your new eco-friendly shopping lifestyle.
Best Eco-Friendly Packaging
Noissue
Of course, there’s not much a reusable bag can do for you while you’re shopping online. Nonetheless, there’s a lot you can do to reduce the amount of waste and carbon footprint of your internet purchases. One of the best ways to practice eco-friendly shopping online is to seek out retailers who advertise eco-friendly packaging solutions. This could be as simple as opting for cardboard and paper packaging over plastic or seeking out companies that use sustainable shipping materials — everything from plant-based mailers to 100% recycled plastic wrapping.
If you’re a retailer and you’re looking to make the switch to eco-friendly packaging, we humbly recommend the fine packing goods from Noissue. All their fully customizable shipping materials fall into one of three eco-friendly shopping categories: compostable, recycled or reusable.
Why We Love Them: Noissue doesn’t sacrifice style for sustainability — all their eco-friendly packaging options come in strikingly hip designs and color schemes. The shipping goods seller also offers tons of little added touches to elevate your eco-friendly company’s doorstep appeal, like recycled ribbons and custom compostable stickers.
Best Eco-Friendly Clothing
Patagonia
Picking the top eco-friendly clothing brand is no easy task. The past few years have seen an explosion in manufacturers looking to take on the decidedly “un-ecofriendly” state of the clothing industry. There can only be one winner, however, and our favorite eco-friendly company is Patagonia.
While other clothing retailers have made great strides in recent years, few have matched the gigantic efforts undertaken by this beloved outdoor wear company. Patagonia releases detailed reports on its myriad efforts to fight climate change, support free trade and preserve ecosystems, which you can read about here.
Why We Love Them: Environmentalism has been baked into Patagonia since its founding, but in 2022, it took eco-friendly company standards to the next level. That year, founder Yvon Chouinard announced all the company’s excess profits would be donated to fighting climate change going forward. Hard to find a more eco-friendly clothing brand than that!
Best Eco-Friendly Cleaning Product
Cleancult
Eco-friendly cleaning products provide the dual benefit of sustainability and keeping your home free from some of the more unpleasant chemicals. Turns out what’s good for the earth is good for you too!
Once again, it’s tough to pick from the crowded field of green cleaners. But for all-around sustainability mixed with quality, we’re most excited about the natural, non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning product line from Cleancult.
Why We Love Them: Cleancult offers its line of eco-friendly laundry detergent, dishwasher soap, hand soap and all-purpose cleaner in lovely recyclable paper-based packaging (we’re particularly fond of the charming milk carton-shaped refill containers). They also just plain make your home smell great in a very naturalistic way due to their fragrances derived from essential oils.
Best Eco-Friendly Sunscreen
Badger Sunscreen
For some, sunscreen is associated only with summertime excursions. But for many, sunscreen is part of an everyday, year-round skin care regimen. It’s worth taking a serious look at the environmental impact of this very commonly used item, particularly on bodies of water.
Eco-friendly sunscreen isn’t just about sustainable packaging and manufacturing practices (though that’s important, too, of course). You’ll also want to look out for sunscreen that’s labeled “reef-safe,” — meaning it’s not filled with gross chemicals that bleach and kill coral reefs. That’s why our pick for the best eco-friendly sunscreen is the long-standing staple Badger Sunscreen.
Why We Love Them: Badger Sunscreen was making reef-safe and eco-friendly sunscreen before it was cool. What the New Hampshire company lacks in flashy branding, it more than compensates with an authentic ethos of sustainability. Badger makes eco-friendly sunscreen for kids and adults that also happens to be made from only four 98% organic ingredients (in addition to being non-GMO and plant-based). For extra eco-friendly shopping points, make sure you buy it in a metal tin instead of a plastic tube!
Best Eco-Friendly Toilet Paper
Betterway
It might seem a little strange to get excited about a toilet paper company. But if you think about it, toilet paper is likely to be the number one (or should we say number two?) household item you dispose of every day. According to Statista, North Americans are absolutely wiping the competition when it comes to toilet paper consumption.
Eco-friendly toilet paper, therefore, is a tissue we should take seriously (that was the last toilet paper pun, I promise). For our money, the best eco-friendly toilet paper brand out right now is Betterway, manufacturers of fine bamboo TP that is, as they put it, “soft on the planet.”
It may seem a little strange to buy your TP online, but Betterway keeps eco-friendly shopping easy and breezy if you set up recurring orders from Amazon (shipped in 100% plastic-free, eco-friendly packaging, of course).
Why We Love Them: Bamboo toilet paper is one of the better tools we have at our disposal to combat deforestation — 15% of which can be blamed on conventional toilet paper production. Betterway deserves kudos for their environmental efforts, but we’ve also got to give props to them for making such a soft yet sturdy TP. Forget what you’ve heard about eco-friendly toilet paper — Betterway is pretty dang cushy on your tushy.
Best Eco-Friendly Shoes
Thousand Fell
Thousand Fell (TF) is closing the fashion loop by turning coconut husk, sugar cane and recycled bottles into really cute sneakers for both men and women. These kicks can actually pass for legit leather but are anything but. They’re vegan, stain-proof, water resistant, and tested to last for 2.4 million steps. Plus, they’re comfy AF.
Why We Love Them: The brand will take your old TFs back to recycle them and then puts them back into future TF styles. When you recycle your used gear, you’ll earn a credit of $20 for your old TFs and $5 on any clothing item for up to $65 towards your new TF kicks. Students also get a 20% discount through Student Beans.
The post The Most Exciting Sustainable Brands for Eco-Friendly Shopping in 2023 appeared first on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.
