Make Good Places
Most conventional grocery stores carry brands and products from corporate giants who rely heavily on toxic ingredients, fossil fuels, and single-use packaging. They most often have terrible environmental practices and little transparency.
Even if you're not redesigning or renovating your home, you can start embracing low and zero-waste living anytime. Consider replacing single-use paper towels with reusable, washable linens and cloths or your plastic sponge with one made of cellulose, coconut, or walnut. Or you can switch your plastic loofah and plastic shampoo bottle for an actual loofah and shampoo bar. Ditch your plastic food containers for silicone stasher bags and metal or glass Tupperware. Try a plastic-free laundry detergent or dish soap.
All of these sustainable products can tangibly improve your home's health, particularly indoor air quality, and the cumulative impacts of all of us moving towards low-waste living is significant. It reduces the demand for conventional toxic goods, the amount of trash we're sending to landfills, and the number of microplastics and toxins entering our food system, waterways, and soil.
Here are zero and low-waste stores that carry the sustainable home goods and eco-products that propel the countercultural movement towards a lifestyle that is viable for our health, the planet, and the countless other living beings dependent on functional ecosystems.
Location: Online.
Shop For: Almost everything. Sustainable kitchen and cleaning supplies, non-toxic beauty products, sustainable pet supplies, eco-friendly clothing, reusable and sustainable totes and backpacks, and non-toxic toys, clothes, and gear for kids and babies.
Bonuses: Earth Hero is B Corp Certified, offers plastic-free and carbon-neutral shipping, allows customers to shop by value, offers Terracycle upcycling, and participates in 1% For The Planet.
Location: Online.
Shop For: Personal care products like sustainable toothbrushes and shampoo bars, sustainable household goods and low-waste cleaning supplies, and non-toxic low-waste makeup, skincare, and haircare, sustainable batteries and tech.
Bonuses: Zero Waste Store participates in 1% For The Planet, supports The Rainforest Trust and Conservation Florida organization, uses plastic-free shipping materials, offers Terracycle upcycling options, and invests in carbon offsets.
Location: The store is located in Summit, New Jersey, with online shopping available.
Shop For: Refillable household cleaners, non-toxic personal care products, sustainable stationary and writing supplies, non-toxic kids craft supplies and clothes, reusable water bottles and to-go containers, sustainable pet supplies, eco-friendly gifts such as candles, cutting boards, and bath salts.
Bonuses: Donates zero waste home boxes to families in underserved communities , produces their own line of upcycled goods and homemade non-toxic cleaning supplies in-house, carries over 50 refillable products, offers dish rentals and knife sharpening services, and participates in a myriad of recycling programs – including Terracycle, wine bottle corks, baby food, razors, stasher bags, and reusable grocery bags. Focuses on building local community.
Location: The store is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with online shopping available.
Shop For: Refillable household cleaners and personal care supplies, plastic-free cleaning tools like dustpans and brooms, and sustainable gifts, including books, candles, wooden utensils, and stainless steel french presses.
Bonuses: Participates in 1% For The Planet, uses plastic-free shipping methods, ensures their retail operates produce as little waste as possible, offers a recycling program for used glass containers through a partnership with Bottle Underground, provides free cardboard boxes for moving, focuses on building the local community.
Location: The store is located in Tom's River, New Jersey, with online shopping available.
Shop For: Refillable household cleaners, personal care goods, candles, and pantry staples including lentils, beans, quinoa, and dark chocolate chips; grocery staples from local small businesses, sustainable household goods and non-toxic personal care supplies, such as wool dryer balls, plastic-free toothpaste, shampoo bars, and laundry detergent.
Bonuses: Offers a compost program, partners with other local small businesses to create popups and community oriented events.
Location: The store is located in Costa Mesa, California, with online shipping available.
Shop For: Refillable household cleaners and personal care goods, including air freshener spray, body scrub, baking soda, cleaning vinegar, all purpose cleaner, lotion, bug repellant, and castor oil. Reusable glass bottles and jars, sustainable household cleaners, and non-toxic personal care supplies.
Bonuses: Entire inventory has ingredients listed, invests in brining awareness to toxic chemicals in consumer goods.
Location: There are two storefronts in the Boston, Massachusetts, area with online shopping available.
Shop For: Bespoke and handmade items beyond low-waste and eco-friendly versions of traditional household goods, ranging from wood cutting boards, kitchen knives, wood screwdriver sets, plastic-free kids' craft supplies, plastic-free gardening gear, and specialty teas, coffees, and candies.
Bonuses: The Boston General Store allows customers to shop by value, including low-waste.
Location: Online
Shop For: Sustainable kitchen and cleaning supplies, non-toxic beauty products, reusable to-go containers, stasher bags, and lunch boxes.
Bonuses: Plastic-free shipping.
Location: Store is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, with online shopping available
Shop For: Sustainable, non-toxic household cleaners and personal care goods, including eco-friendly laundry detergent, all-purpose cleaners, sustainable toothpaste and floss, plastic-free sponges, and shampoo bars.
Bonuses: Offers plastic-free and carbon-neutral shipping, donates to conservation-focused nonprofits, partners with a local composting program to facilitate widespread composting, offers recycling services for certain items, and partners with RePurpose Global and 5 Gyres.
Location: Located in Middletown, Connecticut, with online shopping available.
Shop For: Refillable household cleaners and personal care goods, functional beverages, sustainable household and personal care goods, non-toxic kids toys and crafts, eco-friendly gifts, including plant kits, jigsaw puzzles, candles, bath soaks, and seed bombs.
Bonuses: Allows customers to shop local Connecticut brands and products, operates a "swap studio" of vintage clothing, focuses on building the local community.
Location: The store is located in Reno, Nevada, with online shopping available.
Shop For: Refillable household cleaners and personal care products, loose leaf teas, non-toxic personal care products and makeup, sustainable household cleaners, kids toys and craft supplies, eco-friendly gift boxes, sustainable and locally-made jewelry, and reusable bottles and jars.
Bonuses: Allows customers to shop local Nevada brands and products, carbon-neutral shipping, and participates in One Tree Planted program.
Make Good Places operates at the intersection of consumption, home design, and climate change action. It is a resource for the growing community of DIYers and professional interior designers creating happier homes that are healthier for people and planet. Join the community and start healing the planet, starting at home.
