Green Lifestyle

Directory of websites for ethical and eco-friendly shopping in the UK

Sally

It’s easier than ever before to shop for ethical, zero waste and eco-friendly products online. Supermarkets and high street shops are being frustratingly slow on the uptake. But many online businesses are opening up with zero-waste alternatives. When most of our shopping is done online now anyway, it makes sense to switch to online shops that do good. Here’s a directory of the best ethical and eco-friendly UK online shops that I’ve discovered.

Books & Media

  • Bookshop – a collection of independent online bookshops, visit my shop here
  • eBooks.com – has the highest ethical rating for buying ebooks on Ethical Consumer
  • Hive – supports local bookshops, selling books, ebooks, CDs and DVDs with free delivery
  • Unbound – the ethical Kickstarter for books, helping diverse authors get published
  • World of Books – a large selection of second-hand books with free delivery

Clothes & Accessories

  • BAM – activewear made from bamboo (I recommend their leggings!)
  • Depop – secondhand and vintage clothing
  • Lucy & Yak – dungarees and other clothing made from organic cotton and recycled materials
  • Mahi Leather – vegan leather bags made from cork
  • Organic Basics – organic cotton and recycled underwear and essentials
  • Passenger Clothing – eco-friendly and recycled outdoor wear
  • Rapanui – naturally made and recycled clothes and outdoor wear
  • Vinted – secondhand clothes and accessories
  • Wildwatcher Collections – organic cotton t-shirts and beanie hats

Food

General Goods

  • Babipur – ethical shopping for kids 
  • Ethical Superstore – fair trade, organic and eco-friendly department store
  • Schpock – secondhand goods 
  • Wearth – high end eco-friendly and sustainable marketplace 

Personal Hygiene

  • Earthwise Girls – sustainable periods and body care 
  • Green Planet Beauty – natural plastic-free skin and hair products (I use their bicarbonate free deodorant)
  • Gruum – skin and haircare
  • Georganics – eco-friendly oral hygiene
  • Serious Tissues – recycled carbon neutral toilet paper, soap and detergent
  • Smol – zero waste dishwasher tablets, detergent, fabric conditioner and cleaning subscription
  • Wild deodorant – natural deodorant subscription with reusable case 

Homeware

  • Nectar – carbon neutral toxic chemical-free memory foam mattresses designed to last
  • Snug – bedding made from recycled materials

Pets 

Zero Waste

These are all general zero waste shops with plastic-free and reusable products ranging from kitchenware to makeup. As there are so many, I’ve highlighted my favourite products from each!

  • Anemone & Basilic – they have beautiful ceramic mugs, bowls and soap dishes
  • Boobalou – reusable bin liners and mason jar adaptors
  • EarthBits – a unique tree free range of notebooks & greeting cards
  • EcoBayt* – I love their glass spray bottles and coconut bowls
  • Eco Kindly – great range of organic essential oils
  • EcoVibe – has an extensive list of UK made products and their own natural deodorant
  • Green Alternatives* – great gift sets and quirky items, I love their wrapping paper, outdoor kit and kitchenware (10% Discount Code: WILDANDGREEN) 
  • The Ideal Sunday –  I like their dustpan and brush and metal pint cups
  • Jungle Culture – a selection of drinking straws and coconut candles
  • Just Celebrate – eco-friendly party supplies, I love their plates and napkins!
  • Peace with the Wild – best product is the toothpaste tablets with fluoride
  • Plastic Freedom – beautiful recycled cushion covers and cocktail shaker set
  • Zero Waste Club –  an amazing wireless magnetic charger made with plastic waste
  • Zero Zen – beautiful bamboo lunch boxes and storage jars

If you would like your ethical and eco-friendly online shop to be added to this list, get in touch.

Photo credit: Pexels

Shopping advice

It’s important to be aware that online shopping has its own impacts on the environment. To reduce this try not to buy just one item at a time. Stock up on things you will need in the near future so you’re making the most of one delivery. Only buy things you actually need. For example, do you really need travel cutlery when you have normal cutlery at home? I’ve suggested UK based shops because many of them offer products that have been manufactured in the UK. This helps reduce emissions from importing goods.

When it comes to shopping for sustainability, the worst thing you can do is throw away something you are already using simply to replace it with an eco-friendly alternative. That is not sustainable, the greenest option will always be the one you’re already using!

I’m slowly swapping to eco-friendly products as I use up the ones I have. But I’m sticking with my plastic hairbrush, plastic Tupperware and takeaway containers until they break. I’m currently using old jars and takeaway containers to store my shampoo and soap bars. Try to adapt and reuse what you already have before looking elsewhere.

Do you already shop at any ethical and eco-friendly shops? What’s your favourite?

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*This denotes that this is an affiliate link which means, at no extra cost to you, I will receive a small percentage of the cost if you buy from this shop. I only work in partnership with ethical and eco-friendly companies that I support and am happy to use myself. Any money I receive from affiliate links or donations helps support the running costs of this blog.

37 thoughts on “Directory of websites for ethical and eco-friendly shopping in the UK”

  5. Thank you! That was very useful! Also do not forget about online aggregator stores like nakedeco.com that offer large collection of sustainable eco-friendly products from cutting-edge eco materials including wheat straw and beeswax. Really cool website that also offers free carbon offset shipping!

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. Hi there, great article 🙂 I’m from ecovibe.co.uk, we’re a Leeds-based store focused on plastic-free, biodegradable and reusable products. We’d love for you to check us out too!

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  8. Lovely list of websites super helpful! I found Zero Waste Club (www.z-w-c.com), they have a transparency section for each product, which is really nice.

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  9. Hello, we are http://www.earthbits.com, we are based in West Yorkshire but sell worldwide, and our mission is to make sustainable and ethically made products affordable and available to as many people as possible. Would love for you to check us out, we love what you do and really trust your reviews! Keep up the great work!!

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  13. Pingback: 21 UK alternatives to shopping at Amazon

  14. Upcycled Corporate and Commercial Wear is one of UK’S leading Supplier of Eco-friendly Staff uniforms,eco-friendly corporate clothing and workwear. All our products conserve water, reduce carbon emissions and divert waste from landfills. Email info@upcycledcorporateclothing.com or Tel: 01245606060

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  15. I buy my bath bombs from small business online shop http://www.soapatico.co.uk. Their Bath Bombs are wrapped in eco-friendly biodegradable and recyclable cellophane, which is made from woodpulp from sustainable sources. Love what they do for the planet …Worth a visit!

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  16. Hey Sally!

    This is a super handy list, thank you! I launched an eco-friendly business last year which you can check out at https://theidealsunday.com, would love to know what you think! Our aim is to make shopping for eco-friendly alternatives fun and welcoming and I hope that shows off with our branding 🙂 Keep up the great work! Will

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  17. Hey I shop from a website which sells mostly biodegradable products which I really love, I tried out a few of their products and they were really nice 🙂 I think the company is called Earth By Freya.

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  18. Hi Sally, we like the message your promote. Have a look at what we are trying to do. Our key point of difference with many of our competitors is we manufacture in Europe and not the Far East. We think a product shipped 12,000 nautical miles is by definition not sustainable. If you think we are worthy of mention in your future recommendations we should have a discussion.

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  19. Hi, all some great links listed here. I’ve just launched “Shop for climate CHANGE” raising funds for the world’s best climate crisis solutions through your affiliate commission. We plant trees with your commission!

    We are a registered Social Enterprise, so People and Planet before profit with a minimum of 51% of our profits and your affiliate commission to invest in tackling Climate Change.

    Please check us out https://shopforclimatechange.com/

    Liked by 1 person

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  20. Pingback: Eco product review: shampoo bars – Wild & Green

  23. Great article! We are https://www.partage.com, a London-based marketplace specialised in sustainable shopping. Unlink other marketplaces, we reward our users with discounts when they give away their unused items!

    Please let me know your thoughts 🙂

    Thanks again for this great article!
    Boris

    Liked by 1 person

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