Not all companies are created equal when it comes to sustainability, and unfortunately, some of the best ones I have found are not well known. Especially when it comes to fast fashion, it’s important to buy things that are certified as eco-friendly, but are also going to outlast their typical commercial counterparts. Below are a list of a few companies that make environmentally friendly products, almost all of which I’ve tried and have found to work well, are sustainable, and seem to hold up against the wear and tear of daily life.

BEAUTY AND HYGIENE

Part of being healthy and caring for yourself has to do with the hygiene products you use on a regular basis. The products you use in the bathroom can also contribute to a large amount of the waste you create, so having an eco-friendly self-care routine is especially important. The companies below are ones that my family and I have been using, so I can vouch for our success with them, but again, these are just a starting point for you to try, and that’s not to say there aren’t plenty of other great ones out there!

• Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve is the first one, which focuses on the actual hygiene portion of your bathroom routine. Chagrin uses all USDA Organic certified, natural ingredients to make everything from deodorant to shampoo bars and soap, to bug repellent and lip balm. It’s a small, family run business based in Ohio, and they have excellent information about which products work best for different types of skin and hair, so the likelihood of being able to find a product that works for you is high. They also package all their products in glass, metal, or paper, and don’t use any plastic when shipping products. For more information about Chagrin’s missions and certifications, check out this link HERE.
• Elate Cosmetics is another good company to check out when it comes to your beauty routine. Certified as a B-Corp, they sell cosmetics, using mostly natural ingredients instead of the synthesized chemicals that most beauty companies do. They also use bamboo, aluminum, and glass to package their products instead of plastic (excluding some of their liquid products). For more information about Elate’s practices, missions, and certifications, check out this link HERE.
• Saalt is another certified B-Corp that specializes in making feminine hygiene products. I won’t go into detail here, but their products are sustainable and easy to use (as well as a lot cheaper over time) and they do a lot to help women around the world with menstrual care. I would highly recommend checking them out as another sustainable option!

CLOTHES AND SHOES

When buying eco-friendly clothes, a lot of times the best solution is to thrift for well-loved options, or to upcycle what you already have into something new. However, when you do buy new, it’s important to know who you’re buying from, and what they stand for.

• Allbirds is a shoe company that, yet again, is a certified B-Corp. They are unique in that they make everything you can buy there from sustainably sourced and/or recycled materials. The shoe laces are recycled plastic, and they use merino wool and eucalyptus trees to make the sole and body of the shoe. For more information about their materials, check out this link HERE. In addition to that, the shoes are also extremely comfortable, and durable to boot.
• Another certified B-Corp, TenTree is a clothing store that sells all sorts of men’s and women’s clothing. For every purchase you make from them, they partner with several different charities from around the world to plant 10 trees. They also use sustainable materials like hemp, organic cotton, tencel, and recycled polyester to make their products. And if that isn’t good enough, they make sure the workers in their factories are treated well and given good wages for their work. For more specifics about TenTree’s practices, check out this link HERE.
• Happy Earth is another certified B-Corp and a part of 1% for the Planet, and they specialize in sustainable clothing, mostly tops and T-shirts. They use plant-based and reclaimed materials for all their products, and do their best to minimize their carbon footprint and CO2 emissions during production and as a company in general. For more information about what they do to help the environment, check out this link HERE.

EVERYDAY HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

This section focuses on the things we use on a regular basis – sustainable laundry solutions, kitchen storage, things you can use for packing a lunch, that sort of stuff. It may not be the most exciting, but since we use it everyday, switching to more sustainable options can make a big difference.

• Friendsheep is a company that makes wool dryer balls (to replace dryer sheets for your laundry) and other wool pet toys and items. They’re a part of 1% for the Planet and Leaping Bunny (certified as free of animal cruelty), and the dryer balls I use from them are good for the planet on many counts – they decrease drying time and reduce energy used per load, create less waste, don’t use any sort of chemicals, and are biodegradable when they’re worn out. For more information about their practices, check out this link HERE.
• NaturOli is a company that sells soap nuts, a sustainable alternative to laundry detergent, and other products made from them. If you haven’t heard of soap nuts before, they’re really easy to learn to use – you stick them in a little bag (provided when you buy the soap nuts), soak them in warm water for a few minutes while you sort your laundry, then toss them in with your wash instead of putting in any sort of a laundry detergent or pod. The ‘soap’ part of the soap nuts dissolves into the water used to wash your clothes, so when the load comes out of the wash, they’re clean. They’re better for the environment because they replace all of the chemicals in the detergent being washed out into our waterways, and they’re biodegradable once they’ve been worn out too!
• Net Zero Co. is another company that is more of a ‘general supply store’ but with eco-friendly products. They have sustainable solutions for everything from kitchen storage to cleaning supplies, bathroom products to reusable bags. They don’t have as many of the official certifications as some of the other companies, but I can verify that everything they ship (that I’ve gotten) comes in biodegradable packaging, and their products tend to use glass, metal, organic cotton, silicone, and other sustainable materials that are better for the planet than plastic. They also work with the non-profit Eden Reforestation Projects to plant trees and help ease poverty in various countries around the world.

All of the companies above tend to be slightly more expensive up front, but their products usually last longer and will tend to save you a lot of money in the long run, not to mention the fact that buying from sustainable companies like these makes a big difference in other ways as well. Supporting these companies means we aren’t supporting the system, and eventually, hopefully, the system will change when it figures out that eco-friendly products are more profitable than the current products.