Going zero-waste is the dream, but will it soon to be a reality?
As more and more of us are looking to move towards a zero waste lifestyle, companies are making it ever easier to make the transition. From the kitchen to the bathroom, zero waste products can now easily be found online and in the UK!
At Cariki, we are trying to help you make the transition towards a more sustainable future. That is why we have created this list of the 13 best zero waste online shops in the UK.
So let’s answer the question, where can you make your online zero waste purchases?
Before we answer this question, it’s good to understand why we must make this transition to a zero waste lifestyle.
We all know we need to ditch single use plastics, but the truth about plastic is even more shocking than you might believe.
Plastic lasts forever in our environment, slowly breaking down into microscopic pieces but never truly disappearing. This means that every piece of plastic you have ever used is still on the planet today!
There are approximately 51 trillion pieces of microscopic plastic in our environment around us, weighing a total of 269,000 tonnes. This is the equivalent of 1345 adult blue whales, and 500 times the number of stars in our galaxy.
A lot of this plastic sadly ends up in our oceans. One study estimated that it would take 67 ships 1 year to clean up less than 1% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And the majority of this plastic actually sinks to the ocean floor!
One unknown is no longer if we can tolerate plastic, but how bad it is to human health. Chances are high that you have eaten plastic in the past, as it is contained in 1 in 3 fish caught for consumption. One study found marine plastic pollution in 100% of marine turtles, 59% of whales, 40% of seabirds and 36% of seals examined.
And things look likely to get worse before they get better. A number of estimates predict plastic waste will double from 2016 levels by 2034, and double again by 2050, meaning at this point there will be more plastic in the sea than fish.
As helpless as you may feel, we can all make a difference.
Try shopping plastic free from one of these 13 zero waste online shops found here in the UK.
Looking for the ultimate one stop online shop for zero waste products in the UK, Wearth are the store to visit. Wearth provide more than just your eco-essentials, they supply a huge range of environmental and responsible goods that are perfect for every occasion. From beauty, homeware and consumables to furniture, gifts and toiletries, Wearth supply it all.
Their fresh looking website also allows you to easily shop by product category or by value. You can shop zero-waste, plastic free, made in the UK, vegan, organic, social contribution, or recycled - to name but a few.
Behind the scenes of Wearth
British Vogue called Wearth‘an eco-friendly website specialising in zero waste products for everyday life'.Created in 2017, they now partner with over 100 independent UK brands that make contemporary eco-friendly and ethical products. Their aim is to make it easier for you to shop and live more consciously. Their motto, ‘The world is worth it’, runs through every decision they make, from product selection through to sustainable packaging. This is a brand you can trust.
We’d recommend you follow the brand, even if it is just for the plastic free inspo on their stunning Instagram page. Plastic Freedom supplies it all, tackling our plastic free addiction across the home. They offer hundreds of products for the kitchen, bathroom, on the go, hair, beauty, travel, food and family. They even offer plastic free gifts for your pets!
The story behind Plastic Freedom
When Beth, the powerhouse behind Plastic Freedom, started by documenting her journey towards a plastic free lifestyle, she was blown away by the response. She decided to offer help by providing alternatives that allow her followers to ditch their plastic dependence. She has now been selected as a finalist for Natwest's Entrepreneur For Good 2019 Award and is a true force for change in the plastic free world.
Good Club are building the world’s first zero waste online supermarket.
Their mission is to make ethical household staples accessible, offering a wide variety of essential products that are also affordable. Their seek to compete with the big brands by cutting out the middleman, allowing them to successfully make their items cheaper than many supermarket alternatives.
Behind the brand
Good Club sells a range of 3000 staples in their bid to reduce suppermarkets 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year. To reach this goal, they are developing a closed loop system whereby custom reusable packaging and delivery boxes will be used so that each time your food is delivered, your boxes and barrels will be recovered.
"Our mission is to make sustainably produced food and household products more accessible. It's only when everyone (or at least a good majority) are consuming more sustainably that we’ll really start to make a difference.”
Looking for eco essentials? Plastic Free Shop has everything a determined zero waste warrior might want. Their user friendly website makes it easier than a supermarket to find what you need due to the neat categories that make navigating the store incredibly convenient.
The Plastic Free Shop back story
Cath, the founder of Plastic Free Shop has developed a passion for amazing planet friendly alternatives which cater for the everyday shopper. This has lead to the practicality of her store, where you will find an environmental alternative to almost every item you need. When you purchase from The Plastic Free Shop online, your package will come in reused or recycled paper, sealed with biodegradable tape and in a recycled or composted cardboard box. Even your invoice is printed on unbleached recycled paper. So if you are looking for planet friendly affordable products, this should be a first point of call.
Like the Plastic Free Shop, WorthWhyle provides an amazing range of online zero waste products for your bathroom, home, kitchen, and even your kids. Again, due to the variety and volume of the products, WorthWhyle nicely breaks down its goods into helpful categories to make your shopping easy and convenient. With the huge variety of products on offer, amongst other things you can expect to find:
WorthWhyle’s story
Founder Ashley aims to support independent small brands as she tries to educate her audience about the purchasing power we all have. This is something we at Cariki are very happy to see as we likewise try to spread the message of sustainability. As well as always using plastic free packaging, shipping is also free.
Boobalou both supplies and creates a wide range of its own zero-waste essentials. Alongside your plastic free options which covers all your bases across the kitchen, bathroom, garden and home, they also offer some more unique products. Included in this is children's clothes, fair trade toys and other new parent essentials. For example, some of the zero waste products you can find at this online store are:
Bambalou’s why
Boobalou stands out from the crowd as a proud member of the 1% For The Planet. This means that they donate 1% of their revenue to protecting our oceans from plastic pollution. This online store also partners with the Eden Reforestation Projects, planting trees to help stop climate change and helping them achieve carbon neutrality. What’s more, their products are also vegan as well as plastic free!
Acala Online is an online store offering an extensive range of natural, organic and vegan health and beauty products. They help answer some of the hardest questions on your journey to a fully plastic free lifestyle, providing products that work perfectly with your skin, style and hygiene.
Amongst the huge variety of beauty and wellness products, Acala Online’s zero waste supplies include:
This doesn’t sound enough? They have DIY kits in their beauty section where you can craft your own concoctions and personalised products.
Yet there’s even more. If you are a parent and have a newborn, plastic free can still be top of your list. Acala now sells:
Behind the scenes
Acala are now working towards eliminating health and beauty related waste from landfills through their Zero To Landfill (ZTL) Loop Scheme. This means that you can return glass bottles to Acala, free of charge
Hannah, the founder of Acala, has the ultimate goal of making buying consciously as easy and accessible as popping into your highstreet store. They also have teamed up with Carbon Footprint to support their programme to reduce deforestation in the Amazon.
The perfect gift idea, Lowtoxbox is an online shop that specialises in bespoke zero waste speciality boxes. They sell a wide variety of boxes that will help develop your plastic free independence. Among other things, you have the ability to choose from:
If you wish, you also have the option to buy these plastic free products by themselves. They sell most of the products you will need in a convenient to purchase beautiful cardboard gift box, from sweet treats like vegan cookies and cocoa to lifestyle products like socks or soaps.
The Lowtoxbox story
Not only does Lowtoxbox founder Lucy prioritize plastic free, she also searches for natural substitutes for products we use every day. This is important, as the majority of us don’t realise how many chemicals we put on our body that are actually harmful to human health. Lowtoxbox also plant a tree for every box sold to offset their carbon footprint.
One online zero waste stop on your list worth considering is No Plastic Shop. They supply an amazing variety of plastic free kitchen, bathroom and toiletry essentials, such as:
No Plastic Shop also offers a subscription service, so you don’t have to waste time repurchasing your orders online. Not only this, they offer 15% off the market price when you sign up to their subscription.
As expected, packing contains no plastic and where possible locally recycled materials are used.
No Plastic Shop’s story
No Plastic Shop owner Izzy Crouch is on a mission to make it easy for individuals to reduce the amount of plastic waste they produce. Switching to plastic free and natural products is not only better for the environment, it can also make you healthier as an individual. It is the small changes that will make a big difference.
The The Kind Store supply a huge range of100% vegan, natural and eco-friendly zero waste products all in one place, making it the place to shop if you are searching for sustainable gifts or day-to-day products. Some of the products you’ll find beyond the essentials for your home, kitchen or bathroom include a great range of skincare, wellness products, travel items, treats, and even jewelry.
The Kind Store’s values
Kind to you, kind to the planet and kind to animals are The Kind Store’s founding principles. It is these principles that help shape the online zero waste store’s product decisions. Tash, the creator of The Kind Store has spent years collecting the best and most responsible products to make your ethical shopping experience more easy, and she wants to hear from you. If you have any questions or tips to make life a little more sustainable, she wants to know how she can help.
Plastic Free Pantry are a small social enterprise who believe 2025 is not soon enough to quit plastic. Unlike supermarkets, they are taking action now.
They offer a wide range of foods and pantry staples, such as
What makes this online plastic free store better is that everything is delivered in paper or home compostable plant film called Natureflex.
The Plastic Free Pantry story
Plastic Free Pantry were the UK’s first online plastic free food shop. Profits are not as important as reducing single use plastic litter for this determined company, reinvesting them to help expand their plastic free options. Their mission is to make it easier for people to live better, healthier and more sustainable lifestyles, whilst spreading the knowledge they have learnt. They also offer a 10% discount if you pick up just 10 pieces of litter.
Stylish, sustainable and filled with useful links to aid your zero waste journey, Zero Waste Club is an online store we recommend visiting.
They stock all the bathroom, kitchen and storeroom essentials, such as:
Zero Waste Club grew out of the dissatisfaction with brands supporting the sustainable label just to be stylish. Encouraging ethical consumerism lies at the core of this company, they even advise reusing old products rather than buying new on their website - now that is ethical honesty.
They hope by stocking zero waste supplies and by buying wholesale, they can influence supermarkets to similarly move towards zero waste products. Their packaging is made from unbleached cardboard, which they will take back from you so it can be reused. As if this wasn’t enough, they also aim to plant a sapling for every item sold to help reduce their carbon footprint.
Anything But Plastic does what it says, a young company bringing zero waste products to ethical consumers. Have a look through their website and you are likely to find something you might not have considered buying plastic free, such as:
The Anything But Plastic story
Founder Jenny is determined to prevent plastic from ruining our planet, but also acknowledges that not all alternatives are good. That’s why she is developing a rating system for the variety of products they sell so that the consumer can make a fully informed choice about their purchases.
We would love to hear your thoughts on our list of online zero waste stores based here in the UK.
If there are any others that we've missed, do let us know in the comments below.
Thanks Anne, this looks like it will be a great shop! I will try to visit it when it opens… do you know if it will be selling online as well?
There is also a Zero Waste Shop opening on the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells this month!
https://www.thezerowastecompany.com/
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Gabi
May 18, 2020
Super useful list! Thanks for sharing :-)