5 Brands for Sustainable Online Shopping

We've all experienced that moment when the mail comes and a package you have been patiently waiting for has finally arrived (Am I the only one that gets super stoked even though I already know what's inside?) You pull out your scissors and tear into the box and root through the packing filler that makes you feel as if you were a kid digging through a cereal box for your prize. Except now you are now left looking at what feels like 6 boxes on the floor, a mile of packing tape and a bunch of filler you're not exactly sure what it's made with or how to deal with. Or, in the case of a particular online retailer *cough Amazon* the dreaded plastic bubble wrapper they seem to use for everything.

I recently read an article that inspired me to write a list of my top 5 favourite stores to order from when shopping online. Not only are their products zero waste, but so are their shipping materials. Bonus - they're all Canadian! From clothing to tech to skin care to zero waste basics, they've got you covered. In no particular order:

1. Pela Case

The Pela Case is an eco-friendly smartphone case made from bio-plastic and flax straw fibre ‘waste’ grown in Saskatchewan. They are biodegradable, functional and beautiful (all things we emphasize here at Goldilocks Wraps!) Their packaging is minimal with a kraft mailer and insert - that's it!

2. Lifestyle Over Luxury

Lifestyle Over Luxury is a clothing and supply company that focus' on eco-minded, quality and ethical adventure goods. The philosophy here is "the most sustainable product is one that already exists." Let that sink in for a moment.

Using leftover fabric from other brands, dead stock and warehouse off-cuts that would have otherwise been destined for the landfill, they create new, limited edition, high quality threads. As for packaging, they instruct suppliers to not ship with any plastic materials and all the boxes they use for their own shipping are compostable.

3. Boreal Folk

Boreal Folk are reinventing how business is conducted : in tiny, eco-friendly, nomadic off-grid ways. Their entire business operation is powered by solar! With face, bath and body care lines as their focus, they sustainably harvest plants (most considered as weeds) that are from healthy plant colonies and process them to add to their line of natural products. They do all of this in their mobile solar powered workshop known as the 'wilderness lab'. 

For some of their products shipping can certainly be a challenge - this is what happens when you swap plastic bottles for glass ones - but they keep everything safe and eco-friendly with Kraft paper padding, corrugated liners and Kraft packing tape!

[photo credit above: Mackenzie Duncan]

4. Zero Waste Emporium

Zero Waste Emporium is an online shop (with a brick-and-mortar store opening in Victoria soon) that carries a variety of environmentally friendly brands that will ensure your transition into going green is easier and more sustainable (pun intended). 

When sending orders in the mail they reuse boxes and paper saved from supplier deliveries and instead of regular packing tape, they seal boxes with paper tape. If an order is a local home delivery, only the actual product itself is delivered. Manufacturers are requested to not send any plastic materials and if there is an error and they do, the soft plastics are taken to the appropriate recycling facility.

 

5. Goldilocks Wraps

You didn't think I could make a list without Goldilocks on it did you! Our wraps are an all natural and eco-friendly alternative to plastic wrap. Each wraps is handmade with love in Victoria, BC using locally sourced beeswax.

The packaging itself for our wraps is minimal - a simple Kraft paper band. When we ship, we use a compostable paper mailer without any printed labels. For larger orders, we use post-consumer paper we receive from suppliers for added padding in the box.