Your Checklist for Ethical & Sustainable Shopping

Scroll down for the checklist or read through for quick explanations and examples!

BIPOC/Woman/Minority Owned

Try to support small businesses that are owned by People of Colour and other minorities as they face disproportionately higher challenges than white cis-gendered people, especially since the pandemic. This creates more opportunities in the community and works toward equality- something that should be a normal lifestyle choice for us all. Patriarchal systems still run the world, and we should all be trying to close the gender and race pay gap.

Sustainable Materials

Materials used are from sustainable sources. They have been recycled or could be recycled or repurposed after use. Example 1, a bookmark made of natural or recycled materials. Example 2, a foam mattress that can be recycled at a household recycling centre, local scheme or can be upcycled into a pet bed one day.

Image description: on a pair of black thermal legging clad legs sits a brown cardboard envelope hand stamped with black ink wildflowers. On top of that is a brown cardboard business card hand written with "Wild Nurturing Home", my small Etsy shop. Next to it is a small parcel of hand made jewellery, packaged in reused brown shredded paper roll and tied up with woollen string.

Ingredients

Ingredients are clearly and honestly listed. Steer clear of “fragrance” or “perfume” or “parfum” which industries are legally allowed to hide carcinogenic and harmful substances behind as they are considered trade secrets. Sustainable businesses will clearly list all ingredients and the plants behind any scents. Top points from the people that know their stuff- plants will most often be listed as their Latin (scientific) name.

Packaging

Packaging in mostly or completely recyclable, biodegradable or reusable. Example 1, a cardboard envelope or box can be all of the above. Example 2, compostable or water-soluble packing chips.

Price

Higher prices in small businesses can often indicate that workers are paid a higher and fair wage. Research for bigger brands. If products are extremely cheap, caveat emptor (buyer beware)! Cheap products can often mean low quality and indicate poor employee care.

Slow

Are new lines being brought out every week or month and old ones mysteriously disappearing? This is more for big clothes brands, not so much for small Etsy sellers (hopefully their old products are just being sold)! But trust your intuition.

Cruelty Free

Is the company certified by Cruelty Free International if it is a large company? Is the product vegan? Are workers treated well and paid fairly? Not all vegan products are cruelty free so do some research beforehand. (Throwback to the Oatly controversy and its links to racism, deforestation and slave labour.)

Charitable

This is more for larger companies as they have a social responsibility to use their profit for good, especially since they have a greater influence on the world. Some small businesses also donate a portion of their sales to charity, for example my shop on Etsy, Wild Nurturing Home, donates £1 of every sale to the Badger Trust. Smaller businesses often donate a higher proportion of their income, so support these. LOOK OUT for companies who donate a % of ‘profit’ to charity- it is unlikely an organisation will see more than a penny as ‘profit’ reports can be manipulated. Choose companies who donate a % of their sale to charity instead.

Checklist

If you are the owner of a small, sustainable business and would like to connect or collaborate- send us an email and find us over on Instagram @rewilding_our_lives. Let’s support each other!