Websites you can feel good buying from
Dear Readers,
Some days, I’ll visit the farmers market as well as my neighborhood butcher and cheese shop and wine shop, and as I put away my fresh flowers and bread, I’ll feel pleased with myself for supporting so many local makers. Or, I’ll just meander around New York City’s downtown neighborhoods and see what I find: a place that sells Japanese denim, an antiquarian cookbook shop, a Swedish candy store. I consider sustainability when I shop in person, but my primary focus is enjoying the discovery process. I also believe that shopping small helps slow what I’ll call the H&M-ification of New York.
Image from My Fair Lady courtesy Allstar Picture Library Limited / Alamy Stock Photo
When I do shop online, I normally dive deep into sustainability. I read company About Us pages, verify third-party certifications, dig into impact reports, and more. But sometimes, I just want to make purchases without having to think so hard. That’s when I turn to a select few online marketplaces that already do that work. They only carry brands that prioritize eco-friendly materials, ingredients, or manufacturing processes. Most donate to worthy causes and offset shipping emissions.
So this week, I’d like to share these marketplaces with you. Whether you’re looking for decor, cleaning products, or makeup, you can rely on the sites below to deliver quality goods.
Happy browsing and happy shopping,
– Elizabeth Weinstein, Marketplace Editor
EarthHero – The One-Stop Shop
Wooden toys, reusable paper towels, silicone baking sheets, toothpaste tabs, organic cotton socks, rubber pacifiers, latex pillows, compostable phone cases … EarthHero has almost everything. A Certified Climate Neutral, a B Corp, and a 1% for the Planet member, EarthHero really works hard at sourcing products thoughtfully. This is a company we love to support.
Made Trade – The Most Eclectic Marketplace
Bluedot’s Publisher Victoria Riskin loves the thoughtful, attractive assortment of goods in Made Trade’s ethical online marketplace. The family-run business sells wares for home and closet from brands that use sustainable materials and employ good labor practices. Think beautiful baskets, inviting quilts, fabulous scarves, cool planters, and more. Save 10% off your order with code BLUEDOT10.
Public Goods – The Minimalist's Choice
I’m a huge fan of Public Goods. This membership-based platform sells effective, affordable products all under its own label, which makes shopping oh so simple. I keep my Airbnb fully stocked with their toiletries, and dozens of my guests have left reviews raving about the products. The Certified B Corporation offers low prices on an ever-growing assortment of unbranded household necessities. New customers get 20% off with code BLUEDOT.
Thrive – The Affordable Online Grocer
I’ve been a Thrive member since 2020 and love their user-friendly site. The $59.95 yearly fee quickly pays for itself and they have great prices, especially on vitamins. Try the house label for organic oils, nuts, and sugars. The site's well-designed site and in-depth filters really let me shop my values, making it easy to find, say, cruelty-free, biodegradable cleaning products, or keto snacks made by woman-founded companies.
Credo – The Beauty Specialist
Clean-beauty marketplace Credo has clear guidelines on ingredients and packaging — no single-use plastics here! — and co-founded Pact, the non-profit that collects and recycles empty cosmetics packaging. Rather than throwing out terms like “clean” and “natural” without definitions, Credo clearly states what “clean” means to them, with lists of ingredients they do and don’t carry and why.
Grove Collaborative – The Green Online Drugstore
Almost like an eco-CVS (minus prescriptions and snacks), Grove Collaborative offers household goods and cleaning and personal care products, including many low- and no-plastic items. The Certified B Corp’s environmental efforts include cleaning up over 15 million pounds of ocean bound plastic and planting over one million trees.
Goodee – The Hippest Marketplace
Founded by twin brothers Bryan and Dexter Peart, Goodee is an online marketplace that sells sustainable heritage crafts and thoughtfully curated home and lifestyle goods. Recognized in 2022 as an Outstanding Black-Owned B Corp, Goodee’s three pillars are “good people, good design, and good impact.”
