I try my best to not be a hypocrite, but when it comes to sustainably shopping, that task becomes ten times more difficult. It took me around seventeen years to figure out the best places to order clothing, accessories, and food without child labor and harsh environmental impacts being involved. Enjoy this curated list so you don’t have to be like me and spend years searching for items that don’t make you feel guilty for buying them!
Clothing: H&M
First off, H&M has really cute clothes, so I suggest shopping there just for that. Secondly, the brand is completely transparent. H&M makes sure to provide sustainable options that aren’t too costly, and they’re fully upfront about it. H&M is fully committed to fair and equal trade, so you don’t have to wonder if children are being forced to make your cute party shirt (I’m looking at you, Forever 21).
Jewelry: 31 Bits
Every piece of jewelry from this store is beautiful and handmade by artisans in Uganda. Any money that the company makes goes back to those same artisans to help them graduate in five years with their own business! Eventually the company grew and now there are artisans from Indonesia who are offered the same experience.
Chocolate: Theo
Everyone loves chocolate. If you don’t, you’re crazy. However, the cocoa industry has a dark history and present, which makes Theo’s chocolate that much better. The company is completely transparent and even has third party verification so you don’t have to question their validity. As if that’s not good enough, the chocolate is pretty cheap for its amazing quality!
Coffee: Cafedirect
I don’t know about you, but caffeine is what keeps me going. Starbucks itself is very sustainable and that’s one of the reasons it grew so much, but you can’t always stop at Starbucks. Cafedirect provides fairtrade coffee and donates fifty percent of their proceeds to Producers Direct to help farmers work sustainably.
Beauty: Lucy Bee
Animal cruelty is a huge topic of conversation in the makeup industry, and this makes Lucy Bee stand out. The company is completely dedicated to crafting vegan and cruelty-free makeup, so you don’t have to feel bad about purchasing these products. The containers for the makeup and skincare products are also recyclable, so you don’t worry about that side of sustainability.
If you have the ability to spend a little more money on sustainable products, you should consider it. We only get one world, we might as well do anything we can to protect it!