There’s a myriad of other easy-to-use platforms that offer the same level of shopping experience, if not a better one. Or, you might be looking to support smaller or local businesses.
1. Hive
If you’ve undertaken a sustainability journey or are simply looking to do so and cut down on your carbon footprint, check out Hive.
Hive is trying to do better on that front, using recyclable boxes and packing materials. Even the ink used on the boxes is non-toxic. Hive also lets you shop by cause, allowing you to support the Environment, Education, Human and Animal Rights, and so on.
You can select from a slew of categories, like food, wellness, snacks, beverages, household items, and more, and shop cruelty-free, vegan, and organic.
2. Package Free
Package Free offers plastic-free products and ships everything to you with carbon-neutral packaging that’s recyclable and compostable.
The platform’s goal is to be as close to zero-waste as possible. It also does its best to help you reduce your waste by offering reusable alternatives to products that are usually hard to recycle, like razors and dental floss.
Browsing the platform, you’ll find anything from bath and body products to kitchen and home ones, and a selection of self-care and travel items.
3. Thrive Market
If you’re looking for a new place to stock up on food and everyday essentials, Thrive Market is your best choice.
The site strives for sustainability and aims to provide a variety of organic and natural products. The best thing about the site is that it’s affordable, which isn’t always the case when it comes to sustainable items.
On Thrive Market, you can find around 6,000 products from every major category, like healthy and diet-specific foods, wine, home goods, bath and body products, beauty and skincare, supplements, and even baby care.
4. Uncommon Goods
Uncommon Goods is an outside-the-box gift-giving platform. It helps you find the perfect present that’s as far away from boring as can be.
We’ve all found ourselves in a bind, trying to shop for someone and coming short of ideas. Uncommon Goods selects creative and original gifts and experiences to display, so you can go through them and find the best one. It’s chock-full of unique things.
You can find artisanal creations, like pottery, handmade jewelry, self-care kits, and so much more. There’s also a whole lot of experiences to choose from, like getting someone an online mixology class, for example.
Uncommon Goods is also making efforts in sustainability, using environmentally responsible packaging. It’s the handmade marketplace of your dreams.
5. Etsy
You can find anything and everything on Etsy, including handmade things like jewelry and clothes, paintings, candles, the list goes on. Etsy is excellent for unique, custom findings, and it’s a wonderful way for you to support small businesses.
6. Made Trade
Made Trade prioritizes sustainable and ethical shopping. It curates everything it displays, ensuring every item fits the description of sustainably and ethically made while also being beautiful.
The platform aims to provide a wide selection of products that check at least one of the following boxes: made in the USA, recycled/upcycled, fair trade, BIPOC-owned, women-owned, handcrafted, vegan, and, of course, as mentioned, sustainable.
You can find home goods, furnishings, and decor pieces alongside clothing items, accessories, and shoes.
7. Chewy
Chewy is a platform designed for pet owners. It aims to meet the needs of pets and their people, providing a wide variety of food and medical items, toys, treats, accessories—everything that’s even remotely pet-related you can find on the platform.
Chewy provides access to more than 2,000 pet brands and doesn’t only cater to cats and dogs. You’ll find products for all kinds of pets, including horses and reptiles.
8. Bookshop
The site is an online platform that offers access to books, audiobooks, textbooks, and so on. It aims to provide financial support to local, independent bookstores and certainly puts its money where its mouth is.
It has an affiliate program that pays a 10 percent commission on each sale and matches that 10 percent to independent bookstores. Bookshop also gives away over 75 percent of its profit margin to stores, publications, and authors.
9. Instacart
The Instacart service is available in most major US cities and offers both delivery and curbside pickup. It includes national and local retailers, like Target, Aldi, Costco, and so on. Apart from food and drink, you can also get flowers, household, and self-care items delivered, too.
You can sign up for the service for free, but according to the Instacart website, if you get the Instacart Express membership, you’ll save an average of $7 per grocery order. Instacart Express costs $9.99 per month or $99 per year.
You can find similar if not better platforms that work on improving their sustainability efforts and aim to reduce waste or simply try to provide you with the best shopping experience.
