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Readers: Where do you shop sustainably in Greater Boston?

Share your favorite place to shop eco-friendly products.

A shopper browses clothing for sale inside a thrift shop. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

By Emily Collins

2 minutes to read

On April 22, we will celebrate the place we all call home. Earth Day began on college campuses in 1970 has now reached a billion people in more than 190 countries. Across Boston, there will be special events like cleanups, arts initiatives, and outdoor activities, and more to mark the day.

The campaign does more than bring people together to celebrate our planet once a year, it also runs projects year round. Their campaigns include the End Plastic Pollution, which draws attention to the harmful effects of plastic in the environment, and the Canopy Project, which works around the globe to reforest areas in need of rehabilitation. Other campaigns also include Climate and Environmental Literacy, Food and Environment, and Act on Climate Change. Their website invites you to learn about ways to join their cause and take action.

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But there are other ways to help protect our planet that don’t require becoming an environmental activist — the choices you make in your daily life can have a big impact. Some of those include taking public transit, using less single-use plastic, supporting zero-waste businesses, and shopping sustainably.

What does shopping for eco-friendly products even mean, you might ask? Merriam-Webster describes “sustainable” as a method of harvesting a resource so that the resource is not completed or permanently damaged. In simpler terms, to be sustainable a business needs to be mindful of the way they are making their products to protect Earth’s resources now and in the future. However, you should pay attention on what might be just marketing. Greenwashing is when a business or product is promotes themselves as more environmentally friendly than they are in practice. There are a number of ways that you can check to see if a business or a product is actually sustainable. The best indication that a product or brand prioritizes sustainability is to check for certifications like Certified B Corporation, 1% for the Planet, and Fair Trade Certified, to name a few.

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There are many opportunities in Greater Boston to shop sustainably. For clothing and home goods, a good start is thrifting like The Thrift Shop of Boston and Boomerangs — both are reader favorites. Thrift stores allow you to donate clothes you won’t wear anymore and buy new styles without contributing to fast fashion. Others include Credo Beauty, which offers clean beauty products, Uvida, which sells zero-waste products, and Cambridge Naturals which sells organic groceries. We want to know: Where is your favorite place to shop eco-friendly products and brands in Greater Boston?

Let us know your favorite sustainable stores in Greater Boston in the survey below or e-mail us at [email protected]. Your response may be used in an upcoming Boston.com article and/or its social media channels.

Tell us: Where do you shop for sustainable products in Greater Boston?

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