Eco-Conscious Local Stores
By Angela Giacobbo
If you want to shop locally, Central Alberta has a wide variety of stores ready to assist you on your journey toward more sustainable living.
Re:Plenish | 9912 77 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB | https://replenishyeg.ca/
If you’re grimacing at your shampoo bottle, thinking about another hunk of plastic sitting in a landfill, why not try a bottle you can refill? With a focus on community and education, Re:Plenish offers countless zero waste and low waste products to help you on your sustainability journey. From skincare to home and kitchen cleaning products, you’ll be surprised what everyday items you can find.
As a refillery and zero waste store, Re:Plenish uses containers that you can bring back to refill whenever you need. Either purchase a container from them or bring in your own. You’re charged based on product weight (not the container), which costs you and the environment less!
Carbon Environmental Boutique | 10710 120 St NW, Edmonton, AB | https://www.carbonboutique.com/
“Our passion is clean, healthy, purposeful living and we strive to make products available that people can feel as good about using and sharing as the proud makers who crafted them.”
Carbon Environmental Boutique has been around for 13 years and partners with brands who share their desire to provide clean, eco-conscious alternatives to everyday products. Including home improvement items and kitchen products, Carbon offers options so that even your bigger purchases have a smaller environmental impact.
Carbon looks at how products came to be—sourcing, working conditions, packaging—and uses that research to ensure they provide toxin-free and sustainably sourced goods. With toys for children and babies, bedroom and bathroom products, travel essentials, and a wide selection of paint, Carbon can help you find sustainable alternatives no matter where you are in your journey.
Little Plastic Footprint | Chaparral Valley Way SE, Calgary, AB | https://www.littleplasticfootprint.com/
Kayla, the owner of Little Plastic Footprint, works to help people switch their daily products for sustainable options without losing quality and effectiveness. Mostly provided by small suppliers in Western Canada, each product comes from people with the same values in sustainability and long-lasting items.
With 100% plastic-free options, locally sourced goods, in-store pickup, and reused shipping materials, Little Plastic Footprint works to keep their products environmentally friendly and community-focused. The store prides itself on its consistent “pop up shop” vibes, meaning customers see products from different vendors and can expand their go-to retailers.
Check out the Little Plastic Footprint’s list of best sellers to help navigate your way through the shop!
Epico Designs | 8920 100 St NW, Edmonton, AB | https://epicodesigns.com/
Eco-friendly minimalist jewelry? Sign me up! Everything found in Epico Design’s store is handmade in their Edmonton workshop with quality, uniqueness, elegance, and meaning at the core of each design. You’ll find both masculine and feminine pieces that are simple, exquisite, and screaming to become new go-to pieces.
The founder and owner of Epico, Andrea, is a Canadian-Ecuadorian designer inspired by nature, beautiful cities, and less fortunate girls in Ecuador. Epico annually donates some profits to the Karla Morales Foundation, an organization built to support girls’ education in Ecuador.
Simplify Sustainable Living | St. Albert Centre, 375 St Albert Trail, St. Albert, AB | https://www.simplifyliving.ca/
While working an internship with the Hope Mission, Joy, the founder of Simplify Sustainable Living, learned the importance of empathy and treating others with compassion. Initially, Simplify started as a blog to share passions for environmentalism, but Simplify has grown into a business and community for learning.
Simplify sells many products with zero waste, works to reduce packaging, and offers refills for deodorant, candles, soap, and more. This means you can buy products in bulk and keep your containers! Speaking of containers, if you happen to have empty jars, you can donate clean jars with labels removed, and someone in need of a jar can take yours instead. Simplify’s online store offers a variety of skin, dental, and hair care products along with cleaning, laundry, and kitchen items.
