Sustainable Alternatives To Amazon In Canada | Eco-Friendly & Ethical

Sustainable Alternatives To Amazon In Canada that are Eco-Friendly & Ethical. Where to shop for you need online in Canada.

This blog post is a directory of eco-friendly and more sustainable alternatives to shopping on Amazon. I wanted to highlight some Canadian (small) businesses that offer everything from health foods, to books, zero waste lifestyle essentials, kitchen supplies and natural skincare. This is also a follow-up to my other post, Online Grocery Delivery + Health Food Stores in Canada. Many people have found this online grocery directory helpful - especially during the global pandemic. Since we are currently in another lockdown this month in Ontario, I know many people will be turning to online shopping to make life easier and stay at home. I'd like to encourage you to support small businesses and support local as much as possible, rather than supporting Amazon.

The Problem with Amazon

Covid-19 has taken a toll on many small businesses, while further propelling the success of retail giants such as Amazon. 2020 was a record-braking year for Amazon - propelling them to triple profits and increase earnings by 37%. Meanwhile, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) estimates that 1 in 7 small businesses are at risk of permanently closing due to COVID-19.

It is clear that we need to support local, eco-friendly and ethical businesses now more than ever, in order to have a green recovery from this pandemic. I'd much rather support small businesses that have a positive impact on their employees and the planet, than to support Amazon and other large retailers.

Easy Over Ethical?

Amazon may be convenient, and easy... but do we have to choose easy over ethical? Worker exploitation, tax dodging, invasion of customer privacy, and general encouragement of overconsumption are just a few things that come to mind. As always, I believe we can vote with our dollar and where you choose to spend it. So why not support eco-friendly, ethical, and local businesses that are currently struggling due to the global pandemic, rather than throwing more money at the wealthiest man in the world?

With that in mind, here is a (growing) list of Sustainable Alternatives To Amazon that are eco-friendly, ethical and Canadian. I have seen many lists like this and directories for the USA, but have yet to find one for Canada - so I hope that this is useful!

Sustainable Alternatives To Amazon In Canada that are Eco-Friendly & Ethical

Waste Free Lifestyle

The Green Boheme - Carefully considered goods for the intentional home, plastic free shipping, donates to  environmental conservation. Based in British Colombia.
Life Unpacked - Eco-friendly & plastic free essentials, by Canadians for Canadians.
Ola Bamboo - Eco-friendly and reusable bamboo products, based in Quebec.
Sustain Eco Store - Environmentally friendly zero waste refill store. Peterborough & Huntsville Ontario.
Unwrapped Kawartha - Sustainable living made easy. Zero waste store in Lindsay, Ontario.
Worldlet - Self-care, wellness & home goods, eco-friendly and low-waste. Seaforth, Ontario.
The HealthNut Shop - Reusable & eco-friendly kitchen, cleaning & self-care essentials, Toronto Ontario.
The Nickel Refillery - Zero waste refillery in Sudbury, Ontario.
Sunday General Store - Coffee, tea, kitchen, and home supplies - Guelph, Ontario

Cleaning Supples

Ten and Co. - Sustainable home goods, Toronto, Ontario
Papaya Reusables - Reusable paper towels and water bottles, Toronto Ontario
Oko Creations - green cleaning & zero waste. Montreal Quebec.
Mala the Brand - Eco friendly soy candles handmade in Vancouver BC

Food & Wellness Supplements

Loop Store - Zero waste grocery, beauty, and household essentials, available in Ontario! With Loop, you can temporarily place a 100% refundable deposit to "borrow" the reusable packaging, and have your products sent right to your door with Fedex. Once you're done, you can send your empties back in your re-usable Loop tote with Fedex. Use the code: JAZZ10 for 10% off and free shipping on your first order at loopstore.ca (this is not sponsored, and not an affiliate link)!
Well.ca - Health food, supplements and clean beauty products, Guelph Ontario.
Natura Market - Keto, low carb, paleo & whole 30 food. Mississauga Ontario.
Pure Feast - Canada's healthy food store. Supplements, herbs, healthy food.
Vitasave - Supplements & Vitamins. Markham Ontario.
Silk Road Tea - Fresh, organic, loose leaf teas. Victoria BC
Tealish - Toronto Loose Leaf Tea, Family Owned
Living Apothecary Tea - Loose leaf tea, St. Catharines, Ontario.

For more Food & Grocery Delivery options, check out this blog post I shared last year with Online Grocery Delivery + Healthy Food Stores In Canada - it's a full directory!

Home & Kitchen

Sourdough Schoolhouse - Mise en Place kits for all your sourdough tools & supplies! Use code: JAZZ25 for 25% off all sourdough courses as well!
Maison Cookware - Cook & bakeware, Nanaimo BC.
The Gourmet Warehouse - Cooking tools, bakeware, homewares. Vancouver, BC.
Clementine Home Floral and Gift - Home decor, fusion mineral paint, gifts. Kindersley, Saskatchewan.
Blooms & Flora - Botanical gift shop in Guelph Ontario
Wyrth Home - Tabletop, kitchen, decor, bath. Vaughn Ontario.
Haven Sleep Co - Canadian made mattresses, made with plant based foams and CertiPUR® certified.
Lekko Life Goods - Linen bowl covers, sourdough kits, and kitchen supplies, Hamilton Ontario.

Natural Beauty, Skincare, Self-Care

Sitka Naturals - Canadian distributor for Madhippie Skincare, based in Vancouver BC. Use code: THANKS15 for 15% off your order!
Calm Down Club - Natural soy candles, natural skincare. Ste Catherines, Ontario.
Living Libations - Pure skincare & botanicals, Haliburton Ontario.
The Detox Market - Green beauty, organic skincare. Toronto, Ontario.
The Truth Beauty Company - Natural skincare, Guelph Ontario.
Kolya Naturals - Pure skincare & botanicals. Edmonton, Alberta.
Clean Beauty House - Natural, non-toxic skincare and makeup. Hamilton Ontario
Health Hut - Natural lifestyle, green beauty, organic skincare. Toronto Ontario
Shop GB - Gabby Borgerink's online shop of self care items such as dry brushes, natural skincare and silk scrunchies!

Books

Monro's Books - Independent bookstore in Victoria BC.
Book Outlet - Discount & budget friendly books. Thorold, ON.
Better Wold Books - New & used books * located in USA, but ships worldwide.

Clothing

Made for the Lake Co - Lake & cottage apparel from Port Severn Ontario.

Other

Etsy - if you can't find what you're looking for at any of the online shops mentioned, Etsy is always a great place to search! I try to search for shops located within Canada to support local and also cut down on shipping & taxes. There are so many amazing small businesses on Etsy - you can find everything from sourdough scoring blades from BreadLlamas in Kelowna BC, to Essential Oil Bottles & Accessories from Simply Essentials Co in Calgary Alberta, home decor, kitchen accessories and more!

I hope this small directory of Sustainable Alternatives To Amazon in Canada is helpful for you! I will continue to add to it as I research and find more places! Again, please leave a comment if you know of any and would like to share. Please tag me @nourishmintkitchen on social media when you share this blog post!

Amazon’s 10 Billion Dollar Climate Fund?!

If you want to watch an awesome video about Amazon’s 10 Billion Dollar Climate Fund & the truth behind what that really means... then head over to @levi_hildebrand 's YouTube Channel because he breaks it all down and examines this marketing scheme in detail - in this video! I was shocked to find out the truth behind this marketing stunt, and the extreme wealth & power that billionaires such as Jeff Bezos have.