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Sustainable Shopping

Purchasing Power
Support your values with your dollars! See this list of articles and companies - many in the Rochester area - dedicated to sustainable practices. â€‹


One way to step out of the white bubble is to support black-owned businesses and restaurants: 

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  • We Buy Black: More than a global marketplace for black owned businesses, it’s a movement to see social and economical justice globally.  We Buy Black helps Black entrepreneurs get their products directly into the hands of consumers, without the hassle of having to pitch to retailers for placement in stores or wait to be featured on non-black online markets. The owners of We Buy Black see distribution as the logical next step in true economic independence. webuyblack.com

 

Check out your local Farmers’ Markets: (updated 2025)

https://monroe.cce.cornell.edu/agriculture/local-food-guide/farmers-market-listings-2025

 

Articles

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Sustainable Shopping A-Z

 

  • Bagups (bagups.com) BiODEGRADABLE KITCHEN TRASH BAGS & Trash Bag DISPENSer system. Think tissue box for trash bags! When each kitchen bag is full and ready to toss, an empty one's right behind it. Our 100% biodegradable product is made in the USA by disabled Americans, the dispensing system is patented, we're veteran-owned and our shipping is always free. We also offer biodegradable kitchen bag subscription options so you never have to worry about ordering again.
     

  • BetterWorld Shopper (www.betterworldshopper.org) is a site dedicated to providing people with a comprehensive, up-to-date, reliable account of the social and environmental responsibility of every company on the planet and making it available in practical forms that individuals can use in their everyday lives. Coming out of more than five years of intensive research, this work is based on a comprehensive database of over 1000 companies and utilizes 25+ reliable sources of data to cover everything from the environment to human rights; community development to animal protection. And there’s an app for that!

 

  • Better World Books (www.betterworldbooks.com) is a for-profit social enterprise that collects and sells books online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. With more than eight million new and used titles in stock, Better World Books is a self-sustaining company that balances the social, economic and environmental values of its stakeholders.

 

  • The 4Ocean Bracelet: 4ocean.com The bracelet is made from 100% Recycled Materials. The beads are made from recycled glass bottles & the cord is made from recycled plastic water bottles. Every bracelet purchased funds the removal of one pound of trash from the Ocean. Unisex design* Adjustable to over 10" in circumference * Stainless Steel 4Ocean Charm

 

 

  • Bombas Socks: bombas.com/pages/giving-back. “Socks are the number one most requested clothing item at homeless shelters.” “People ask us all the time if we donate the same socks that we sell. The answer is no… we donate something better. Working closely with our charity partners, we engineered a sock to specifically meet the needs of people who don't have the luxury of a clean pair of socks every day.” They donate a pair of socks for every pair purchased. 

 

  • Coffee Connection: ourcoffeeconnection.org. The Coffee Connection provides employment training and job creation for women in recovery from addiction and as a not-for-profit business sells fair trade, organic coffee to retail and wholesale customers

 

 

  • GlobeIn: globein.com/about is a virtual international marketplace of handmade items, including blankets, jewelry, baskets, ceramic ware, etc., empowering and connecting remarkable, remote artisans to mindful customers.​

 

  • Goodweave Certified Rugs: The handmade carpet industry exploits nearly 250,000 children. GoodWeave is helping to combat this problem and transform the rug industry by certifying child-labor-free rugs and by providing education and opportunities to rescued and at-risk children. The GoodWeave certification is implemented by GoodWeave International. 

 

 

  • Klean Kanteen®: www.kleankanteen.com. Klean Kanteen® is a family-owned certified B Corporation. They introduced the first stainless steel, BPA-free, reusable water bottle in 2004 to provide a non-toxic solution to single-use plastic water bottles. Klean Kanteen creates high quality reusable products and it works hard to bring benefit to the people and places and to keep single-use waste from trashing the world.

 

  • Kotn kotn.com Designed in Toronto, ethically made in the Nile Delta. Kotn was founded to prove it’s possible to create products that combine beautiful design, premium quality, ethical manufacturing and social impact, without costing a fortune. With each purchase, you are creating lasting change in the garment industry.

 

  • Laughing Man Cafe: www.laughingmancafe.com The Laughing Man foundation supports coffee farming communities by investing in programs that clear the way to health, growth, and success for coffee farmers and their families.

 

 

  • Marilla's Mindful Supplies provides everyday products that empower people to lead sustainable, low waste, plastic free and eco friendly lives. Whether you've just started your journey towards a zero waste life, or you're a true waste not warrior, we'll help you live an organic, plastic-free, non-toxic, healthy life. www.marillas.com
     

  • Market Bags Help Refugees is a project of Rochester Refugee Resettlement Services, a 501(c)3 non-profit on the Northwest side of Rochester. We create jobs and employ Refugees, (predominantly women), to craft handmade market bags, using the proceeds to re-invest in our community and to provide book bags for children in need right here in Rochester. All of our soft goods are crafted from donated fabric, which means the final products are 99% recycled.  Whenever possible, we source needed materials locally, through our alliance with Sew Green Rochester.  Many of the machines are vintage, and all are donated. We are powered entirely by goodwill and hard work. (While we usually keep things hyper-local, we also have an Amazon Wish List, to make it easy for folks to help out from afar. Contact give@rochesterrefugee.org for more details.)  

 

  • Misfits Market: www.misfitsmarket.com OUR MISSION: Bring delicious, fresh, and affordable misfit produce to people everywhere and reduce food waste at a scale that creates positive and lasting impact. Unlike other brands, we aren’t focused just on dense urban areas. We are made to go to every zip code in the states we serve, and be within reach of every household. We are putting fresh produce that might not check all the boxes for perfection into boxes, and sending it straight to you. Sooner than you’d be able to buy it at a store. For half the price. And most importantly, our location is your location. Whether you’re next door to a fancy grocery store, in the middle of a food desert, or somewhere in between. Every box of Misfits produce you order benefits farmers, helps prevent food waste, and ultimately helps save our environment. Our rapidly expanding Philadelphia- and New Jersey-based operation rescues produce from regional farms and distributes it throughout the Northeast, South, and Midwest in three business days or less. Hit us up at contact@misfitsmarket.com with any questions or feedback.

 

  • One World Goods is a local not-for-profit fair trade marketplace that sells fair trade handicrafts produced in developing countries. Through these sales we help create jobs with dignity for our global neighbors so that they may provide food, shelter, health care and education for their families. oneworldgoods.org

 

 

 

 

  • Project Repat - T-shirt quilts and blankets www.projectrepat.com Project Repat creates a high quality, affordable t-shirt quilt with minimal carbon impact that ‘repatriates’ textile job back to the United States.

 

  • Rareform: www.rareform.com Our story begins with bold billboards destined to sit in a landfill. We intercept those billboards and repurpose them into completely one-of-a-kind products. Every billboard we receive is carefully cleaned, cut, and sorted before it is sewn together into a unique RAREFORM product. We're repurposing 20,000 lbs a month of billboard vinyl into one-of-a-kind products.

 

  • Reformation: www.thereformation.com Its clothing is made “from super sustainable materials, rescued deadstock fabrics, and repurposed vintage clothing.” 
     

  • Repair Café: www.repaircafe.org/en - Repair Cafés are free meeting places all about repairing things (together). In the place where a Repair Café is located, you’ll find tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need on items like clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, et cetera. You’ll also find expert volunteers, with repair skills in all kinds of fields. Visitors bring their broken items from home. If you have nothing to repair, you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Or you can lend a hand with someone else’s repair job. There are over 2,500 Repair Cafés worldwide. Visit one in your area or start one yourself!

 

  • Rochester Greenovation helps people reuse things instead of sending them to the landfill and partners with other local non-profits to serve people. rocgreenovation.org
     

  • Rothys Shoes: made from plastic water bottles. rothys.com/pages/about

 

  • Toad & Co: www.toadandco.com sustainably produced clothing shipped in reusable packaging from limeloop. 

 

  • What's Good: www.shopwhatsgood.com - an online market with purpose. Find green, socially responsible products in one store. Eco cleaners, sustainable personal care items, eco pet supplies, reusable food storage items, earth friendly household supplies, gifts, eco friendly baby and kid gifts, sustainably sourced, fair trade, and organic.
     

  • Wild Hill Farm: www.wildhillfarm.com Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
     

  • The Wild Minimalist: wildminimalist.com offering a curated selection of beautifully made, plastic-free products and shipping everything in recyclable or compostable packaging. 

 

  • Zero Waste Cartel: zerowastecartel.com Product options that help you cut down waste, enrich your home and provide you with that feeling of fulfillment.

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