If you are working towards being a conscious consumer, use your hard-earned dollars to carefully choose brands to shop this season. Every purchase you make can contribute to growing a business after only profit or a brand that is committed to supporting people, the planet and profit equally with your purchase. Who you shop with this season with matters.
Here is what you need to know, and some questions you may need to ask to shop consciously:
Does this brand source and manufacture their ingredients ethically?
Are labourers paid fair wages and given respectable working conditions?
Does this company certify that their product is made with safe ingredients?
Are they fully transparent with the ingredients or materials that their products are made with?
Do they package their products sustainably with locally sourced materials and recyclable packaging?
When they ship their products, do they use recycled paper materials? No
Is this a cruelty-free brand?
It is a lot to be a conscious consumer in this time. If we hope for consumerism to be less of a mine field in the future, we need to collectively put efforts in to shopping clean, sustainable and ethical brands.
Top 4 brands to shop this season
Beautycounter. This brand continues to exceed my expectations! What started out as a mission for safety for human health has turned in to an innovative skincare and cosmetics line with a vast array of products for every skin type and tone. They go above and beyond to ensure that their products are safe and clean (most are EWG verified), they are fully transparent with their ingredient list, they source their glass bottles locally and package with post-consumer recycled resin, they ship is FSC-certified paper, and they source and manufacture ethically. Of course, they are cruelty-free. Beautycounter HQ has even done on-the-ground audits of every mine where they source their mica to ensure that human rights are being upheld. If you aren’t already on this clean beauty train, get yourself started with a skincare regimen this season. If you are already a loyal customer, don’t miss out on their limited-edition sets this season!
Bathorium. Continuing with the theme of skin and body care, this is another brand to shop this season, for some extra self care. My personal favourites are the Crush Bath Soaks which will leave your skin super soft while helping your body to detress and detoxify. These luxurious bath items are free of any harsh chemicals, artificial fragrances, colourants, phthalates and parabens. Bathorium is committed to pushing for change on ethical sourcing of raw ingredients, too. Another leaping bunny certified brand to shop this season. Use code KNOWBETTERLIFE for a discount on your order!
Flax Home. Highlighting another Canadian company, Flax Home takes a sustainable twist on your home goods and bed sheets. The linen sheets and duvet covers from Flax Home are not only soft and help to regulate temperature, they are also ethically sourced & manufactured, and tested for harmful chemicals. Flax requires less pesticides, and linen uses less water to manufacture. These home goods are thoughtfully crafted for you and for the planet. And as if those weren’t enough reasons to support Flax Home while you shop this season, this is also a women-owned and women-run brand!
Clome and Co. Think clothing, clean beauty and home edits, and you’ve got Clome! Canadian founder, Allison Larouche, has created an inclusive space for women to be inspired to spend their hard-earned dollars on beautiful clothing by conscious brands. She carries a variety of price points, and she will curate a collection of pieces for you based on your lifestyle, taste and budget. She will always encourage you to step outside of your fashion comfort zone, and ‘just wear the dress’ to the playground or the grocery store! If you’re not sure where to start, treat yourself to a Eberjey pyjamas this season. You will never want to get out of them! Use code KBL1O for a discount on your order.
4 more sustainable brands to shop this season
Hernest Project. A sleepwear and loungewear brand that doesn’t compromise for your comfies! Committed to sustainable fabrics and ethical manufacturing, the team at Hernest is also dedicated to leading the way with better business practices. Slow fashion is the way of the future to protect our planet, but rest assured you will be comfortable (and stylish) while doing it! Shop best sellers here.
The Kindred Studio. A family-run business to serve you and your family – whatever shape or form that may take – with incredibly comfortable clothing that’s high-quality, sustainably sourced and ethically made in Canada. You will even find matching pyjamas for adults and kids in the Holiday Collection!
All Birds. You need shoes to wear with your new slow fashion frocks! This brand’s shoes are made from sustainable materials, like FSC-certified Tencel lyocell and Merino wool—the latter of which ensures environmental and animal-friendly practices. All Birds is a certified B corporation, like Beautycounter, which means that they are equally as committed to people, the planet and profit in business.
Apple. It is likely that technology will make it on your list to shop this season, and you can make a more conscious choice! Apple has a carbon neutral goal by 2030, and is well on their way with their efforts in energy reduction. Moreover, Apple is scaling the use of recycled plastics across its products. The mesh fabric of HomePod mini, for example, is made with 90% recycled plastic. In total, Apple introduced more than 70 parts with an average of 50% recycled plastic in fiscal year 2020.
Honourable mentions
If you have kids on your list to shop for this season, it can be tricky to find conscious brands that use sustainable materials and responsible manufacturing for the toys on their wish list. If your kids are Lego obsessed, you’ll be reassured to know that the company is committed to making great strides in sustainability by 2030. It is not easy to create tiny pieces that fit together for generations with sustainable materials, but Lego is committed to doing it. If you have art supplies to buy, Crayola is bold with their sustainability initiatives, and proud to declare their commitment to responsible manufacturing. If you’re purchasing books for kids, Scholastic is making progress towards their sustainability goals. Your child likely has a classroom code that you can use to support growing their classroom resources too.
Please shop consciously this season!
Some of the links provided in this post are partnerships with brands who pay a small commission. All partnerships align with our values of clean, ethical and sustainable practices and products.