Edinburgh Ethical Shopping Guide & Map For 2024

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Looking for the best places to shop ethically in Edinburgh? Right this way! I’ve put together a mammoth Edinburgh ethical shopping guide just for you.

Every so often an email lands in my inbox from a reader enquiring about places to shop ethically in Edinburgh. So, after living in and around Edinburgh for nearly 20 years now, I’ve put together my ultimate Edinburgh Ethical Shopping Guide. I’ve included all of the places on my radar of where to shop ethically when in this fair city.

I’ve also gotten all technical on you and made my own Google Map, which should help make it easy for you to locate all of these lovely places. I hope you find it useful!

I also have a separate guide to zero-waste shops in Edinburgh, so make sure you check that out too!

Edinburgh Ethical Shopping Guide & Map

The shops of Rose Street at sunset with a blue text box that reads your handy guide to ethical shopping in Edinburgh.

I’ve broken down all the sustainable shops you need to know into categories. You can use the quick links below to jump to a specific section of this post, or you can keep scrolling for the full guide. You’ll even find my handy map at the bottom of this post to help you locate all the shops!

Ethical Clothing

If you’re looking for ethical clothing in Edinburgh then try these top shops:

Dandelion & Ginger

Dandelion & Ginger is a cosy little shop on Leven Street in Tollcross that sells a nice range of women’s ethical clothing, jewellery, accessories, and gifts. It’s always worth a visit if you are looking for something special – either for yourself or as a gift.

Godiva

Godiva is a funky boutique on West Port, selling a range of vintage and repurposed clothing. It also has a well-stocked selection of clothing and accessories from independent designers, such as Rowanjoy, as well as ethical brands such as Bibico and Komodo.

Joey D

Joey D is a long-standing shop on Broughton Street in Edinburgh, where you can find funky clothing and accessories (and now furniture too) all made from recycled vintage clothing. It’s the place to go when you want something that you can be guaranteed no one else will have the same item.

Totty Rocks

Totty Rocks, in Barclay Place in the Bruntsfield/Tollcross area, makes all of its seriously beautiful clothing from locally sourced fabrics. If you have a specific idea in mind, then the designers Holly and Lynsey also take on bespoke commissions.


Vintage Clothing

Shop front of Those Were The Days Vintage
C/O Those Were The Days Vintage

If you’re looking for vintage clothing then you are spoiled for choice in the capital:

Armstrongs

Armstrongs, Edinburgh’s most iconic vintage shop, has three locations across the city – The Grassmarket, Teviot Place, and Cockburn St (to save your blushes, it’s pronounced Co-burn!). My personal preference is always Teviot Place. I don’t know if the pricing is any different, but it does feel better value than the Grassmarket store, although Grassmarket does have the biggest selection. The Cockburn St store is often packed with tourists, so Teviot feels, to me, a little calmer.

Carnivale Vintage

Carnivale Vintage has a cracking selection of vintage dresses in its Bread St store, from the Victorian era through to the 1990s. You’ll also find quality vintage clothing for men and women, of all types and styles, as well as vintage accessories and jewellery.

Elaine’s

Elaine’s has put together a wonderful carefully curated selection of vintage clothes. So much so, that you can tell that this Stockbridge boutique is an absolute labour of love. Elaine is so very helpful and knowledgeable and knows exactly what would suit you best. It’s an absolutely joyous shopping experience, unmatched on the High St.

Do check the opening hours before you visit, as the shop doesn’t keep standard hours. At the time of writing, I think it’s Tuesday to Saturday, 1 pm – 6 pm.

Herman Brown

Herman Brown is a delightful wee vintage shop in West Port. It has been offering vintage clothes, jewellery and accessories since 1984, so it knows vintage inside and out. At the moment, its main focus is on accessories and jewellery, so is the perfect place to find a one-off piece to complement your outfit.

Miss Bizio Couture

Miss Bizio’s is a Stockbridge-based shop focusing on vintage pieces from designer brands. As such, the prices are a little higher than other vintage shops, but if you’re looking for vintage designer pieces this is the place to go in Edinburgh.

Pi-Ku Collective

Pi-Ku Collective, just off Grassmarket on Candlemaker Row, offers a small selection of vintage clothing in its stylish store.

Those Were The Days

Those Were The Days is a gem of a shop on St Stephen Street that has an amazing selection of vintage clothing for men and women. As well as the main store, it also has a separate vintage wedding dress boutique that specialises in 1920s pieces through to iconic 1990s collectable pieces. 


Ethical Groceries

When it comes to ethical grocery shops in Edinburgh, there are lots of choices:

Dig-In Bruntsfield

Dig-In is a community-owned and supported, not-for-profit greengrocer in Bruntsfield that supplies locally sourced produce and provides volunteering opportunities for the local community. Almost all of its produce is available without packaging, so you can choose to purchase only what you need to avoid food waste.

Holland & Barrett

Holland & Barrett, the high street staple, has nine stores in Edinburgh – Princes St, Rose St, Nicolson St, Shandwick Place, Ocean Terminal, Cameron Toll, Deanhaugh St, Fort Kinnaird, and The Gyle. From plant-based milks to vegan food and snacks, it’s a convenient place to stock up on supplies.

Jordan Valley

This Nicolson St shop is a bit of a goldmine for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone vaguely health-conscious. The shop is literally packed to the rafters – the friendly owner is always up his ladders retrieving things that customers can’t reach! I’ve particularly found that for pulses and grains, and things like spices and speciality teas (all the speciality teas – apparently the biggest tea range in Edinburgh) – the prices are often cheaper than anywhere else.

New Leaf Co-Op

New Leaf Co-Op is an employee-owned vegetarian shop in the Marchmont area of the city where you can scoop and refill dried produce such as nuts and pulses, getting a discount if you bring your own container! It also stocks, where possible, local produce, such as bread, honey, eggs, fruit, vegetables, and more.

Real Foods

Real Foods has two locations in Edinburgh – Broughton St and Tollcross. Broughton St is the largest, however, the Tollcross store is a bit of a rabbit warren! Here you can pick up all sorts of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free foodstuffs, as well as organic fruit and veg, and beers and wines. This is on top of its well-stocked range of eco-friendly cleaning products and personal care products. It’s one of my favourite places to stock up.


Independent and Secondhand Books

Purple shop front of the Rare Birds independent book shop in Edinburgh
C/O Rare Birds Bookshop

Edinburgh is lucky to have a good selection of independent and secondhand bookshops:

Armchair Books

Armchair Books is a secondhand and antiquarian bookshop on West Port. Dog-friendly, you can bring your pooch in whilst you browse its wonderful selection of books.

Edinburgh Books

Edinburgh Books has a vast selection of secondhand books in its warren of a shop! I can attest to the claim on its website when it says “Just when you think you’ve scanned every shelf you find the stairs and realise there are four rooms in the basement”. It’s a book lover’s delight.

The Edinburgh Bookshop

The Edinburgh Bookshop is a lovely independent bookshop in Bruntsfield, that is very family-friendly. My kids love a browse in here. Look out for Miss Betty, the adorable shop dog, who loves cuddles!

Golden Hare Books

Golden Hare Books is a wonderful independent bookshop in St Stephen Street in Stockbridge that’s always a treat to visit. Open 7 days a week, it offers a 10% discount for members and runs a monthly book group too.

Lighthouse Books

Lighthouse Books is an independent radical bookshop and publisher specialising in modern politics, socialism, and radical history. As a queer-owned and woman-led independent community bookshop, Lighthouse says it is an unapologetically activist, intersectional, feminist, antiracist, lgbtq+ community space. In 2020 it was deservedly nominated as Scotland’s Best Independent Bookshop.

McNaughtan’s Books

McNaughtan’s is the oldest secondhand bookshop in Scotland, and also has a nice wee art gallery attached to it. Find it on Haddington Place on Leith Walk.

Tills

Tills is a really lovely little secondhand bookshop in Newington, packed full of a wide range of books. It’s best known for its rare books collection – which the shop refers to as its ‘beautiful book collection’.

My top tip is to buy a book from Tills, and then walk across the road to the Meadows, and sit in the sunshine reading. A perfect afternoon if ever there was one!

Tills also has a shop in Portobello, that I’ve not been to yet, but I’ve only heard good things!

Rare Birds Books

Rare Birds Books in Stockbridge is a place to discover great books written by great women. This fun and friendly store is on a mission to champion female authors and help you discover brilliant books you’d never have otherwise heard of.  And if you have a dog, then you’ll be pleased to here that dogs are not only welcomed here but strongly encouraged!


Sustainable Gift Shops

Shopfront of Edinburgh Natural Skincare
C/O Edinburgh Natural Skincare

Edinburgh has a great selection of ethical gift shops that are well worth a browse:

Curiouser & Curiouser

Curiouser and Curiouser have two sites across Edinburgh – one on Broughton St and one in Bruntsfield. Supportive of local designers, the majority of its stock is sourced from British designers and artists. The stores also stock ethical homewares brand Nkuku, as well as other ethical brands. It’s one of my favourite shops in the city to pick up gorgeous gifts.

Flux

A funky little gift shop on Bernard St, Flux says that anything not made in the UK will be sourced from only the most ethical of overseas companies. Find lovely reusable water bottles, stylish sustainable backpacks, ethical jewellery, eco homewares and more.

One World Shop

One World Shop is probably one of Edinburgh’s oldest ethical shops. Based in St Johns Church on Princes St, it sells a wide range of Fair Trade products and is a great spot for finding unique ethical gifts.

The Cat’s Miaou

The Cat’s Miaou on Elm Row, near Leith Walk sells a mix of fair trade, ethical, and locally made gifts. It’s always a delight to browse this beautiful shop.

Garvald Makers Shop

Social care charity Garvald runs its Garvald Makers Shop in Morningside. Stocking items made by its members, including ceramics, glass work, jewellery, textiles, crafted wooden items, and, original art, its profits go back into its main work of supporting people with learning disabilities.

Edinburgh Natural Skincare

If you are looking for zero-waste gift ideas in Edinburgh, then Edinburgh Natural Skincare on Cockburn St and Victoria St is a veritable treat for the senses. From solid shampoo and conditioner bars to gorgeous solid hand cream bars, and glass jars full of moisturisers and other treats for the skin, this is the place to go in the city.

These beautiful handmade products are made in Scotland with only 100% natural ingredients and the purest essential oils.

Red Door Gallery, situated on beautiful Rose Street, is a great little shop packed full of art, jewellery and accessories from independent designers and artists. 


Miscellaneous

Ethical shopping in Edinburgh doesn’t stop there. Here are some places I haven’t been neatly able to classify but are well worth a visit:

Soul Cycles

If you are looking to get around the city sustainably, Soul Cycles in Tollcross sells refurbished secondhand bikes (as well as new bikes) at affordable prices.

The Bike Station

The Bike Station in Newington and Gorgie Road is another great set of shops that sell refurbished secondhand bikes – both for kids and adults – as well as secondhand bike bits. You can even pop along to learn how to fix your own bike.

The Buggy Repair Centre

Got a broken buggy? Don’t bin it! The Buggy Repair Centre in Stockbridge will sort you out sustainably. If your buggy is looking a bit grubby, you can even have it valeted. Whether it’s been in storage, bought second-hand or just needs a freshen-up, the centre’s steam cleaning system will have it gleaming in no time!

The Edinburgh Remakery

The Edinburgh Remakery, in Leith, is the place to go for refurbished IT equipment. This social enterprise is committed to diverting waste from landfill, impressively saving around 39 tonnes of electronics from landfill each year. On top of that, the friendly team can even teach you how to sew, mend and fix computers!

Map

To make life as easy as possible for you, I’ve put together this map with all the shops featured in this guide.

Please note that I’ve not included charity shops in this Edinburgh Ethical Shopping Guide, as someone has already put together an Edinburgh Charity Shop Map, and I didn’t want to replicate its work. Edinburgh also has a lot of charity shops and I thought it might overwhelm the map!

This guide and map are definitely a work in progress, so if you can think of any to add then do let me know in the comments below!

And don’t live near Edinburgh? Do check out my guide to the best ethical clothing brands, where you can shop online.

Found this post useful? Please consider buying me a virtual coffee to help support the site’s running costs.

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