9 Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Amazon In The UK To Know
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Looking for eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives to Amazon? Here are nine online sustainable marketplaces in the UK for almost all of your needs.
There are myriad reasons to avoid shopping at Amazon if you can. For a start, it was reported in September 2024 that Amazon paid corporation tax for the first time in four years.
It may sound like a step in the right direction; however the same article points out that Amazon makes more than double the sales of the traditional retailer Marks & Spencer in the UK, but pays less than double the tax.
High street retail chains say Amazon has an unfair advantage as they have to pay high business rates on their physical stores – something that Amazon avoids. It’s been warned that 17,000 shops risk closure over the next 10 years if business rates aren’t overhauled.
And it’s not just the tax issue. Amazon has been linked to human rights abuses. Its business model is based on over-consumption. And the company’s carbon footprint has been calculated as being larger than that of Switzerland. It’s certainly never been a better time to find eco-friendly alternatives to Amazon.
The UK Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Amazon To Know
The good news is that there are lots of great eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives to Amazon out there. These ethical and eco-friendly online shops cater to a wide variety of ethics, budgets, and product requirements. Let’s look at nine of the best out there now:
Ethical Superstore
Ethical Superstore, one of the original stalwarts of the ethical and eco-friendly shopping scene, sells a massive range of eco products.
From fair trade, organic, vegan, and eco-friendly products in practically every category you could ever imagine. You’ll find clothing, toys, food, cleaning products, and more. It is this sheer range of ethical products that makes Ethical Superstore a really strong, sustainable, and eco-friendly Amazon alternative.
What’s reassuring is that each item sold at Ethical Superstore adheres to at least one of Ethical Superstore’s seven key ethics. These are:
- fair trade
- organic
- eco-friendly
- supports education, health & wellness
- is locally produced
- or supports charitable causes.
It would be easy to be overwhelmed by choice. Thankfully, Ethical Superstore allows you to shop by product ethics. Here you can filter products by a huge range of ethics to find the products that suit you.
I often use Ethical Superstore for buying household staples and am always impressed by the use of recycled and repurposed packaging.
Green Tulip
Amazon may be a convenient place to shop for gifts, but Green Tulip is a fantastic sustainable alternative. This online shop is dedicated to offering thoughtful, sustainable and eco-friendly gifts for everyone on your list, at every budget.
Finding the right gift is easy. You can shop Green Tulip’s range of gorgeous, ready-made gift boxes. Alternatively, you can shop by recipient – from new babies through to teachers or grandparents – or by values, interest, occasion or price.
You’ll find everything from reusable homewares and zero-waste essentials. This sits alongside beautifully designed skincare and wellness products from small, ethical brands, and a whole lot more.
Green Tulip also emphasises transparency, ensuring customers understand the impact of their purchases. And packaging is kept as minimal and recyclable as possible.
Bookshop.org
If it’s books that you are after, then Bookshop.org is the place to go. Bookshop.org is an online bookshop that, unlike Amazon, has a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.
You can shop from your local bookshop, or from a specific bookshop, and they’ll receive the full profit from your order.
If you don’t have a specific store in mind that you’d like to support, then your order will contribute to an earnings pool that will be evenly distributed among independent bookshops. In fact, Bookshop.org give away over 75% of its profit margin to stores, publications, and authors.
What’s more, they’re a certified B-Corp. This means that Bookshop.org meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
Bower Collective
For sustainable household and personal care items then try Bower Collective. From refillable products to stylish refill dispensers, and everything health and wellness to sustainable items for your pets, you’ll find a host of green cleaning solutions.
What’s more, every Bower order arrives with a pre-paid envelope so that you can return your empty refill pouches for guaranteed recycling.
For peace of mind, Bower Collective has created the Bower Standard, which all of its products must meet. Through this standard, you can be assured that all of their sustainable products look good, feel good, reduce waste, and are sustainable and effective.
What’s more, every purchase made also helps the Marine Conservation Society protect 1m² of endangered seagrass.
Oxfam Online
The most eco-friendly option is always to shop second-hand. Thankfully, Oxfam Online makes shopping second-hand easy. Here you can pick up a multitude of preloved items – from ladies’, gents, and kids’ clothing and accessories – to books, music, collectables, and more. All in an easy-to-search online catalogue.
As well as the massive second-hand inventory, you can also shop its Sourced by Oxfam range online.
This is an amazing collection of new eco-friendly cleaning products, fairtrade food items, sustainable homewares, ethical gifts and more, that help you live more sustainably. All profits support Oxfam’s work helping to end poverty.
&Keep
Dorset-based &Keep sells a wide range of carefully curated, eco-friendly, reusable, and sustainable products.
If you are looking for plastic-free products in particular, then you’ll be pleased to hear that the majority of &Keep’s products are plastic-free. Where there is plastic, &Keep ensure it’s the BPA-free kind and kept to an absolute minimum.
What’s more, all of &Keep’s products are cruelty-free and not tested on animals. And for extra eco points, all of its packaging is always completely plastic-free and uses recycled materials. &Keep also regularly donates to environmental causes and charitable organisations that work far beyond its reach.
Use the discount code andkeep5 at the checkout for 5% off your order.
Big Green Smile
From make-up and beauty products to natural cleaners and baby care, Big Green Smile is one of the biggest online retailers of natural, organic, cruelty-free, and eco-friendly products in the UK.
I stop by Big Green Smile particularly when I’m looking to buy bulk products, such as washing up liquid or soap. I find the prices really reasonable, and it often runs great promotions.
Big Green Smile says it is extremely picky about the brands it stocks. It doesn’t stand for greenwashing. Its list of banned ingredients is eye-wateringly long. And animal testing is definitely out. This means you can be sure of the provenance of what you buy from Big Green Smile.
It’s incredibly easy to shop at Big Green Smile. You can shop by brand or by value – from plastic-free to vegan products – or simply browse each department to be inspired.
Buy Me Once
If you are looking for an alternative to throwaway culture and planned obsolescence, you need to try Buy Me Once.
This UK online store only sells products that are designed to go the distance, so that you can buy better the first time around.
To ensure everything is made to last, the team carefully examine the products and manufacturing story, and develop meaningful relationships with the makers – only working with brands it trusts.
Find a whole manner of products made to last – from durable clothing for men and women, to home goods, electrical items designed to be repairable, travel accessories, and gifts.
Etikora
Etikora is a UK-based online shop that makes it easy to shop for carefully vetted, truly sustainable products across a wide range of categories. From natural health and beauty products to ethical clothing, alongside green home and garden essentials, and beautiful gifts.
Everything Etikora stocks is guided by its six-point Omission Statement:
- No single-use plastic
- No animal cruelty
- No exploitation of labour
- No harmful chemicals
- No excessive packaging
- No mass production
I’ve worked with Etikora before on a separate sponsored blog post, and I’ve included them here because they genuinely make things I rate. Find out more in Etikora in my introduction to Etikora.
Get 10% off your first purchase when you sign up for the Etikora mailing list.
More Sustainable Shopping Resources
Looking for more sustainable shopping resources? Try these for size:
- How to buy your entire wardrobe ethically.
- The ultimate guide to sustainable gift giving with lots of gift ideas that don’t come from Amazon.
- A handy guide to sustainable shoe brands.
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I’d suggest World of Books https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb They sell second hand books, CDs and DVDs and will also buy yours second hand. They are B Corp and publish an impact report too https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/pages/impact-report
Thanks so much for the recommendation Jenni!