Eco-friendly Retail Stores

A few years ago when ‘green living’ was regarded as the preserve of hippies and tree huggers, buying eco-friendly products was quite a challenge. Over recent years, however, the importance of environmentally friendly living is becoming more widely understood and green living is becoming incorporated into mainstream life.

Buying Eco-friendly Products

It wasn’t many years ago when a trip to a grocery store would offer little in the way of eco-friendly alternatives. Aerosols would contain cfc’s, packaging was not recyclable, plastic carrier bags were not biodegradable and the list goes on.

Today, there are many eco-friendly alternatives and most main street stores will offer a range of products. Eco-friendly products cover the whole spectrum from clothing, through food and household, furniture and even cars. As traditional stores become more eco-friendly, a wider range of products will be stocked bringing green living further into all walks of life. There are many eco-friendly retail stores selling the spectrum of products.

Finding Eco-friendly Retail Stores

There are many specialist stores that sell green products. Whole food and natural living stores often sell an extensive range of eco-friendly products. A quick search of the internet will identify local specialist stores. These stores are complimented by other retails stores and outlets.

Online

In addition to brick and mortar stores, there are also websites specializing in eco-friendly products. These offer a wide range of products including some hard to find items. There is an argument against buying from internet stores and instead buying locally, thus reducing the miles a product has traveled before its end destination. As with so many aspects of green living, this is very much a personal decision.

Some eco-friendly internet stores:

• EcoChoices.com
• GreenHome.com
• GreenLivingNow.com

Eco-friendly Clothing

Eco-friendly clothing can be as stylish and fashionable as conventionally produced clothes. Desirable brands such as Edun (run by Ali Hewson and Bono with New York clothing designer Rogan Gregory) feature eco-friendly and fair trade clothes.

There are many clothes for adults and children that are made using organic fabrics. Organic fabrics have been manufactured from fibers that have been grown to meet strict standards. These standards ensure that no environmentally harmful practices have been used during both the growing and the manufacturing process.

Eco-friendly Grocery Products

Buying eco-friendly in a main street store is becoming increasingly easy. Even items such as meat trays are often bio-degradeable, making these a more attractive option for the green consumer. Environmentally friendly detergents and other household products are featured along side conventional products. Brands such as Ecover are widely known.

Furniture

Eco-friendly furniture includes wooden products that use timber from a sustainable source. Public awareness about the issues regarding deforestation has resulted in many sustainable wood generating projects.

Furniture using reclaimed wood is also extremely eco-friendly, and many artisan carpenters and furniture makers specialize in creating one off pieces using recycled materials. Reclaimed floorboards have a natural patina and look which can only be achieved with years of wear. Some fantastic items of furniture are made using these materials.

Many artisan furniture makers use reclaimed timber in their work and craft markets or galleries can be a good source of information about local makers.

Other Eco-friendly Products

Eco-friendly products can be found in a variety of other places too. Car show rooms will often feature hybrid cars that are becoming a viable alternative for someone looking to lead a more green lifestyle.

Building supply stores sometimes sell reclaimed materials providing something a little unique while also saving the energy required to make the item from virgin materials.

Eco-friendly Store Buildings

It is not just the products which are becoming increasingly green. In an interesting move, stores such as Wal-Mart are developing green credentials through eco-friendly store buildings. The first Wal-Mart ‘experimental’ store opened in 2005. The building has its own wind turbine producing around five percent of the store's energy. Also mooted is a rainwater pond which will provide 95 percent of the water needed for irrigation. Some of the other initiatives include waterless urinals in customer bathrooms and recycling cooking oil from the deli department to help heat the building. The Wal-Mart website has a lot of interesting information about the project.

Other stores are also developing eco-friendly buildings -- Best Buy, Target and Home Depot are just three that have recently announced green initiatives regarding their store buildings.

Tips for Eco-friendly Buying

• Look at the label and see where the product was made. The less miles the product has traveled, the smaller the environmental cost.

• If the store doesn’t stock an eco-friendly alternative, ask for one! If stores know that there is a demand they will increase their range.

• Don’t forget to recycle. Packaging and bags are often the result of a shopping trip, don’t forget to recycle these items.

With an increasing number of eco-friendly products available, becoming a green living consumer is a real possibility. As more stores become eco-friendly, the easier the green shopping experience becomes.