This Beautiful Online Marketplace is Making Sustainable Shopping Easier Than Ever with Their Product Evaluation System
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Shades of Green Uses A Strict Evaluation System Before Adding Any Products to Their Sustainable Marketplace
While I’ve featured several stores on this blog with high standards for sustainable goods, I don’t think any place does it quite like Shades of Green. Their guidelines cover every aspect of a product’s life, so you can feel completely confident you are receiving a quality, lasting product that is kind to the planet and its people.
A Little History of Shades of Green
Founded by Angela Wade, Shades of Green was created to bring design sensibility and brand trust to the sustainable marketplace. Starting at a young age, Angela has approached life from a holistic perspective after facing some health challenges. Her holistic lifestyle prompted the opening of Shades of Green with a proprietary Product Evaluation System. This system was her way to educate consumers who were shopping for sustainable products while helping support healthier lifestyles.
Aesthetics is Never Compromised for a Sustainable Product
An unfortunate stigma sustainable products have received a lot in the past is that they aren’t as beautiful as conventional products. These notions were a big reason I started Sustainably Chic. I wanted to show others sustainability & aesthetics can effortlessly intertwine. So naturally, it was very easy for me to gravitate towards Shades of Green. Not only are their products healthy and eco-friendly, but they are beautiful, too. Just a few seconds on their website, you can already tell how much thought is behind their curations. Presenting sustainability in this type of light makes it much more inviting.
What is their Product Evaluation System?
I keep mentioning their Product Evaluation System, but I want to break it down for you so you can understand the complete picture. This system feels like the gold standard for allowing a product in a sustainable marketplace.
Each product is evaluated on a scale from 1-5, with 1 being ‘healthier and greener than most mainstream products’ and a 5 ‘exceptional eco-friendly products that meet all our evaluation criteria and epitomize earth-friendly design, materials, manufacturing, and performance’. So know that all of their products are already very conscious and sustainable, and that sustainability is then scaled.
They created this system because they understand most consumers don’t have time to do research when purchasing a new product for their home. As someone who has written about sustainable brands for over seven years, I can tell you it truly does take a lot of work to figure out what brands are actually sustainable and which ones are greenwashing. You can read more about the topic of greenwashing and why it can make shopping so complicated. This is where online stores like Shades of Green come in handy. They do all the work for you and are as transparent as they can possibly be with the shopper.
The 5 Life Stages of a Product
Have you ever thought about the life stages of a product you’ve bought? The life stages start at the very beginning from when a product is created to the end of its life.
These stages are 1) Sourcing, 2) Manufacturing, 3) Shipping, 4) Use & Performance, and 5) Lifecycle. I love how Shades of Green breaks down questions with each of these stages -
Sourcing: Where do the materials come from? Are any of them toxic to humans or the planet? How?
Manufacturing: Is the process for making the product safe for humans and the environment? Does the manufacturer have sustainable practices in place?
Shipping: How far does the product have to travel to get to the consumer? What kind of materials are used to package the product?
Use & Performance: Does the product perform as required or designed? Has it been designed for long-term use or simply one-time use?
Lifecycle: Was the product designed for recyclability? Can the product or its parts be reused as something else?
These are all the stages Shades of Green looks at when adding a new product to their site. By understanding each of these stages, you can make a better-educated purchasing decision when shopping sustainably.
Their Sustainable Product Categories
Now that we have gone through their Product Evaluation System let’s talk about the actual products they have chosen to add to their marketplace.
Shades of Green is broken down into 6 categories:
On the Go: Features zero-waste everyday items.
Home Decor: Features sustainable goods like blankets, throw pillows, baskets.
Bed & Bath: Carries over from home decor but also features eco-friendly bed sheets.
Indoor & Outdoor Living: Features products you can easily move in and out of the home. Great for outdoor entertaining.
Kitchen & Dining: Features eco-friendly products like cookware, serving bowls & utensils, and dinnerware.
Wedding Gift Ideas: Features products from their other categories that would make the perfect sustainable wedding gift.
Our Favorite Sustainable Products for the Home
Rechargeable Candle & Grill Lighter
I am all for adding as many zero-waste alternatives to our home as possible, and this rechargeable lighter is the perfect product for my candle-loving self. This lighter comes with a lithium-ion battery that can be charged by simply hooking up a USB to the computer. You’ll know it is completely charged up and ready to go once the green light disappears. The lighter uses plasma lighting technology, so you don’t have to refill it. Plus, it’s meant to last forever, and they are shipped in recyclable packaging.
Alpaca Indigo & Gold Throw
I love to get cozy on the couch with a super soft blanket, and this one looks luxurious! Alpaca is one of the best fibers to have in a blanket because they are hypoallergenic, smooth as silk, have moisture-wicking properties, and naturally insulating cores. This particular blanket is made from small batches of alpaca yarn sourced in the Highlands of Peru. They even repurpose yarns that are wasted during production!
Beeswax Candles
Are you looking for classic taper candles for your home? These Greentree Home Candles found at Shades of Green are hand-poured from 100% pure North American beeswax and individually finished in central New York state without any added fragrance! As someone who loves candelabras, tapers are a staple in our home, and I trust Shades of Green to find the best quality there is! You can also find beeswax votive & tealight candle sets.
Our Favorite Sustainable Products for Kitchen & Dining
Cast Iron Skillet
This is a gorgeous cast iron skillet made from 40% recycled cast iron!! This food-safe, 10-inch skillet from Kana Lifestyle is sustainably considered from manufacturing to the consumer. This brand offers several cookware options and participates in 1% for the planet, and is currently going through the application process to become a B-Corp brand (you can find more information on this sustainable certification here).
Palm Fiber Line Placemat
The aesthetic these placemats bring to the dinner table is just lovely. I love a natural-looking product because it feels like it brings nature into the home. These placemats are Handmade from Iraca palm fibers in Colombia, sourced locally by the artisans and families in the region. Myto (the brand who creates these placemats) combines cultural traditions and quality craftsmanship while creating local jobs and supporting the Colombian artisanal economy.
Live Edge Cutting Board
Years ago, I learned the plastic cutting boards I used for years were not ideal for kitchen use. We all know the toxicity of plastic, but it’s especially important to stay away from it in the kitchen. This cutting board is what you should be using! Made from 100% upcycled wood and natural oils, this cutting board by Spencer Peterman is made to last. Sometimes words like ‘recycled’ and ‘upcycled’ can feel like a product doesn’t have the best materials, but that is definitely not the case here. This brand sources wastewood from local woodworkers in their town of Gill, Massachusetts, and hand-craft a beautiful range of kitchen goods.
Shades of Green Also Offers Sustainable Design Services
Ellen Strickland is their LEED-accredited Chief Sustainability Officer and Co-Designer and is there to help you with your sustainable home designs. From just a simple update to a big home remodel, you can make an appointment - here - to start discussing your future plans!
We look forward to chatting more with Shades of Green about sustainable interior design soon, and bringing back all the knowledge and great tips to you!
The Rewards Program
Want to earn money to shop at Shades of Green? Click here to sign up to become a Rewards member. This program enables you to give your friends a $10 coupon to join Shades of Green Rewards. If they join and make a purchase, you'll get $10 added to your account for your next order! Such an easy way to save money on beautiful, sustainable products.
Click - here - to shop Shades of Green's entire sustainable online marketplace and follow them on - Instagram - to stay up-to-date with beautiful new sustainable products.
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