Where To Shop Sustainably In London

SOUTH

BYO

Based in Tooting Market, BYO encourages its customers to bring their own containers including bottles, jars and bags to fill with household essentials. Stocking whole foods, household detergents and toiletries, you can find a comprehensive list of products on their website before heading down. Opening times can also be found online – be sure to check first, as the store isn’t open seven days a week. 

21-23 Tooting High Street, Tooting, SW17 0SN

Visit BYO.London

BYO Grocery

This Nunhead-based outlet has a sister household store just around the corner, so you can stock up on all your food and household items in one go – all without the plastic packaging. Providing quality, organic-focused grains, pulses, nuts and dried fruits, pickles and spices, plus cleaning products, body care and beauty essentials, shoppers can use reusable containers and weighing scales to buy just the amount they need, in turn reducing their environmental footprint and cutting down on food waste.    

32 Nunhead Green, Nunhead, SE15 3QF and 147 Evelina Road, Nunhead, SE15 3HB

Visit BringYourOwnUK.com

Gather

Those in the Peckham area should head to Gather, where you’ll be able to find all your necessities – from food to cleaning products and toiletries. Open six days a week, Tuesday to Sunday, and close to Peckham Rye station, the store has dedicated weighing and filling stations available for each of the three shoppers allowed in at one time, keeping it Covid safe.

121 Bellenden Road, Peckham, SE15 4QY

Visit WeAreGather.co.uk

Naked Larder 

Having launched Naked Larder in January 2018 after feeling fed up with packaging waste, founder Phili Denning’s aim is to provide a place where people can come to source grocery and household items, but with minimal packaging. Choosing ethical and sustainable suppliers, Naked Larder says it strives to connect like-minded people who wish to do their part to minimise the impact humans are having on the environment.

78 Herne Hill, Brixton, SE24 9QP

Visit NakedLarder.co.uk

Common

Set in the historic Grade II-listed Dean Pharmacy, Common Café + Shop is a hub for sustainability and design. Using local and organic produce in its neighbouring café, the carefully curated store offers handpicked collections of homeware, furniture and gifts – all of which promote local craftmanship. Bonus – well-behaved dogs are also welcome, or you can shop online if you don’t live nearby.

17 The Pavement, Clapham, SW4 0HY

Visit WeAreCommon.co.uk

Beetroot + Beans

Selling vegan food, store cupboard essentials and cleaning products, head down to neighbourhood store Beetroot + Beans in Forest Hill with your own containers to save on plastic waste. Opening times are regularly posted on the shop’s Instagram page, with deliveries available for those in the local community.

57A Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill, SE23 3HN

Follow @BeetrootBeans

NORTH

Earth Natural Foods

Up in Kentish Town, you’ll find this store full of organic, vegetarian wholefoods and ecological household goods. With fresh bread, honey, homemade takeaways, oils, dried fruits, organic champagnes, wines and beers, artisan cheeses, dairy produce, toiletries, plus loose teas, coffees, nuts, seeds, beans, grains, herbs and spices, supplements, herbal and homeopathic remedies, it’s fair to say you’ll be spoilt for choice. 

200 Kentish Town Road, Kentish Town, NW5 2AE

Visit EarthNaturalFoods.co.uk

Harmless Store

A vegan, minimal-packaging grocery shop based in Crouch End, the goal at Harmless Store is to help you lead a more ethical lifestyle. Founded by Tami Jarvis in 2018, long-term customers might remember the first shop inside the Yellow Shed in Wood Green. Having now expanded to larger premises along Tottenham Lane, the store has been forced to go online in light of the global pandemic. 

79 Tottenham Lane, Crouch End, N8 9BE

Visit HarmlessStore.co.uk

Patoka

Having now left their existing Wembley venue, Patoka is due to open its newer – larger – location any day now. Once it does, bring your old containers and fill them with eco-friendly products and – best of all – only pay for what you actually need. Selling tea, coffee, oil, vinegar, dried foods, toiletries, cleaning products and other items that will make it easier for you to reduce your reliance on plastic, you’ll also be able to pick up reusable water bottles, coffee cups and more. For now, a home delivery option is also available within certain London postcodes. 

Visit Patoka.co.uk

EAST

Get Loose Foods

At Hackney City Farm in east London, just inside the main gate on the right-hand side you’ll find Get Loose Foods – a social enterprise providing quality organic foods at competitive prices, without the disposable packaging. With a variety of dry and fresh foods for sale, there’s also a 10% discount on offer for all NHS workers. 

Hackney City Farm, Hackney, E2 8QA

Visit GetLooseFoods.com

Bulk Market

Even the at-home delivers from Hackney’s Bulk Market are completely waste free – but you can also pay them a visit in store to top up on all your essentials without the unnecessary packaging. Customers visiting the shop will be asked to weigh their empty containers before attaching a sticker to their container, ensuring they only pay for product by weight, regardless of the type of vessel they choose to bring with them. A second weight label will tell the cashier exactly what you owe. Otherwise, shop the full selection online (and order minimum of £20 applies) for home delivery within certain postcodes. 

Arch 6, Bohemia Place, Hackney, E8 1DU

Visit BulkMarket.uk

Re:Store 

Having opened the doors to Re:Store in Hackney Downs Studios in 2019, owner Megan wants customers to bring their own containers (anything from jam jars to sandwich bags) to refill with the range of products and just pay by weight. While aiming to reduce the use of plastic and our overall impact on the planet, Megan aims to create a strong sense of community by hosting events and sharing information and being inclusive and accessible with pricing. Many of the products are sourced from local Hackney suppliers, while all of the household cleaning and personal care products are free from SLS and parabens, and are vegan, cruelty free and made in the UK.

17 Amhurst Terrace, Hackney, E8 2BT

Visit RestoreRefill.co.uk

SWOP

Selling organic, Fairtrade, local (where possible) ingredients which are as ethically sourced as possible, all the produce sold at SWOP (Shop Without Packaging) is vegetarian or vegan. Bring your own container, weigh it, fill it and pay for the contents only. Run by mothers and co-founders Jess and Claire, you’ll find everything here from fruits and vegetables, to dental products.

7 Burnt Ash Road, Lee Green, SE12 8RG

Visit Swop.Market

WEST

The Refill Larder

Open seven days a week between 10am-5:30pm, The Refill Larder also offers home delivery and a click and collect service within a three-mile radius of Teddington high street. The dry goods section includes organic store cupboard essentials such as rice, pasta, cereals, grains, nuts and seeds, while the dedicated bathroom section sells cruelty-free vegan shampoos, soaps, deodorants and hand soap. Meanwhile, the online store offers a carefully selected range of bathroom, household and lifestyle products. 

122 High Street, Teddington, TW11 8JB

Visit Refill-Larder.co.uk

The Source

Whether you’re a foodie or looking to reduce the waste in your daily shop, head to Chiswick’s The Source to discover more than 450 different kinds of bulk foods including organic wholefoods, cooking liquids and oils, healthy snacks and sustainable personal and household products. All items are plastic free to make your zero-waste journey easier, with plenty of proceeds donated to worthy causes including Sea Shepherd, an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organisation. Not in west London? The Source also has outlets in Battersea, West Hampstead and even Brighton.

Various locations

Visit TheSourceBulkFoods.co.uk

Zéro

Zéro founders Alicia and Josh believe that with a little help, everyone can consume more responsibly – which is why they set up their independent shop dedicated to the zero-waste lifestyle. All products are sold in bulk or without disposable packaging and, where possible, come from organic or fair-trade farming and from local producers. Simply bring your own containers with you (all shapes and sizes are welcome) and fill them to the level you want. Not sure where to start? The store all offers starter zero-waste kits, complete with reusable tote bags, water bottles and glass storage jars.

14 Watermill Way, Wimbledon, SW19 2RD

Visit TheZeroShop.com

CENTRAL

Fareshares

A non-profit community project stocking simple wholefoods and related products, Fareshares was set up by a group local volunteers in 1988, and continues to be so to this day. Offering grains, beans and pulses, fresh bread, fruit and veg, dried fruit and nuts and other food and household products, nearly everything is organic, bought in bulk and sold as cheaply as possible. With no wages to pay, there’s only a small margin added to help cover running costs. Just remember to bring your own containers with you.

56 Crampton Street, Walworth, SE17 3AE

Visit Fareshares.org.uk

As Nature Intended

With various location across the capital, customers will be able to find newly installed bulk and refill stations at their local As Nature Intended store (bar Westfield Stratford). Buy as much or as little as you need by using its recyclable, reduced plastic bags, or the paper bags available in the produce department. Should you wish to use your own containers, the team is happy for you to do so, although the weight of your containers will be included in the calculation of price. Ecover refill stations allow customers to top up on washing up liquid, laundry liquid, fabric softener and cleaning soap.

Various locations

Visit AsNatureIntended.UK.Com

Planet Organic

Planet Organic fans will know you can now refill various items at five of its stores, enabling you to buy loose products free from all packaging – giving you an easy way of cutting down on unnecessary waste and emissions, as well as saving you money. If you need them, there are recycled paper bags on hand, although customers are encouraged to bring their own containers. 

Various locations

Visit PlanetOrganic.com