Reduce: Zero Waste Shopping
Zero Waste Shops focus on reducing the amount of packaging that goes into our waste stream by encouraging reusable materials throughout their stores. They often have bulk items like soaps, shampoos, detergents, oils, grains, beans, and other dried goods available for refill in your own containers.
Below are just a few Zero Waste Shops in the Northeast LA area. Although our Zero Waste Team's focus is on Northeast Los Angeles, we want everyone to have access to zero waste stores throughout California, so if you are out of our "zone" we have linked an amazing blog resource called Litterless at the bottom that includes bulk/zero waste stores throughout California and beyond!
Sustain LA is a woman-owned social enterprise providing zero waste event services and a refill station for your zero waste living in Los Angeles.
re_ is a package-free grocery store located in Los Angeles. They make it easier and more affordable to shop sustainably. To do better than recycling.
BESTIES Vegan Paradise is the first and only vegan marketplace in the country to sell products exclusively from 100% vegan brands, and has a zero waste shop attached to it.
The Refillery L.A. is the first mobile refill store in the U.S. built in a van. They currently service West Los Angeles neighborhoods by offering bulk refills, as well as their first brick-and-mortar location in the West Adams neighborhood.
A blog about simple and imperfect zero waste. This site is a good resource that has helpful bulk buying guides and compost guides broken up by counties in each state.
Farmer's markets are often great places to shop in a Zero Waste way. Shopping at farmer's markets is shopping for local, in-season, produce. By bringing your own bags, you are eliminating single-use plastics, including things like berries and other products often only found in plastic.
Other Grocery Stores
Most grocery stores have options to buy items with less packaging, or packaging that is more recyclable than plastic. Shopping loose produce with your own bag, or shopping at the deli counter with your own container can make any grocery store into a zero-waste store.