Sustainable living: 5 ways to shop more sustainably

So you want to be more sustainable, but you’re just not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we are producing a series of blogs to provide information about how we can live more sustainable lives. Firstly, we’re talking about shopping.

With the invention of globalized mass production processes and online shopping, the number of products being produced and purchased daily has exploded. These unsustainable levels of production are hurting us and the planet. Every item made requires a lot of water, oil, raw materials, energy and space to store it.

The most frustrating thing is that a lot of what we buy, we don’t actually need. We simply shop as a pastime, or to ensure we keep up with ever-changing fashion. Since the invention of plastics in the 1950’s our society has been plagued by a throwaway living mindset. We are stuck in a pattern of buying things and then throwing them away. For example, 85% of all clothes bought each year end up in landfill. In the UK, the average 10-year-old has over 300 toys and yet only plays with 12 of them.

For all these reasons and more, we need to change our relationship to shopping. We need to put sustainability and environmental impact at the heart of how and why we shop. We know that you can’t just stop buying everything, and there will always be items, be it clothes or household goods, that you have to use and buy. That’s why we’ve put together five simple things you can do to shop in more sustainable ways.

“If you make sustainability a key factor in your shopping choices, you are sure to change how you shop and why.”

1. Ditch fast fashion. When shopping, buy it for life.

We can all understand the desire to keep costs low, but we have to remember to factor in the long-term economic and environmental cost of cheap products. Cheap products are more likely to be made using unsustainable practices, resulting in environmental damage and pollution, and are often made by underpaid or even exploited workers. The use of cheap materials and fast automated production processes inevitably impacts the longevity of the product, meaning it’s more likely to break, rip or stop functioning within a couple of years, or less. This means you’re forced to buy the thing again, again and again, with each previous iteration ending up in a landfill.

Instead of buying things with the mindset of “buy it cheap, buy it often” we can think more about “buy quality and buy it for life.” The Buy it For Life movement has been popularized in recent years with threads on Reddit where users document products they’ve had for years that are still functioning, or recommend high-quality brands to others looking to “buy it for life.” Next time you need to buy something, if possible, spend some time researching the best quality item you can find. Online reviews and communities like Reddit can be super valuable for honest thoughts on how long a product lasts and how well it functions.

Buying it for life also means taking care of it. Make sure you read about looking after the product you’ve purchased, following best practice advice for washing or maintaining the item. With mounting evidence that modern product designers are either prioritizing profit over quality, or even planning for their products to break so you’ll buy more, you might want to consider choosing something old, over something brand new.

2. Thrift and buy secondhand

It can be difficult – sometimes impossible – to choose to spend a lot on something eco-friendly, if you really need it and you just don’t have the cash. We can’t forget that it’s a privilege to be able to make sustainable choices sometimes. However, there are ways to be sustainable and not break the bank. Thrifting and secondhand shopping have never been easier, with a huge range of non-profit and for-profit thrifting stores and apps available today. From Facebook Marketplace to Value Village, there are plenty of places to explore for the high-quality secondhand item you’re looking for. 

Don’t sleep on good old-fashioned hand-me-downs either. You can raid your relatives’ wardrobes for items that don’t fit them anymore or organize a clothes swap with your friends to exchange clothes or items you no longer like. If you’re looking to give something back to the community at the same time, pay close attention to those thrift stores that make money for charitable organizations, and those that are profit-making companies.

3. Make do, mend and up-cycle

Sometimes you have an item you love and want to keep, but natural wear and tear get the best of it, or it’s no longer suited to your needs. Instead of tossing it away, see if you can amend or fix it first. The ability to sew and fix things used to be considered everyday survival skills, and they could be again. You can find a huge amount of information online about mending and repairing clothes and other items.

YouTube offers plenty of free videos from online creators teaching you everything you need to know about DIY tailoring. You can also explore paid classes on websites like Skillshare if you’re looking to give back to creatives or learn more high-level skills. Instead of throwing those socks away, give it a go at downing them. Rather than tossing out that broken bookshelf, get creative and up-cycle it into something else more useful to you. A quick internet search will provide you with infinite inspiration. Leave a comment on this blog about your latest creation to inspire others.

 If it’s just not the right fit for you, but is otherwise in good condition, donate it to a thrift store or gift it to a friend who could use it. If it really can’t be salvaged, make sure you dispose of it responsibly by recycling whatever materials can be recycled. Every local area has different recycling programs, so make sure you check what can and cannot be recycled near you.

4. Swap plastic for sustainable packaging

We are sure that you, like 97% of Canadian households, sometimes or always use your own reusable bags when shopping, but what about other disposable plastic you might be using? The convenience of so-called ‘disposable’ materials often distracts from the harmful environmental impacts of throwing away large quantities of waste. Although one-time-use plastic and other materials have revolutionized some fields, such as the medical industry, using them once and throwing them away, especially when plastics are difficult to degrade or recycle, is very bad for the planet. Nowhere is this more apparent than with packaging and household items. 

Packaging represents 40% of all global plastic waste. In Canada, food packaging represents one-third of household waste, and less than 20% of it gets recycled. A recent report shows that globally, less than 10% of plastics are recycled, with Plastics for Change arguing that it’s not consumers who are to blame, but rather the fact that most plastics made today aren’t designed to be recycled at all. It’s for this reason that ‘recycle more’ isn’t on this list of tips. Instead, we should be working to reduce the amount of plastics and environmentally unfriendly materials that we use and banish this ‘one-time use’ mindset. 

Here are some sustainability tips: Switch out your temporary use, polyester J-cloth or dishcloths for a more sustainable alternative, like reusable cotton towels or Swedish dishcloths. Change out your throw-away plastic wrap for an ecofriendly alternative or make your own. Invest in a reusable produce bag, instead of using the plastic bags they still offer at the supermarket for fruit and vegetables. Whatever action you take, a little bit less disposable plastic on your shopping list will make a huge difference.

5. Reduce food waste by buying what you need

It’s not just inanimate objects we buy and waste too much of, it’s food too. A report by Second Harvest from 2024 found that almost 50% of all food produced in Canada goes to waste, with most of that being avoidable food waste that could be redirected to people who need it. According to Love Food Hate Waste, 63% of the food Canadian households throw away could have been eaten, representing more than $1,300 CAD worth of food tossed out each year. You can make a difference to these figures simply by reducing the amount of food you throw away. 

Consider buying only the ingredients you need or freezing vegetables and cooked food to preserve them for longer. You can also explore apps like Too Good to Go to save food from being thrown out. Check your cupboards and pantry regularly for tinned food you know you’ll never eat and give it away to food banks before it reaches its best-before date. Start a food sharing table in your building or local community sharing unwanted, still sealed food. Whatever you do to reduce food wastage, you can feel good knowing you are having a positive impact on the planet.

Think about sustainability when you shop

If you make sustainability a key factor in your shopping choices, you are sure to change how you shop and why. Every action has a positive impact on the environment and climate change as a result. Next time you’re shopping, ask yourself: Do I really need this? Can I buy it second-hand or exchange with a friend? Can I make my own? What can I do that is more sustainable for my pocket and the planet?

Ultimately, it’s the mass production processes on which our economies are founded that need to change to make a big difference to global temperature rises. However, in our consumerist society, you have great power as a consumer. What you buy and what you refuse to buy can force businesses to change their practices. 

Got any more tips on shopping sustainably? Share them in the comments below.