9+ Amazon Alternatives for Effortless Ethical E-Shopping

With the click of a button, you can opt for more sustainable, convenient, and budget-friendly buys that don’t come with a significant hidden cost to the planet and the people on it.

We’ve gathered up a list of some pretty prime options that we think you’ll find to be better in so many ways.

If you need more on why you should ditch Amazon, head to the end of this article where we give a little summary of reasons to boycott Amazon.

Public Goods offer cruelty free personal care, refillable or biodegradable household cleaning essentials, home décor, gifts, and a huge selection of grocery items and pet food.

Say goodbye to Prime Days savings and hello to Public Goods’ “surplus” section, reducing unsold product waste.

Why Public Goods Is Better Than Amazon

Public Goods packaging consists of glass jars, recycled paper, or compostable bioplastics. They’re also opt for non-toxic, cruelty-free ingredients and offset their shipping emissions.

They prioritize ethical sourcing from more responsible manufactures and for every order, they plant a tree. They also donate additional funds to local food banks and Feeding America.

Regardless of what you need, chances are you’ll find it on EarthHero.

That’s partly because of their huge selection of kitchen and beauty products, travel and outdoor gear, school supplies and stationary, accessories, baby products, pet products, cleaning supplies, gifts, and more

With hundreds of partner brands (and growing), this is the closest sustainable platform alternative to Amazon.

Why EarthHero Is Better Than Amazon

EarthHero is a member of 1% for the Planet. They partner only with vetted brands that prioritize ethical manufacturing and non-toxic ingredients.

EarthHero’s sustainability icons help you choose brands and products that align with your values, whatever they may be.

Etsy is aiming to “Keep Commerce Human”. Their maker-to-peer marketplace is home to more than 2.5 million sellers—you can find anything under the sun.

They’re also an excellent resource for vintage finds, edible goodies, beauty products, and just about anything else you can imagine.

Why Etsy Is Better Than Amazon

Etsy supports small independent businesses and artisans. You can find sellers who align with your values through Etsy’s extensive filtering feature.

Word of caution though, Etsy has faced some criticism in recent years for allowing drop shipping so you do need to keep your wits about you (watch our video on this here).

Etsy also offsets 100% of carbon emissions from shipping and data centers.

All Natural Collection offers a collection of, well, all natural skincare, makeup, hair, bath and body, and wellness products.

Their range includes some low impact favorites including Axiology, 100% Pure, and Mokosh Skincare.

Why All Natural Collection Is Better Than Amazon

Many products feature 100% natural or certified organic and easily recognizable ingredients, while some use safe synthetics. They have a strong focus on ingredient transparency.

Most offerings are vegan, except for a select few that contain sustainable bee products or carmine. They only offer cruelty free products.

eBay Refurbished is the sustainable solution to all our gadget needs.

Just like the rest of the site, eBay refurbished sells gently used (or sometimes unused open box) products, except these have been professionally restored to give you extra peace of mind that they’ll actually work.

From appliances to cell phones, you can shop by either condition, brand, or item type in electronics or home and garden categories.

Why eBay Refurbished Is Better Than Amazon

Buying secondhand is always a better option to buying new. eBay refurbished helps extend the lifespan of technology products.

eBay also does a better job of promoting responsible consumption (or at least not overpromoting consumption).

Urbankissed offers ethically-made inclusive clothing, jewelry, and accessories.

Don’t think that means a lack of selection, however. With 10,000+ products—from jumpsuits to hoodies and handbags—there’s something to fit everyone.

Non-fashion offerings include beauty products and homewares.

About Urbankissed Is Better Than Amazon

Using their Slow & Ethical Index, Urbankissed analyzes potential partners on a variety of environmental and social impact measures, like ethical sourcing and fair trade production.

This means prioritizing vegan and/or small-batch makers.

Many brands give back and offset their footprint, which Urbankissed adds to by planting a tree for every sale and subscriber to their newsletter.

UK based, Ethical Superstore is exactly that: a massive online mecca of ethical and eco-friendly products.

Their vast range encompasses fashion, and personal care, eco-friendly cleaning, home, garden, pet, grocery, gift, and baby products.

Why Ethical Superstore Is Better Than Amazon

Ethical Super stores ships with plastic-free, recycled/recyclable materials.

While they prioritize local brands, Ethical Superstore has plenty of global maker partners, all of which must operate in accordance with their code of conduct and modern slavery statement.

Some products are handmade by independent makers while others come from larger brands, but you can “Add to Cart” in peace knowing they’re all ethically approved by Ethical Superstore.

You can search for products based on your values (e.g. recycled, fair trade, vegan, and/or certified organic).

Gazelle offers a platform to buy and sell used iPhones, Samsung phones, Google phones, iPads, Macbooks, and other personal devices.

Each product is certified pre-owned, fully refurbished, and must pass a rigorous 30-point inspection before resale.

Not only does shopping here keep perfectly functional devices out of the landfill, but saves you up to 40% of the cost of buying new.

Why Gazelle Is Better Than Amazon

Gazelle calls itself a “reCommerce company” and they’ve now helped recirculate millions of electronic devices.

They’re Better Business Bureau accredited and don’t accept products reported as lost or stolen.

Aside from offering a worry-free way to buy used electronics, they make the selling process easy via instant quotes, no contracts, and payment in cash.

For exceptionally designed and ethically-sourced goods, Made Trade is the way to go.

Perusing their beautifully curated collection of accessories, ethical furniture, bedding, curtains, kitchenware, cookware clothing, shoes, and gifts, you can see they’re in a conscious class of their own.

Why Made Trade Is Better Than Amazon

This woman-owned, family-run company is serious about its values: fair wages, sustainability, artistry, and quality craftsmanship come before consumption and profits.

As a member of 1% for the Planet, their annual profit-sharing contribution goes to the regenerative textile organization Fibershed.

Not only that, but they’re certified Carbon Neutral and offset both outbound shipping and returns.

For those wanting to support domestic business and find ethical alternatives to Amazon in the USA, their made-in-the-USA products should help.

Our entire website is based around offering helpful, more conscious shopping choices. Here’s a long summary list of additional alternatives to consider by product category or type:

General Marketplaces:

Take a look at our shopping guide here and the following marketplaces:

• DoneGood: Ethical shopping with vetted brands
• BuyMeOnce: Long-lasting, durable products to ultimately reduce waste
• Thrive Market: Organic and sustainable groceries

Groceries & Food:

Check out our zero waste bulk store guides by city here and online options here below:

• Imperfect Foods: Reducing food waste with “imperfect” produce
• Azure Standard: Organic bulk food and natural household items

Fashion, Shoes & Accessories

Oh there’s so many – see our rated brands here, many guides here and thrifting directory here. Here’s a few you may want to check out:

• The Very Good Bra: 100% compostable underwear
• Reformation: Trendy, eco-conscious apparel
• People Tree: Fair trade and sustainable fashion
• Christy Dawn: Upcycled and deadstock fabric dresses
• 8000Kicks: Shoes and accessories made predominantly from hemp
• Thesus: Boots and outdoor shoes

Home & Furniture

See our guides here and take a look at some of these:

• Medley: Non-toxic, sustainable furniture
• West Elm (Sustainable Collection): Eco-conscious furniture and décor
• Avocado: Organic and non-toxic mattresses
• The Citizenry: Artisan-made home goods

Beauty & Personal Care

See our beauty guides here and these:

• Credo Beauty: Clean beauty and skincare
• Detox Market: Natural and organic beauty
• EcoRoots: Sustainable personal care and zero-waste essentials

Electronics, Appliances & Tech

See our personal tech/appliance guides here and these:

• Back Market: Refurbished electronics with a quality guarantee
• Fairphone: Ethically made, repairable smartphones
• House Of Marley: Sustainable music gadgets

Books & Media:

• Bookshop.org: Supports independent bookstores
• ThriftBooks: Used books at affordable prices
• Better World Books: Books that support literacy programs

E-Book Stores:

• Bookshop.org – Supports independent bookstores while offering e-books
• Libby – Free access to e-books via public libraries
• Google Play Books – No subscription required, supports ePub format
• Apple Books – DRM-free book options available, with seamless iOS integration
• Scribd – Subscription service with a large collection of e-books and audiobooks
• Kobo Store – DRM-free books available and integrates with Kobo e-readers
• Smashwords – DRM-free e-books from independent authors and publishers
• Project Gutenberg – Free, public-domain books available in multiple formats

E-Readers:

• Kobo
• PocketBook
• Boox
• ReMarkable
• Onyx Boox

Audiobook Alternatives:

Subscription-Based Audiobook Platforms

• Libro.fm – Supports independent bookstores while offering a large audiobook library. Choose a local bookstore to benefit from each purchase
• Scribd – Subscription service with unlimited access to audiobooks, e-books, and other media
• Kobo Audiobooks – Pay-per-book or monthly subscription service, with DRM-free options
• Google Play Audiobooks – No subscription required, pay per book
• Apple Books Audiobooks – One-time purchases, no subscription required
• Storytel – Subscription-based audiobook service available in select countries, supporting multiple languages

Free Audiobook Alternatives

• Libby – Free audiobooks through public libraries, available with a library card
• Hoopla – Free audiobooks via public libraries with no waitlists
• Project Gutenberg Audiobooks – Free public-domain audiobooks, including classics
• Librivox – Volunteer-recorded audiobooks of public-domain works, completely free
• Internet Archive Audiobooks – Free audiobooks, including old radio shows and literature

Whether out of necessity or boredom, we’ve turned to online retailers for nearly everything.

While an order or two a week (okay maybe six sometimes) may seem benign, the consequences are far from it, especially when you think about SOOOO many people doing the same thing everyday.

Prime may be convenient, but super-fast shipping is associated with significantly higher carbon emissions. “Free” two-day delivery is not really free when you consider the pollution that is generated from ridiculous packaging and unnecessary trips.

Think about each time you’ve opened a big Amazon box to find one tiny item (and tons of plastic airbags).

Additionally, Amazon has face significant criticism over its labor practices, its anticompetitive behavior.

The online shopping landscape has evolved as more alternative platforms are stepping up to fill our virtual carts.

Like Amazon, these shops are doing so by offering a wide selection of goods from various sellers.

But unlike Amazon, they’re pairing that with low or zero waste packaging, carbon offset shipping, ethically vetted partner brands, and prioritizing small businesses.