Sustainable living starts at home—and what’s the heart of the home? The kitchen, of course!
We’re turning up the heat with eco-friendly kitchen products that help us cook healthy, nutritious meals without polluting the planet in the process.
By that, we mean ditching disposables in favor of reusable kitchen items, cooking up feasts using non-toxic cookware, serving suppers with ethical dinnerware, and composting the leftovers!
Fortunately, there are a plethora of kitchen products that can help with all of the above. Before you buy new, check your local thrift stores, community pages, and Facebook marketplace for second-hand items.
Each sustainable swap adds up, so give yourself a pat on the back for each one you make.
If you need to buy new, we’ve rounded up eleven of the best types of sustainable kitchen products for pro-planet foodies.
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Index: Eco-Friendly Kitchenware
- Reusable Paper Towels Jump to section
- Beeswax Food Wraps Jump to section
- Food Storage Jump to section
- Plastic-Free Water Bottles & Coffee Cups Jump to section
- Kitchen Utensils & Dinnerware Jump to section
- Cookware & Bakeware Jump to section
- Non-Plastic Coffee Makers Jump to section
- Eco-Friendly Kitchen Appliances Jump to section
- Kitchen Cleaning Products Jump to section
- Compost Bins & Caddies Jump to section
- Reusable Produce Saver Bags Jump to section
Reusable Paper Towels
No single-use item is more pervasive in the kitchen than paper towels.
While you can compost paper towels (provided they’re not soiled with certain things), they’re not recyclable—which means most of them get thrown away.
Women-owned Marley’s Monsters offers resuable paper towels made of cotton flannel which are designed to cling together, so they can be stored on any paper towel holder. The 12” x 10” washable cloths come in a selection of colorful prints for cheerful mess mopping.
Beeswax Food Wraps
Sustainable kitchen swap number two!
Say goodbye to plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and opt for biodegradable and reusable bowl covers and food wrap to keep food fresh.
Bee’s Wrap offers super cute bee-themed wraps made from GOTS-certified organic cotton coated with beeswax, jojoba oil, and natural resin.
The certified B Corp partners with a range of environmental organizations, helping to increase biodiversity for pollinators.
If you’ve never used wraps before, read up on how to use beeswax wraps and clean them afterward.
Food Storage
Next on the menu are food containers—essential products for a sustainable kitchen when it comes to keeping food fresh (without reaching for plastic wrap and aluminum foil or using those ubiquitous plastic storage containers).
Do away with tricky-to-recycle Ziploc bags by using reusable silicone food savers from Stasher.
Available in different sizes and colors, you can use these self-sealing airtight stasher bags for storing all sorts of food items.
For storing your staples after a trip to your local refill store, glass containers are hard to beat. Before buying new, look to see if you can repurpose any existing containers, like old glass jars.
When you do need to invest in high-quality, durable glass containers, there are plenty of options, including classic pantry-style with Kilner food storage jars.
Plastic-Free Water Bottles & Coffee Cups
Along with those reusable produce bags, don’t forget to pack your reusable water bottle or coffee cup when you’re heading out of the house.
Fortunately, there are plenty of eco-friendly water bottles helping us ditch single-use plastic water bottles for good.
Sustainable sipping is Klean Kanteen’s specialty. The family and employee-owned B Corp offers insulated and non-insulated water bottles, coffee tumblers, thermos, kids’ cups and water bottles, and more.
All products are designed to last a lifetime and are made from BPA-free, safe materials, including post-consumer recycled 18/8 stainless steel.
My Personal Review of Klean Kanteen’s TKWide Water Bottle:
“I’ve been using water bottles from Klean Kanteen for years now – they’re amazing quality. Made from recycled stainless steel, they’re impressively tough, and the textured powder coating provides a secure grip, reducing accidental drops. This bottle has held up better than my others, with far fewer dents at the bottom! For coffee, I also love their wide-mouth tumbler.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Kitchen Utensils & Dinnerware
Where do you go for eco-friendly dinnerware?
Our Place serves up some ethically manufactured ceramic dinnerware and recycled drinking glasses.
Their neatly stackable, hand-glazed plates, bowls, platters, and dinner sets look so good they double as home décor.
LA-based Material Kitchen has everything you need for a stylish, sustainable table setting, including ceramics, glasses, and table linens.
The hand-finished stoneware items can be purchased individually or as part of a set. The durable borosilicate glasses come in sets of four.
My Personal Review of Our Place’s Night + Day glasses & Dinnerware Starter Set:
“I’m obsessed with my Our Place’s Night + Day Glasses. Their sleek, versatile design works perfectly for both casual dinners and fancier occasions, and I love how they feel in my hand. They add a touch of modern elegance to every drink, whether it’s a glass of milk in the morning or an evening cocktail. When I first got them, my partner didn’t think their squat design would make them very useful since we already had tall glasses; now, he doesn’t drink out of anything else!
I also love their Dinnerware Starter Set, which I have in terracotta. These pieces are the perfect mix of sturdy and stylish, and I love how the warm, earthy tones bring a cozy, rustic-modern vibe to my table. I’m especially a fan of the plates’ lipped edges—they’re great for keeping runny sauces and foods from spilling over, which was always a problem with my old beveled plates.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Cookware & Bakeware
Next, we have eco-friendly cookware. Durable, and non-toxic materials are the ingredients we’re looking for here (read: no PTFE non-stick coatings in sight).
Helping conscious cooks rustle up some wholesome meals, New York-based Caraway offers beautiful ceramic cookware and bakeware ethically manufactured by BSCI- and SMETA-certified factories.
Our Place is once again invited to our place for a sustainable dinner. Their best-selling Always Pan is the home chef’s BFF. This multi-functional companion can be used for everything: boiling, braising, frying, sautéing, searing, steaming, AND serving!
My Personal Review of Caraway’s Cookware Set:
“I’ve been using my Caraway cookware for over two years, and the ceramic coating is holding up like a champ. Pro tip: keep your heat on low to medium as these pans are super efficient at conducting heat. I learned this the hard way and now have a pesky burn mark as a reminder. I especially love the Dutch Oven. It’s fantastic for soups and its all-metal construction makes it oven-safe, perfect for baking bread multiple times a week.”
My Personal Review of Our Place’s Always Pan 2.0:
“The Always Pan is an essential in my kitchen now. It basically does everything—replaces eight different pots and pans—and works on any cooktop. I’m not exaggerating when I say I use it every single day. I cook a ton of stir-fries and other Asian food, and this pan is absolutely perfect for that kind of cooking. I also added the bamboo steamer basket, which is a nice upgrade. The Always pan comes with a metal steamer already, which I use for all sorts of things, but the bamboo one is better for steaming more delicate stuff like buns.”
Reviews by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Non-Plastic Coffee Makers
When it comes to coffee-related kitchen products for your morning cup of Joe, a plastic-free coffee maker will give you a buzz—but only from the caffeine, not eco angst jitters.
Keeping it minimalist in the kitchen, Coletti’s classic French press is made from strong AISI 304 stainless steel (no more broken glass cafetières).
Keeping coffee hot for 4+ hours, this caffeine companion can safely accompany you on all your travel adventures. It’s backed by a lifetime guarantee, too.
Make sure to fully round out (er, grind out?) your low-waste morning ritual by switching to zero waste coffee beans, too. Many grocery stores sell beans in bulk.
Eco-Friendly Kitchen Appliances
Eco-friendly appliances form a solid foundation for kitchen sustainability.
For carbonization without the carbon footprint, Sodastream’s sparkling water makers help fizz addicts ditch single-use plastic.
Choose between BPA-free plastic bottles or an elegant glass carafe.
If you dig the retro aesthetic, turn to SMEG for their range of kitchen appliances with a 50s vibe.
Whether you’re looking for something big (a new cooker, oven, refrigerator, or freezer) or small (a plastic-free coffee maker, eco-kettle, toaster, or mixer), the Italian company marries high performance with energy-efficient designs to offer some of the most sustainable appliances around.
They come in some fantastic retro-inspired colors, too.
Kitchen Cleaning Products
Keep your plate and the planet clean with dish soap from etee. The brand offers a range of other eco cleaning options too.
For dishwashers, Grove Collaborative’s eco dishwasher tablets are free from bleach, dyes, formaldehyde, parabens, phthalates, and phosphates. Grove also offer a huge range of cleaning solutions.
Biodegradable sponges and loofah alternatives also help us clean up without dirtying the planet in the process.
For sustainable kitchen products in the UK, Miniml Refills, offer bulk cleaning products for cleaning dishes, floors, and surfaces.
Compost Bins & Caddies
Reducing your food waste and recycling food waste into nutritious plant food is the cherry on the cake for a sustainable kitchen.
If you just need to transport your food scraps and other compostable items to your outdoor bin or pile, you can repurpose any old container for collecting your items in. But if you’re in need of something new, there are plenty of eco options.
Bamboozle’s dishwasher safe bamboo compost bin comes with a replaceable charcoal filter to keep smells at bay. The handcrafted cedar wood compost bin from L’Échoppe à Bois is another attractive option.
Even if you have no outside space at all, you can still harvest the benefits of composting with an indoor compost bin.
Reusable Produce Saver Bags
For a handy way to keep produce fresh longer (and helping you avoid potential food waste), a veggie saver bag can save the day.
These reusable bags are made from 100% unbleached cotton and are specially designed to keep your produce crisp and fresh for at least two weeks (often longer).
They’re machine washable and 100% compostable, as all the best eco-friendly kitchenware should be.
Why Choose Sustainable Kitchen Products?
There’s a lot going on in the kitchen. Whether we’re cooking, eating, washing up, or wiping up messes, we use a LOT of different products each day.
And all those products have an impact—of varying degrees. From toxic cookware to disposable paper towels and single-use plastic, there’s a lot to consider when we look beyond the (kitchen) surface.
The good news?
There are plenty of ways to be more sustainable in the kitchen.
What does “sustainable kitchen” mean?
Sustainable kitchen design, as with any form of sustainable interior design, goes beyond aesthetics to consider the impact that our daily habits, routines, and purchases have on the environment.
That’s why minimalism is the best approach you can take. We know, kitchen gadgets can be so enticing, but even sustainable kitchenware becomes less sustainable if it’s completely unnecessary and only serves a niche otherwise handled by something you already own.
How can you make a kitchen more sustainable?
The kitchen is an ideal place to start a more sustainable and low waste waste journey. With a few simple swaps, you can help curb plastic pollution by cutting down on the amount of single-use products and plastic packaging.
Have a look around your kitchen, keeping in mind the 5 Rs of zero waste: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot.
For example, you can refuse single-use plastic, reduce the number of new products you buy, opt for reusable kitchen items over disposable ones, recycle your waste, and compost your food scraps.
A zero waste kitchen won’t happen overnight, but choosing simple eco-friendly kitchen products like plastic-free dish soap and glass storage containers will make a big difference.
It’s worth remembering that going waste-free is not the only way to achieve sustainability. Especially in a heavy-use area like the kitchen, low waste living goals are more realistic and encouraging.
Share this recipe for a sustainable kitchen with your foodie friends and help spread the word for a pro-planet heart of the home.
