11 Sustainable Kitchen Products Cooking Up An (Eco-Friendly) Storm
Sustainable living starts at home—and what’s the heart of the home?
The kitchen, of course!
We’re turning up the heat with sustainable 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 sustainable feasts using non-toxic cookware, serving suppers with ethical dinnerware, and composting the leftovers!
Fortunately, there are a plethora of eco-friendly kitchen products that can help with all of the above.
So, what’s on the menu?
From eco-friendly kitchen cleaning products to sustainable kitchenware, we’ve rounded up eleven of the best sustainable kitchen products for pro-planet foodies.
Save some room for dessert at the end to learn more about what eco-friendly kitchens mean to us—or have your dessert first by jumping down!
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The Full List of Sustainable Kitchen Items
- Reusable paper towels | Visit Store
- Beeswax food wraps | Visit Store
- Eco-friendly Tupperware and food storage | Visit Store
- Reusable produce bags | Visit Store
- Plastic-free water bottles and coffee cups | Visit Store
- Sustainable cooking utensils and dinnerware | Visit Store
- Planet and plate-friendly cookware and bakeware | Visit Store
- Non-plastic coffee makers | Visit Store
- Eco-friendly kitchen appliances | Visit Store
- Sustainable kitchen cleaning products | Visit Store
- Compost bins and caddies | Visit Store
1. Reusable Paper Towels
Swapping out single-use disposable items in favor of reusable alternatives is one of the best zero waste moves you can make for any room in the house, especially sustainable kitchens.
And 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.
Save trees and soak up waste in the kitchen by ditching disposables and turning to reusable paper towels instead.
If you haven’t yet cottoned onto the Swedish dishcloth craze, Papaya’s colorful collection makes for a fun introduction.
Made from a wood cellulose and cotton blend, these 100% biodegradable sponge cloths can absorb up to 15 times their own weight and will replace approximately 17 rolls of regular paper towels.
Can’t bear to part with your kitchen roll holder?
Women-owned Marley’s Monsters offer eco-friendly paper towels made of cotton flannel which are designed to cling together, so they can be stored on any existing holder. The 12” x 10” washable cloths come in a selection of colorful prints for cheerful mess mopping.
2. 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.
etee’s zero waste mission started with beeswax wraps, patiently developed after a year of testing.
Their plastic wrap alternative features organic cotton muslin colored with non-toxic dyes and coated with USDA-certified organic beeswax, coniferous tree resin, jojoba oil, a small amount of soy wax, and cinnamon and cinnamon and clove essential oils.
They offer a starter pack of three different-sized wraps, ideal for reusable wrapping newbies looking to ditch that plastic wrap STAT.
If you’ve never used them before, read up on how to use beeswax wraps and clean them afterward.
3. Eco-Friendly Tupperware & Food Storage
Next on the menu are plastic-free 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. They also double as an eco-friendly lunch bag.
Made from 100% pure platinum-grade silicone (a higher standard than food-grade silicone), the silicone bags are temperature-resistant and safe to use in the dishwasher, freezer, microwave, and oven.
They’re also a good option if you’re wondering how to freeze meat without plastic.
While silicone isn’t biodegradable now widely recycled, its durability and safety makes it a more environmentally friendly option than plastic in some cases—food storage included. Just be sure to look after your silicone items following the manufacturer’s instructions so that they last as long as possible.
Stasher also offers a repurpose program via a partnership with Terracycle. Bags that can no longer be used can be returned for repurposing into playground safety pebbles.
For storing your staples after a trip to your local refill store, glass containers are hard to beat. They win hands down in the glass vs plastic showdown and, unlike plastic containers, are aesthetically and ethically pleasing.
Of course, the best sustainable kitchen products are the ones you already own. 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.
Go classic pantry-style with some Kilner food storage jars, and Glasslock offers tempered glass containers with BPA-free sealable lids available in a large selection of sizes.
4. Reusable Produce Bags
To keep more plastic out of the kitchen, let’s rewind a second and consider how you bring your latest haul of organic veggies back from your local farmers market. (Hint: it’s not in plastic bags.)
Reusable produce bags are a must-add item to any list of eco-friendly kitchen products, helping to cut down on the amount of single-use plastic bags that make it through the front door.
Pro-tip: collect a variety of sizes, and keep them together in a reusable grocery bag or coat pocket, so you’ve always got them to hand.
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.
5. 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, thermoses, 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.
If you’re looking for a “reusable hydration accessory” that’s equally useful at home, in the office, yoga studio, or on the beach, one of S’well’s stylish bottles might be your new BFF.
The triple-layered, vacuum-insulated bottles are made from 18/8 food-grade stainless steel to keep your water ice cool (or your sustainable milk latte piping hot if you choose one of their mugs or tumblers).
6. Eco-Friendly Kitchen Utensils & Dinnerware
Where do you go for eco-friendly dinnerware?
Not to the takeout counter, that’s for sure. Let’s all agree to stop eating off styrofoam and hard-to-recycle paper plates.
For sustainable kitchen products USA, 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 sustainable home decor.
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.
We’ve plated up, but what about the cutlery?
Keep it stylish and sustainable with vintage cutlery from Food52. These one-of-a-kind silver-plated pieces are perfect for creating a mismatched aesthetic. As well as domestically sourced pieces, they also have a collection sourced from the French countryside.
7. Planet & Plate-Friendly Cookware & Bakeware
Next on the menu, we have eco-friendly cookware. Healthy, durable, and ethically sourced 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.
The non-toxic ceramic coating produces 60% less CO2 during the manufacturing process, ensuring your meal remains as clean as the ingredients you put in them.
Our Place is once again invited to our place for a sustainable supper. 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!
Pair it with their multi-functional Perfect Pot and their beechwood sustainable kitchen utensils, and you’ll have all you need for cooking up an eco-friendly feast.
If you’re specifically looking for granite stone cookware be sure to buy from reputable brands as there’s a lot of greenwashing around the materials used for this category of cookware.
8. Non-Plastic Coffee Makers
When it comes to the best sustainable coffee 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 zero waste travel adventures. It’s backed by a lifetime guarantee, too.
If it’s an eco-espresso you’re after, you can rely on a human-powered espresso maker from ROK. Made from cast aluminum, steel, and glass composite, this coffee maker comes with a 10-year warranty.
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.
9. 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 – to the tune of 3,000 bottles each year.
Choose between BPA-free plastic bottles or an elegant glass carafe. 10% of the profits from their special edition Art for Action bottle goes towards ocean conservation.
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.
SMEG’s super cute 0.8L stainless steel mini kettles are perfect for smaller kitchens, helping use less energy and water.
10. Sustainable Kitchen Cleaning Products
Zero waste and refillable cleaning products help ditch those plastic bottles and containers lining the supermarket shelves.
Keep your plate and the planet clean with zero waste dish soap from etee. Available as either a liquid concentrate packaged in compostable pods or as a solid dish soap, the plant-based ingredients will get your dishes sustainably clean sans plastic.
For dishwashers, Grove Collaborative’s eco dishwasher tablets are free from bleach, dyes, formaldehyde, parabens, phthalates, and phosphates. They’re 91% plant-based and scented with natural essential oils instead of synthetic fragrances.
Biodegradable sponges and loofah alternatives also help us clean up without dirtying the planet in the process.
Zero Waste Outlet has plenty to choose from including, plant-based cellulose sponges, 100% natural loofahs, wooden brushes, coconut scrubbers, and more.
For sustainable kitchen products UK, Miniml Refills, offer bulk cleaning products for cleaning dishes, floors, and surfaces.
Products are available in glass “forever” bottles and plastic refill pouches, which you can return to Miniml for reuse or fill up at one of their local stockists.
11. Compost Bins & Caddies
It’s no secret that we’re crazy about composting.
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.
Like Bamboozle’s dishwasher safe bamboo compost bin that comes with a replaceable charcoal filter to keep smells at bay, or the handcrafted cedar wood compost bin from L’Échoppe à Bois.
Even if you have no outside space at all, you can still harvest the benefits of composting with an indoor compost bin.
Try your hand at vermicomposting (AKA worm farming) with an Urbalive Worm Farm.
This funky and functional odor-free system slots stylishly into sustainable kitchens, transforming veggie offcuts into nutrient-rich compost and worm tea for your apartment garden.
Alternatively, a bokashi bin is specially designed to process 100% of your food waste—cooked food, meat, fish, bones, dairy and other things normally on our what not to compost list.
The bokashi method involves fermenting food waste using special enzymes. Once fermented, the contents of your bin can be safely buried directly into your garden soil or added to your compost pile where it will quickly break down (apart from bones which take a long time).
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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 zero 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.
How We Found The Best Eco-Friendly Kitchen Products
What criteria did we consider when choosing our top products for a sustainable kitchen?
Here are our key ingredients that put these products in the non-toxic food storage container.
Materials:
Compostable materials are king (or queen), so for items like eco-friendly sponges, beeswax wraps, reusable covers, and other cloths, we look for products that are home compostable at end-of-life.
Some compostable materials are better than others, too, like organic cotton, which is better than conventional cotton.
For appliances and eco-friendly kitchen gadgets, we look for recycled and easy-to-recycle materials (think: stainless steel, glass, brass, and aluminum) with minimal (and ideally zero) use of plastic.
For food storage, cookware, and non-toxic bakeware, only safe, healthy materials make the grade—no toxic coatings or materials that could leach chemicals and metals into our food.
- Certifications: Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), ENERGY STAR
Supply chain and labor practices:
We look for sustainable kitchen brands that are transparent about their supply chains and the factories they work with.
The best ethical kitchenware comes from brands that use third-party manufacturing certifications to ensure that workers are paid fair wages, have safe working conditions, and that there is no forced/child labor involved.
- Certifications: B Corp, Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA), Social Accountability International (SA8000)
Green business practices:
There are a bushel of ways brands can ensure their eco kitchenware has as minimal an impact on the planet as possible.
From using renewable energy and carbon offset programs to zero waste packaging, waste recycling, and circular take-back/refill programs, these extra eco-efforts help us all move towards a more sustainable future.
Charitable giving:
Big-hearted brands that donate money or products to charities put the icing on the cake.
Final Thoughts On Eco-friendly Kitchen Products
A sustainable kitchen isn’t going to happen overnight. As with many eco-endeavors, it’s a step-by-step process. Progress not perfection, right?
Start by making simple switches to plastic-free and reusable kitchen items like a reusable paper towel, silicone baking mat, or a compostable sponge. Each sustainable swap adds up, so give yourself a pat on the back for each one you make.
There’s also no one-size-fits-all here, so try out a few different zero waste kitchen products and see which ones you enjoy using.
For other items, like cookware and appliances, check your local thrift stores, community pages, and Facebook marketplace for second-hand items before buying new ones.
Or see if you can make any DIY sustainable reusable products for the kitchen from things you have.
As well as choosing the right products, we can reduce our carbon footprint at home by curbing our energy consumption. Have a read of our article on ways to conserve energy for tips on being energy savvy in the kitchen.
Then share this recipe for a sustainable kitchen with your foodie friends and help spread the word about the best eco-friendly kitchen products for a pro-planet dinner party.
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