5 Eco Friendly Cutlery Sets for Scrumptious Sustainable Dining
Let’s face it, plastic cutlery is the worst.
It’s flimsy and breaks before you’re done with your pad thai, yet can take more than 1,000 years to decompose.
Worse still, are the microplastics it breaks down into, which are toxic for animals and marine life, not to mention us humans too.
Sustainable cutlery alternatives not only look better and feel better, but they’re not taking a bite out of the planet every time you do the same.
It’s one of the easiest steps you can take to live a more zero waste lifestyle.
You can find the recipe for how we picked these brands at the end of the ingredients list. In the meantime, here’s a little taste test of some favorite brands serving up eco friendly cutlery:
For a dinner party (or Netflix and take-out night), we’re turning to Food52’s Vintage Shop for their unique and upcycled eco friendly silverware. For meals on the go, To-Go Ware makes excellent bamboo cutlery.
*This post contains affilate links
QUICK LINKS FOR SUSTAINABLE CUTLERY SETS
1. TO-GO WARE
About To-Go Ware
As their name suggests, To-Go Ware is committed to making improvements to our to-go practices—starting with minimizing single-use plastics.
Their hashtag says it best: #EffSingleUse.
They carry all you could need for a reusable meal—eco-friendly lunch boxes, and sustainable reusable cutlery, with plenty of kid-approved options.
Their eco friendly cutlery set is perfect for school or work lunches, barbecues, your eco-friendly picnic basket, and camping trips. If you don’t need the whole set, they have individual spoons, forks, and knives, too.
To-Go Ware’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Bamboo is To-Go’s go-to material. This plant is one of the world’s best renewable materials… not to mention perfect for that leftover pasta!
These sturdy bamboo utensils are dishwasher-safe, free of phthalates and BPA, heat and stain-resistant, and won’t absorb flavors. That’s because they’re coated with a food-safe polyurethane coating, meaning they can be used for years.
All products are lab tested as completely non-toxic and safe.
Supply chain & labor practices:
As a Certified B-Corp, we have an assurance that To-Go Ware meets impressive standards for social and environmental performance and transparency.
To-Go Ware’s reusable eco friendly cutlery is made from bamboo sourced in China, where it is also manufactured in a small, family-owned factory.
Green business practices:
To-Go Ware uses recycled and recyclable packaging materials. That’s all part of their commitment to becoming zero waste. They utterly refuse the “Big 5”: plastic bags, water bottles, cups, utensils, and polystyrene takeout containers).
They’re also committed to becoming Climate Neutral Certified.
Community & charitable giving:
Both To-Go Ware and the ethical Amazon alternative EarthHero (where you can find To-Go Ware) are members of 1% for the Planet. To-Go Ware donates to the organizations like Climate Neutral and 5 Gyres (an ocean plastic research entity).
To-Go Ware also has a reusable bag take-back program (any old brand sitting in the back of your pantry will do!). They then redistribute these bags to low-income families to show anyone can reduce their plastic consumption just a little.
Available: EarthHero
2. FOOD52 VINTAGE SHOP
About Food52 Vintage Shop
Food52 are leaders in the foodie world.
What started as a community for sharing food recipes and cooking product recommendations, has evolved into so much more. Namely as a vintage cookware retailer.
As fans of vintage items, the founders began using their platform as a way to showcase and sell vintage domestic pieces—including hard-to-find gems.
Their vintage cutlery selection isn’t massive, but it sure is impressive.
It includes both sets and individual pieces of eco friendly silverwear.
Outside plain ol’ knives, forks, and spoons, they carry very specific cutlery. Be sure to check out their vintage spreaders, ice tongs, cocktail forks, iced teaspoons, and relish forks before hosting your next fancy dinner party.
Food52 Vintage Shop’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
All their vintage sustainable silverware is silver-plated (i.e. true “silverware”!).
Supply chain & labor practices:
Most Food52 vintage finds are products that were made in the USA. However, there are some silverware pieces that were handpicked in France.
Green business practices:
Food52 isn’t just about making food stylish… they’re about making it sustainable. Aside from selling vintage kitchenware, they’re careful to give a second life to any unwanted items from the rest of their business.
That’s why they even sell the props used for their food styling.
Available: Food52 Vintage Shop
3. STARBURST TROPICS
About Starburst Tropics
Starburst Tropics wants to cozy up our homes with quality, mid-century vintage items.
With nearly 3,000 Etsy sales and an average 5-star rating, their success is undeniable.
Dana, the owner, says, “No need to buy brand new items when there are so many beautiful, useful things out there waiting for a second or third life.”
We couldn’t agree more, which is why we were excited to see vintage cutlery and silverware in all shapes of sizes, and perfect for any kitchen.
If you’re looking for kitchenware, vintage home decor, or American made furniture, check out this stunning collection of mid-century modern pieces. You’ll find an eclectic mix of boho-inspired, beachy-tropical, retro, and earthy items.
Their upcycled metal silverware, usually dated between the 1950s and 1970s, comes in kitschy mismatched sets to bring both elegance and uniqueness to your dining routine.
Starburst Tropics’ Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The vintage eco friendly utensils are made of stainless steel.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Being an upcycle brand (no further manufacturing required), supply chain is less relevant. However, we would certainly be interested to know their process for finding these vintage gems.
Hopefully they’ll share their trade secrets with us.
Green business practices:
Psssst, just a friendly reminder that any purchase with Etsy comes to your doorstep courtesy of 100% carbon offset shipping.
Available: Etsy
4. LUALA SILK
About Luala Silk
As you may have picked up on already, Luala Silk specializes in, well… silk.
Fortunately for our grumbling stomachs, they also make eco friendly wooden cutlery (and bamboo straws).
For those who haven’t experienced the magic of a wooden spoon, it’s recommended for homeopathic remedies, natural foods/medicine, and honey, as these can oxidize metal.
You’ll feel like a jungle queen or king when you’re eating breakfast because these spoons and forks are luxurious (yet affordable).
We also love the unique, straight-from-the-tree vibe to bring a little more nature to the dinner table.
Every design comes with several choices for shapes, handle design, and finish color. In other words, this is the closest you’ll come to eco friendly customizable cutlery without hand carving it yourself.
Luala Silk’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
This sustainable ethical cutlery is made with greenwood coated in natural, food-safe tung oil. The greenwood is excess sourced from Vietnamese timber processing – no virgin trees are cut down.
The bamboo straws, naturally, are made of bamboo.
Supply chain & labor practices:
All of the pieces are “designed” in California before being handcrafted via fair trade practices in rural Vietnam by talented artisans. We say “designed” because everything is made by hand, with no mold, and no power tools.
Green business practices:
Shop owner Layla is committed to finding eco-friendly alternatives for packaging materials. Eco-friendly kraft paper is currently used for the utensils.
All the small items to ship fast from California but monogram/engraving adds an additional 5-6 days for production.
Available: Etsy
5. SMILE BOUTIQUES
About Smile Boutiques
We’re looping back to Smile Boutiques again after first un-scrubbing this Etsy-based shop’s eco friendly loofah alternatives.
Hailing from Toronto, they have an impressive range of eco friendly products—and a reputation that’s just as impressive. They’ve satisfied more than 5,000 customers with products (and prices) that can put a smile on anyone’s face.
Smile Boutiques keeps it affordable with their gorgeous Naamu wood cutlery. Use this gorgeous eco friendly cutlery for travel or a peaceful meal at home.
Smile Boutiques’ Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Nanmu wood is a durable yet lightweight hardwood that makes the utensils sturdy enough to last an age. The wood is sustainably sourced and treated with natural oil to make it split and spaghetti-proof.
The utensils come with a breathable cloth pouch so you can bring your sustainable cutlery anywhere.
Supply chain & labor practices:
These pieces are handmade by the shop but Smile Boutique doesn’t mention exactly where their Naamu wood is sourced. We’ll be reaching out to inquire.
Green business practices:
All Smile Boutiques products are shipped with minimal and eco friendly packaging. Since Etsy shipments are carbon neutral, it’ll come sans the negative impact of greenhouse gas emissions, too.
Available: Etsy
HOW WE FOUND THE MOST ECO FRIENDLY SILVERWEAR & CUTLERY
As we’ve done with some of our other household essentials (like organic linen curtains, sustainable pillows, and eco friendly rugs), we referred to our sustainable and ethical criteria that helps us determine what ends up in our wardrobes.
While sustainable dinnerware obviously isn’t something to be worn, it faces the same issues that typically accompany fashion, which is why we looked for the following:
Materials:
Materials is always the chief concern because it makes up the largest portion of a brand or product’s impact.
What is the most eco friendly material for cutlery?
It’s pretty simple—anything that’s not plastic.
Bamboo is ideal for reusable and sustainable travel cutlery because it’s so lightweight (and won’t set off the metal detector at TSA either!). Bamboo is also one of the world’s fastest-growing, most carbon consumptive plants.
Basically, your bamboo fork eats carbon so you can eat carbonara!
There are other types of wood, too. As long as they’re sustainably sourced (i.e. a byproduct of another industry or from a species of tree that’s sustainably grown) then we’re okay inviting them for brunch.
For metal travel eco friendly cutlery, stainless steel is the top choice because it’s durable, corrosion-resistant, and recyclable. Plus, most sustainable steel products contain 60% recycled materials.
Silver-plated utensils obviously come with social and environmental concerns (namely mining impact and child labor)—which is why vintage or recycled is the way to go here.
Supply chain and labor practices:
There, unfortunately, wasn’t too much to scoop up here. Transparent supply chains aren’t as fashionable for forks as they are for items like sustainable bedding and ethical dresses.
That said, if a brand can share anything about who/where/how their sustainable cutlery sets are produced, they’re preheating the oven in the right way.
Green business practices:
This looks like hands instead of machinery (which is ideal but not possible with non-wooden utensils), carbon offset shipping, practices that reduce shipping emissions like localized supply chains, and eco friendly packaging.
Community & charitable giving:
This may come as a shock but the eco friendly cutlery market isn’t exactly… booming.
Once it is, we’ll look for brands that give back, but there are at least some that are members of 1% for the Planet. And, for any of the brands that sell via Etsy, it’s nice knowing Etsy has its own giveback network.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON SUSTAINABLE CUTLERY
Next time you’re faced with a fork in the road make sure it’s an eco friendly one!
While investing in a compact to-go set is a crucial part of building your zero waste kit, try to avoid replacing your home silverwear unless you need to.
Cutlery seldom gets a second life and so most often lands up in, well…a landfill.
Our final word of advice is simple—avoid plastic. If it means carrying around a reusable cutlery kit, do it. They don’t take up much space in your eco friendly handbag or briefcase.
It’s totally the “cool” thing to do these days anyway.
Well then, have a knife day and feel free to share this with a friend on the lookout for sustainable cutlery sets.
