Looking to pot that lush little fuchsia bush you just bought from your local plant shop?
By moving it out of that plastic bucket and into plastic-free and sustainable plant pots, you can really accentuate the beauty of any plant.
We won’t leave you hanging (basket).
From clay to cork to upcycled wine barrels to woven grass, let’s get growing shall we?
But first, here are a couple of our favorite companies using sustainable materials, and ethical labor to craft beautiful planters for any home.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
A Peak At Our Favorite Sustainable Planters & Pots
Take a look at LIKHÂ. Tongue-twister aside, we love this fair trade brand’s Filipino-crafted organic home decor that’s as all-natural as it is beautiful. Herb your enthusiasm with their gorgeously woven eco pots.
For something a little more understated and durable, The Citizenry‘s stoneware natural pots will give your house full of plants a modern look.
Index: Eco-Friendly Plant Pots
- LIKHA Jump to section
- KAZI Jump to section
- The Citizenry Jump to section
- Bergs Potter Jump to section
- Wilder Island Jump to section
LIKHA
About LIKHÂ
Price Range: $45–$70
LIKHÂ creates fair trade, modern Filipino crafts and home decor pieces made with natural materials that are byproducts from the agriculture industry.
By partnering with artisans in the Philippines, they provide dignified work that supports traditional crafts. LIKHÂ works with WFTO-certified partners, and the sustainable home decor brand will soon become Fair Trade certified.
We love their lightweight plant pots woven in the shapes of animals—especially the Elephant Plant Pot that we can’t wait to pack-yderm with our favorite succulents.
LIKHÂ’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
All natural and sustainable materials are exclusively used for their eco planter pots, like woven organic coco coir, natural rattan, or hemp.
Supply chain & labor practices:
LIKHÂ works with Filipino artisan partners, most of whom make 25% about living wage. Having recently onboarded new partners, they are currently reviewing their new artisans’ wages to verify this holds true for them as well.
Additionally, as members of the non-profit Nest Artisan Guild, LIKHA commits to empowering small artisan communities in alignment with the UN’s SDGs.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
A low carbon footprint is achieved by using repurposed materials from the agriculture sector.
KAZI
About KAZI
Price Range: $40–$120
KAZI means “employment” in Swahili and their beautiful indoor planters are created with the goal of alleviating poverty in Africa, where they are made.
The brand sources local materials native to Africa that are easily available to their artisans.
While they have a wide range of handwoven flower pots and hanging baskets, we especially love the Fringed Raffia Planter, with its asymmetrical design and added touched of texture by its natural grass fringe.
KAZI’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
KAZI’s hanging planters and other biodegradable pots are exclusively crafted from 100% natural raffia, sweet grass, and sisal and colored with food-safe natural dyes.
You safely rip them and toss them in the compost to be made into soil for your ecological garden.
Supply chain & labor practices:
As members of the Fair Trade Federation, KAZI implements fair trade practices across their organization. They pay fair living wages and also reinvest money to support and train artisans.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
The brand only uses responsibly harvested plant fibers that are native to regions where artisans craft goods.
Community & charitable giving:
KAZI uses its profits to expand their artisans’ development through workshops like training rural farmers to become artisans and teaching existing craftspeople new weaving techniques.
The Citizenry
About The Citizenry
Price Range: $65–$300
Be a citizen of the world and shop The Citizenry for globally inspired home decor and decorative environmentally friendly planters made with artisans speckled across the globe.
Handcrafted in Mexico, we especially adore their splurge-worthy and architecturally stylish Cantaro Pots, which are crafted from burnished clay and set on a black steel base. Each pot takes three whole weeks to make!
The Citizenry’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The Citizenry’s sustainable plant pots are crafted from responsible materials like tikal wood, clay, ceramic, or glass.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The Citizenry’s items are all ethically made in artisan workshops across Japan, Mexico, India, and a number of African countries. All fair trade practices are audited by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO).
The Citizenry pays 2x the fair trade wage requirements, plus they offer entrepreneurship grants to help artisans grow their small businesses.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
In contrast to fast-decor giants like Ikea or Target, The Citizenry is of the “slow fashion” mindset, creating limited run, handcrafted items with the hope of supporting communities and sustainability worldwide.
Bergs Potter
About Bergs Potter
Price Range: $25–$200
Since 1942, Bergs Potter has provided exquisite terracotta pots made in Italy, designed in Denmark, and created to last with both indoor and outdoor use.
Each natural plant pot by Bergs Potter feature the perfect drainage hole design to give roots room to breathe, and their superior clay construction absorbs excess water to maintain the moisture your plants require.
We especially love the Julie Pot 021 for its warm terracotta color, superb craftsmanship, simplicity, and elegance.
Bergs Potter’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Planters are exclusively from sustainably sourced Tuscan Galestro clay, famous for its terracotta hue and durability.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Bergs Potter continues to work with the same family-owned clay workshop in Italy and helps uphold the Tuscany region’s ancient pottery crafting practices.
Their commitment to quality, heritage craftsmanship is at the core of their respect for workers, customers, and the planet.
Wilder Island
About Wilder Island
Price Range: $50–$100
Wilder Island is an Etsy-based shop that provides sustainable upcycled home decor and large eco-friendly plant pots ideal for outdoor use.
After observing how many materials go unused from construction sites, founder Anthony Wilder contacted home builders to turn these scraps into pots for plants.
The store offers a wide range of handmade wooden planters, like the XL Big Cross Buck Planter, available in four different colors.
Wilder Island’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
All materials used are natural, upcycled wood and/or glass.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Wilder Island repurposes salvages materials from local construction and industrial sites.
Everything is sourced and handcrafted by the company’s founder, Anthony, at his workshop in North Carolina.
What To Do With Old Plant Pots
Especially when it comes to outdoor pots, weathering can occur and pots inevitably break.
Fortunately, there are numerous uses for plant pots that don’t involve permanently planting them in a landfill:
- Fix it! Silicone cake or cement adhesive can create the watertight seal needed to make minor broken pots like new.
- Learn how to make eco-friendly planters from old broken pots, like making a mosaic pot using broken clay or terracotta pieces.
- Turn the pot on its side for a “wabi sabi” inspired planter.
- Use old broken pieces in the bottom of an eco pot for extra drainage.
- Use pieces with succulents to create a small succulent garden… or better yet, a fairy garden.
- Incorporate terracotta and clay pieces into your eco-friendly landscaping.
- Use terracotta for mulching.
As for nursery pots (as in, the small plastic seedling pots most garden centers sell plant starts in), turn those environmental nightmares into more eco-friendly nursery pots with these tips:
- Return them to a local greenhouse or nursery for reuse.
- Save them for seeding your own garden next year.
- Use to shake up and disperse plant fertilizer or to scoop soil
- Turn the entire pot upside down and repurpose as a lightweight filler for the bottom of your eco-friendly pot
