In La La Land and in need of some sustainable shopping solutions? The best zero waste stores in Los Angeles are here to help.
While LA is known for its star-studded Tinseltown, Rodeo Drive, and Disneyland, it’s also a thriving metropolis for wellness, spiritual growth, and sustainable living—just look at the best thrift stores in LA for proof!
Being home to some of the world’s best-reviewed zero waste and bulk food stores reflects the city’s vested interest in banning single-use plastics, becoming sustainable, and reshaping food systems.
While traffic may deter you from exploring some of the more far-reaching zero waste stores in Los Angeles, they’re worth it if you’re in the ‘hood. Let’s dive into the City of Angels’ most conscious consumption outposts for all your zero waste and bulk LA shopping needs.
Exploring Zero Waste Stores Los Angeles
- Sustain LA Jump to store
- R[eco]ntained Jump to store
- Otherwild Jump to store
- Re_ Grocery Jump to store
- BYO Jump to store
- Prostainable Jump to store
- Eco Now Jump to store
- Co-opportunity Market Jump to store
- The Refill Shoppe Jump to store
- The Well Refill Jump to store
- My Zero Waste Store Jump to store
- Rainbow Acres Jump to store
Sustain LA
Sustain LA believes in “[w]orking together to disrupt the concept of convenience”. This female-run plastic free hub was one of the first, making them leaders in the sustainable community and one of the best zero waste stores in Los Angeles.
They have a huge selection of refill items like soaps, shampoos, conditioners, biodegradable household products, soaps, natural face serums, and more. They also offer unique refillable self-care items that are ideal for DIY beauty gurus like argan oil, bentonite clay, frankincense body oil, and shea butter.
They drive local LA initiatives like the LA Food Policy Council and support programs like providing working opportunities for individuals formerly gang-involved or incarcerated.
R[eco]ntained
R[eco]ntained is one of the only zero waste stores in the Santa Monica / Venice Beach area, making it a hot stop for LA’s concrete jungle eco-warriors. It’s female-operated by Tonia, whose fan base celebrates this hidden gem for its service and dedication.
Recontained is best known for its zero-waste olive oil, beauty products, and lotions. They also carry zero waste household and personal care staples, plus eco-life must-haves like bamboo toothbrushes, reusable sandwich wrap, reusable coffee filters, and loose-leaf tea.
Everything here is vegan, aside from the use of ethically-sourced beeswax for some products.
Otherwild
Otherwild is an eco-conscious hub that fosters an entire ecosystem of artists, visionaries, queer community, and local sustainability. They offer a bulk refill station, vintage homewares, works from local artists, and carefully curated apparel and products that have no-to-low impact on Mother Earth.
Otherwild carries kitsch and sustainable stuff, like plastic-free laundry detergent and dishwasher pods, zero waste bath and body, cleaning, kitchen, on-the-go products, and upcycled deadstock apparel and accessories.
In addition to their liquid and shampoo refilling station, they offer a selection of high-quality household and personal items from ethical and low-waste brands like Meow Meow Tweet’s body wash and Fat and the Moon’s deodorant.
Re_ Grocery
Look no further than Re_ Grocery for all your organic, package-free, and refillable grocery needs. The Certified B-Corp and waste-free shop in Los Angeles is known for its gorgeous interior aesthetic, helpful staff, reasonable prices, and exceptional quality and selection across all three locations.
This zero waste store in LA covers all your zero waste baking, snacking, cooking, and cleaning needs. They also offer fresh local produce, bulk bins for all of your favorite zero waste tea, coffee, pasta, spice, nuts, seeds, beans, grains, and dried fruits, plus oils, vinegar, and detergents. Fun discoveries include a nut butter grinder and treats like matcha lattés and kefir on tap.
Amazingly, Re_ Grocery says they’ve “diverted over 250,000 items of packaging from landfill since opening on Earth Day 2020”.
BYO
If you’re outside LA in the Long Beach area, BYO is an inspiring and well-stocked plastic-free store in Los Angeles with four locations. The company’s goal is to inspire the people of Long Beach to love the earth by reducing trash with reusable alternatives.“Perfection is not the goal, but progress,” they say, a sentiment we wholeheartedly stand behind.
Beyond their personal care refill station, their zero waste stores in Los Angeles sell all kinds of unique sustainable bath products, reusable containers, bags, books, jewelry, accessories, stationary like eco-friendly notebooks, and some kids’ items. You can also find liquid soaps, cleaners, and body care products, along with dry goods like loose-leaf teas, spices, herbs, and minerals.
We especially love the Who Gives A Crap toilet paper they sell and in fact use it ourselves.
Prostainable
Prostainable is female-owned and run by six women in the San Fernando Valleys. In their words, it’s “a low waste store for your zero waste intentions”. The shop has a thorough selection of sustainable products and refillable items.
Stand out items include oat and honey facial cleanser, French green clay, Rose Water toner, Sexie Sadie deodorant paste, All Good organic sunscreen, and sulfate and paraben-free lavender shampoo. Full ingredient lists are available for everything, so you can see for yourself how clean their products truly are.
They also offer classes like “Refillable Beauty Workshops” (for all types of refillable beauty products) and “Succulent and Sip Afternoons” where local wine and kombucha are sampled while you learn how to grow a succulent garden. Yes, please!
Eco Now
What began as an airstream trailer in 2019 is now three brick-and-mortar Orange County based bulk stores in Los Angeles. eco now has one of the most extensive catalogs of eco goodies we’ve seen, encouraging customers to “be eco now not eco later”.
Everything featured in the shop is eco-friendly, reusable, plastic-free, or handmade, including unusual and hard-to-find bulk items like liquid fragrances and perfume. Homewares include reusable produce bags, organic toilet paper alternatives, and beeswax food wraps, plus eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products via their teeming refill station. There are also interesting items for your bathroom, kitchen, kids, pets, and garden. Pink plant-dyed organic cotton oven mitts, anyone?
Run by wife and husband Thea and Tom, they also take part in impactful local events like the “Fix It Fair,” encouraging the community to learn to fix instead of tossing old items.
Co-opportunity Market
Of all the bulk food stores Los Angeles offers, Co-opportunity Market has a special place in many LA residents’ hearts as the only member-owned zero-waste grocery store in all of Lotusland. It started in 1974 (!) as a food-buying club of four in West LA.
For forty-plus years, their bulk food stores in Los Angeles have been an LA leader in inspiring healthy living, connecting people to local growers, ethical product sourcing, and championing sustainability.
This grocer is the Shangri-La of organic, ethical, and locally sourced produce, meat, dairy, prepared foods, health and beauty products, seafood, dairy, cheese, wine and organic beer, and bulk foods.
Their massive dry goods refillery section includes both familiar and unusual ingredients for Western and international cooking. You’ll find beans, grains, flours, nuts, granolas, herbs, spices, pasta, rice, baking ingredients, snacks, candy, coffees, teas, as well as liquids like nut butter, liquid soaps, and cooking oils.
The Refill Shoppe
The Refill Shoppe is a Certified B Corp zero waste store just north of Los Angeles in Ventura, CA with delivery available via their “Sudscriptions®” model. Dreamy bubble bath refills along with over 50 often custom-scentable bath, body, home & beauty products shipped right to our front door sounds suds-tacular!
Only vegan, cruelty-free, clean, responsible products galore can be found at this gem of a shop. That means naked or ethically packaged and refillable cleaning products like cleansers, scrubs, clays, masks, moisturizers, shaving and beard care, accessories, bubble bath, bath salts, bath oil, shampoo, conditioner, hair serum, hair masks, moisturizers, toothpaste, shower gels, shower scrubs, sprays, perfumes, essential oils, cleaning agents, laundry, soaps, and sanitizers.
Founder Michelle Stevens was awarded ‘Innovator of the Year’ from NAWBO, the National Association of Women Business Owners for her impact through her sustainable efforts.
The Well Refill
The Well is one of the waste-free stores in Los Angeles that specializes in “clean refills for the home and body”.
Set in an airy, chic store in Topanga, they offer more than 100 refillable products, as well as a handpicked selection of vintage items and zero waste personal care products.
Shelves of gorgeous vintage silk, handmade soaps, and zero waste dental care kits can be found mixed in with more than 100 unique natural bulk products sold by weight. These include palo santo and bergamot shampoo, moisturizing coconut and calendula conditioner, lavender lemon body soap, and dragon’s blood and lavender facial cleanser.
My Zero Waste Store
Of all the plastic-free shops in Los Angeles, this might be the most well-known thanks to its zero waste online store whose popularity reaches far beyond the outskirts of the Big Orange.
But before they were a popular plastic-free resource for those all over the country, My Zero Waste Store was a humble neighborhood shop and resource in Pasadena—though it was then known as Ban SUP. Owner Cheryl Auger is a local “anti-plastic activist,” and her passion for living sustainably is reflected in their large selection of zero waste goods for your skin, body, and home.
You’ll find pre-made zero waste kits, vegan refillable deodorant, all-natural sunblock, olive oil soap, bamboo kitchen utensils, and reusable dryer balls. Not to mention their bulk refill station with all the staples like soap, shampoo, conditioner, cleaning products, creams, coffee, and tea sold by the weight.
Rainbow Acres
Rainbow Acres has an iconic status for being one of the longest-standing and best low waste grocery stores in Los Angeles. The aisles are packed with every kind of health-conscious and environment-conscious food, supplement, and home or body product under the Californian sun.
The store has been lovingly packed for decades with everything from mushroom coffee and hard-to-get vitamins to pre-cooked entrees, vegan items, keto items, apothecary items, organic produce, a deli and soup bar, fair trade and organic coffee, and a juice bar.
While not an entirely zero waste store in Los Angeles, their low waste packaged bulk section impresses with dry goods, baking goods, organic beans, grains, nuts, dried fruits, flours, coconut, oats, snack mixes, spices, herbs, and more.
As one Google reviewer writes, it’s “probably the best grocery shop in the world, period!”. Membership is free so anyone can take advantage of this distinguished bulk store Los Angeles offers.
Would you consider making an updated version of this post? Some of the stores on the list have permanently closed 🙁 (Otherwild, Refillery)
Hi Alix, absolutely, the intent is to keep all our content on a refresh cycle! Thanks for letting us know about these stores, I’ll add it to the priority list!
Been saving containers to refill my groceries! Excited about the concept and really hope that I’ll find one with great quality and pricing. Please recommend one!!
Visited Re twice, really wish that they have air tight containers for food storage for better quality control and bulk pricing $/oz for liquid soap (that I refill using my own containers) will actually be cheaper than me buying them off the shelves at Wholefoods at regular retail price.
Unfortunately, the quality and pricing failed me, twice. 🙁 I’ll try again sometime and let’s see.
Thank you for the love!!! 🧡
You’re so welcome!