11 Zero Waste Stores In Denver You Can Get Rocky Mountain High Refills
The Mile High City is quickly transforming its nickname, and not for the better.
The mile high mountains Denver is known for may soon be transformed into mile high mountains of waste.
Currently, over 220,000 tons of waste are collected from Denver homes each year.
Even as one of the greenest cities in the US, it is clear that Denver still has some work to do—especially if it wants to protect the stunning natural world in its backyard.
Fortunately, these zero waste bulk stores in Denver can help save space in the landfills and help keep Colorful Colorado green.
Pop open our list of thrift shopping tips, queue some John Denver on Spotify, and get ready to hit some of the best zero waste stores Denver has to offer.
1. ZERO Market
About ZERO Market
No one does zero waste quite like ZERO Market.
This Denver refill store features over 1,200 products designed to make low-impact living easy. Each one is package-free, organic, locally-sourced, and toxin-free.
Aiming to make zero waste accessible, they offer various workshops on DIY zero waste products like deodorants, soaps, cosmetics as well as composting classes. They also offer personal services and advice for zero waste startups.
What You Can Find
Aside from equipping you with the know-how, they also equip customers with the tools to make their own products, thanks to dozens of bulk refill jars of both complete products and natural beauty ingredients like avocado and hemp seed oils.
Menstrual products, eco-friendly cleaning products, and cosmetics are just a fraction of the products they offer.
One of the best finds here is on-tap Kombucha. It’s not everyday you’ll find zero waste kombucha.
Location: North Aurora Division | Sloans Lake (Edgewater) | 5 Points (coming soon)
2. Off The Bottle
About Off The Bottle
Off The Bottle is a low-waste refill store Denver houses right in the heart of the city.
It offers non-toxic, plant-based, and cruelty-free home and body products, all of which are sustainably-sourced and environmentally-friendly.
What You Can Find
From composters to sustainable candles, this one-stop shop has all of your zero waste knick-knack needs.
Compostable hair ties, plantable greeting cards, or reusable coffee bags anyone?
In addition to knick-knacks, you’ll also find refills on zero waste shampoos and conditioners, laundry detergent, moisturizers, cleaning products, and more.
Either bring your own jar, purchase a new one, or check out the freecycle section of donated jars to fill your goodies.
Location: Capitol Hill
3. JOY FILL
About JOY FILL
No doubt you’ll be filled with joy after you see the zero waste goodies JOY FILL has to offer.
With refills on locally made household products and beauty items, this bulk store in Denver has diverted over 42,000 single use plastic containers from landfills, and counting!
Joyfill donates 1% of all profits to non-profit charity partners who share their commitment to environmental sustainability by fighting racial injustice in conservation, cleaning up the oceans, and conserving natural areas in Colorado.
What You Can Find
Families can rejoice in the family-friendly items Joyfill offers. You’ll be able to find laundry stain bars, reusable diapers, stasher bags, and wet bags for diapers. Anyone raising a zero waste baby knows just how beneficial it is to have these products on hand!
In alignment with their zero waste commitment, the store has a rotating recycling program that helps customers discard difficult to recycle products like crayola markers, snack wrappers, bottle caps, and razors.
Location: Northwest
4. Homefill
About Homefill
Homefill will help keep your home filled with all the necessary bulk home care goodies like household cleaners, personal care products, and pet shampoos and treats.
The majority of products found here are locally sourced from Colorado zero waste vendors, though select environmentally responsible national brands can be found, too.
Homefill prioritizes building relationships with small and women-owned businesses.
What You Can Find
Located in one of the best sustainable and partially zero waste markets Denver offers, Modern Nomad, Homefill’s recently expanded home accessories selection provides just a fraction of all your regularly used sustainable home goods with chemical-free bath bombs, shampoo, lotions, zero waste laundry detergent, and more.
They now offer bulk foods as well, including olive oils, canola, vinegar, fresh coffee beans from local roasters and loose leaf teas.
If you’re looking for sustainable furniture and thrifted goods, it may be worth checking out some of the other vendors at Modern Nomad after you refill all your bulk goodies.
Location: RiNo
5. Mudd House Mercantile
About Mudd House Mercantile
Mudd House Mercantile is one of the friendliest bulk stores Denver has to offer.
This pet-friendly store often has shop dogs helping out at check out. Feel free to drop by with your zero waste dog for some free treats and hugs.
Mudd House Mercantile provides an in-house recycling box for plastic bags and film that allows single-use plastics to be recycled into composite decking and railing.
What You Can Find
Bamboo basics are in stalk (get it?), such as washcloths, travel brushes, eco-friendly toilet paper, and biodegradable bandages.
In addition to bamboo products, you’ll find bulk refills on home, kitchen, bath, baby, and pet essentials: all-purpose cleaner, Castile soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, detergent, and more.
All products are palm oil free.
Location: City Park West
6. Apothecary Tinctura
About Apothecary Tincture
As one of the only stores that carry bulk herbs in the Denver metro area, Apothecary Tinctura, is a go-to bulk herb stop for many.
The healers at Apothecary Tinctura empower the community with education on sustainable herbal medicine via workshops and community classes.
This herbal home has a mission to ensure herbal medicine is accessible to all, regardless of financial circumstances. Herbs are hand-blended locally with intention, connection, and integrity, making them more affordable and sustainable.
What You Will Find
Whether you’re searching for basic herbs like fennel or jasmine, or hard-to-find herbs like skullcap or willowbark, the bulk herb section has your fill.
To prevent overharvesting of at-risk and endangered herbs, there is a cap to how much can be purchased at one time.
Tinctures include popular herbal remedies like ginseng, catnip, milk thistle, turmeric, ginger, and more. Like the herbs, endangered plant tinctures have a four ounce purchase limit.
Location: Congress Park
7. The Balanced Exchange
About The Balanced Exchange
This woman-owned Denver refill shop provides simple swaps for everyday products.
By reducing packaging, The Balanced Exchange can focus on sustainable sourcing by prioritizing natural, renewable, and locally-sourced ingredients from small batch makers.
A Best for Colorado company, The Balanced Exchange is committed to working towards a more equitable and sustainable future in Colorado. Each quarter, they donate a portion of their proceeds to organizations fighting for environmental justice through systemic change.
What You Can Find
The pressed flower greeting cards you’ll find here are made by people experiencing homelessness in Denver. Created from 100% post consumer recycled paper, these cards allow isolated individuals to step into the community by restoring the planet.
Other cool finds are reclaimed ski dish soap holders and reusable take-and-bake frozen pizza bags.
Location: Park Hill
8. Juniperseed Mercantile
About Juniperseed Mercantile
Located slightly outside of Denver, this small bulk refill shop is worth getting out of town for.
Juniperseed Mercantile offers attractive incentives to shoppers who bring their own containers via deep discounts. All products are housed in glass, paper, and aluminum packaging.
Juniperseed Mercantile aims for transparency, inviting customers to experience their processes, ingredients, team members, and sustainability practices first-hand by watching products being handcrafted at their facility.
What You Can Find
Juniperseed Mercantile crafts all-natural bath and body products and home cleaning solutions free from palm-oil and made from organic ingredients. Most are vegan, save those made from beeswax.
Unlike some other zero waste Denver stores, their products are made entirely in-house and sold in-store or online—including some of our personal favorite reusable paper towels.
You’ll find everything from facial serums and toners to ointments to reusable cleaning paper. A fan-favorite is their vegan lip balm line, packaged in compostable paper tubes and free from petroleum and artificial ingredients.
Location: Littleton
9. Nude Foods Market
About Nude Foods Market
On your way to go climbing on the Flatirons or simply replenish yourself with some nature in Chautauqua State Park?
Be sure to replenish your kitchen and home with groceries, personal care products, and cleaning supplies at the only zero waste store Boulder currently has.
They also offer delivery to Boulder and surrounding areas, including Denver, Lafayette, and Louisville.
Named based on their commitment to plastic-free packaging, Nude Food Markets is a traditional grocery store that gives local makers an alternative channel to sell their goods free from packaging.
They have saved over 200,000 pieces of packaging since they began.
Their commitment to the environment extends past packaging to reducing food waste by sourcing as many products as possible from local rescued produce that would otherwise be sent to compost. Their sourcing partner saves over 327 tons of food from landfills per year.
What You Can Find
Nude Foods Market has developed a system that allows them to supply harder to find zero waste products like tortilla chips, tofu, chocolate desserts, donuts, bread, veggie broth, popcorn, and more.
You can also find prepared foods, like hummus, salad dressings, and delicious prepared meals that are ready within five minutes.
Instead of filling up your own containers, you can purchase pre-filled jars, which are returnable to be cleaned and reused again.
Groceries aside, they offer cleaning items like laundry detergent, zero waste dish soap, detergents and snacks like peanut butter pretzels, sesame sticks, and chocolate chips.
Location: Boulder
10. Minimal Market
About Minimal Market
If you’re continuing your northbound journey out of Denver (maybe on your annual road trip to Vedawoo?!), at minimum, should stop at Minimal Market.
The couple-owned zero waste grocery store in Denver sources primarily local, sustainable, and natural low waste products.
They’re almost 100% organic and dedicated to minimal packaging, chemicals, and carbon emissions.
Customers have the option to fill reusable containers or use provided compostable packaging.
What You Can Find
They specialize in providing unique bulk foods to Denver residents, with a bulk bar stocked with things like soy sauce, herbs, noodles, pancake mix, flour, dry beans, and pet treats.
You can also find plenty of non-food items like reusable cotton rounds, dusters, mop pads, napkins, sponges, swabs, utensils, and wipes.
Location: Loveland
11. Simply Bulk Market
About Simply Bulk Market
Simply put, Simply Bulk Market is one of the most chic zero waste stores in Denver.
The store has bins and barrels filled with over 500 different bulk food items. Around 40% of the products are organic, while the rest are all-natural and free from artificial colors and hydrogenated oils.
The majority of items sold at Simply Bulk are sourced locally.
What You Can Find
Over 100 jars of spices, 10 kinds of oats, 16 varieties of beans, 18 varieties of rice, and plenty of cereals, nuts, trail mix easily makes this among the best bulk food stores in Denver.
The sustainable snack section is particularly impressive with treats like double-dipped chocolate covered peanuts, peanut butter pretzels, and dark chocolate covered almonds.
There’s even a bulk bar soap section that allows customers to cut off only as much as they need.
Location: Longmont
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Final Thoughts On Zero Waste Stores Denver
If you can’t tell, we think really highly of this sampling of zero waste stores Colorado offers—and not just because they’re over 5,000 feet in elevation.
By choosing to shop at package-free or refillable goods stores, you have the ability to reduce your personal plastic output and contribute to a more sustainable future.
We know you’re tired of paying $0.10 for those pesky plastic bags, anyway.
If you don’t have the chance to visit these places in person (we get it, life in the city can be busy,) these online zero waste stores may be better suited for you.
Either way, we encourage you to share this list with friends and loved ones in Denver so they, too, can get Rocky Mountain high on zero waste goods.
Which one are you most excited to take a hike to?
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