15 eco-friendly spots to check out this Earth Day (and beyond)

This Earth Day, check out these creative ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Reduce: Restock on groceries or beauty products with zero waste shopping

• Sustain LA (Northeast LA)
• The Well Refill (Topanga Canyon)
• Re_Grocery (Venice, Studio City, and Highland Park)
• My Zero Waste Store (Pasadena)
• Ethikli (Long Beach)

Tips to reduce your carbon footprint

1. Try a “sleep on it” policy before making any unplanned purchases. If you’re feeling like a big change, try doing a low-buy or no-buy month.
2. When you do shop, buy local when possible to avoid the carbon footprint caused by shipping.
3. Walk, carpool, or take public transportation when possible. Even in LA, sometimes public transportation can actually get you to where you need to go. 

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Reuse: Repair and refresh your things instead of buying replacements

• Repair Cafe (roving SG Valley)
• Remainders Creative Reuse (Pasadena)
• Lory’s Denim and Leather Clinic (Studio City)
• The Makers Hub monthly repair clinic (Compton)
• Rediscover Center (Mid-City and Venice)

Tips to reuse what you already have

1. Join Buy Nothing (via your local Facebook group or via the app) to offer things you no longer want for free to your neighbors. This is also a great platform to find things for free that you may want for yourself!
2. Repair items that are ripped or broken. Clothing/fabrics can be repaired inexpensively at most dry cleaners. Other items can usually be repaired by the manufacturer or a local spot (e.g., shoemaker).
3. Get creative with your DIY projects - give that old whoozit a fresh coat of paint or stitch that whatzit up with a funky patch. For every item you want to refresh, there’s a TikTok or YouTube video on a creative way to give it new life.

Recycle: Shop recycled and upcycled fashion

1. Suay (Downtown LA)
2. Marine Layer (Venice, Manhattan Beach, Malibu)
3. American Recycled Clothing (Gardena)
4. East West Shop (Chinatown)
5. Whimsey + Row (Mar Vista)

Tips to recycle when you are ready to let go

1. Look up recycling guidelines for your city. Just because something says it’s recyclable on the packaging doesn’t mean it actually gets recycled through your local center. Recycling properly can save the city precious resources!
2. Plastic grocery bags usually can’t be recycled through your city system but most grocery stores have recycle bins for their bags - when you have to use a plastic bag, take it back to the store next time to recycle it.
3. If you have fabrics that are torn, stained, or otherwise unlikely to be purchased at a thrift store, instead of donating them (where they will likely end up in the trash), recycle them at a store that has a fabric recycling program like H&M.

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