We are committed to offering truly (none of that greenwashing) sustainable products to our Ethos community. We do the long hard research, so you don't have to. These are our guiding principles when it comes to the procurement of our product offerings.

Our Commitment to Sustainable Products

Plastic-Free

We ask that all our vendors package and ship our offerings plastic-free. While this can be overlooked every now and then by our vendors, we continue to work with them to assure they ship to us without plastic.  We believe in reducing our plastic consumption all the way up and down the waste stream. Instead of plastic, we offer products that are made of sustainable materials. We look for materials that can be reused, composted, or recycled at the end of life. 

Circular 

Our expectation for working with any business is that they have placed value in creating a product that is not only durable and lasting, but have put systems in place for reuse, recycling, repurposing and avoiding the landfill at the end of that product’s life. Circular production and end-life planning for the win!

Ethical 

We do our best to dig into the work practices behind the production of the products we sell to avoid perpetuating a cycle of child labor, poor working conditions, and unfair wages. This is no easy feat. As we continue to try to uncover more and more about the industries producing the products we sell, if at any point we learn of unsatisfactory conditions, we will no longer use that product or work with that company. 

Safe Ingredients and Transparency

Every ingredient contained in the products are disclosed, and nothing is hidden from the customer. The brands we’ve partnered with are strongly committed to protecting the planet and our bodies by using cruelty free and clean ingredients.

Equitable and Intersectional

Sustainable products can be expensive. We try our hardest to ensure our products are as cost-effective as they can be. We strive to partner with a diverse range of fellow small businesses that are local, fair-trade, cruelty-free, LGBTQIA+, women-owned, and Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color-owned, whenever possible.

Giving Back 

We prioritize working with companies who are doing more to help our world. We look for companies that are giving back to their communities, the environment and fostering a sense of desire to do more than simply create a profit.We also work within our community at every opportunity in order to educate and inspire others to make whatever changes they can for the world. Learn more about our giving back efforts here! 

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity

We recognize that 'Zero Waste’ is not new nor innovative. Living zero waste has been a way of life for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) for centuries and is now centered around and dominated by whiteness. The movement to generate less waste was taking place long before shops like ours came around. At Ethos, we realize our privilege as an opportunity to uplift those without certain privileges, to remain mindful that the larger system benefits some and oppresses others, to listen intently and deeply to all communities and, to then, act accordingly. We are thankful to be located in a place that has a foundational love for small, local businesses yet, there is great privilege in being able to own and run a shop. Therefore, it is important to us to be deliberate in how we establish diversity and inclusivity in our business and as activists in the environmental movement.

Our team is continuing to develop and execute an internal Action Plan that brings the following commitments to life. Our Action Plan is a continual work in progress as we become more educated and garner more awareness of environmental and social justice issues. We encourage and welcome feedback and suggestions.

Ethos Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan

Procurement 

Diversify who we collaborate with, as well as diversify our product lines to include more BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ -owned businesses. 

• Expand our offerings to include more BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ -owned businesses. 
• Hold our vendors accountable for improving the inclusivity of their product options and commitment to sustainability.  
• Update our product marketing materials to be more diversely representative.

Is there a brand you’d love to see at Ethos that you think would be a great fit for upholding our commitment to diversity? Email us at [email protected].

Education and Community  

Decolonize our perspective on low waste living and ways of doing business. 

• Decolonize our language and product lines by respecting the origins of the product’s usage and sharing this knowledge with our community.
• Continue to foster a safe space and shopping experience for our team members and customers regardless of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

Educate ourselves on ways to be anti-racist both professionally and personally, and share what we learn with our community. 

• Routinely share books and texts that we as a shop are reading to stir discussion amongst our community and introduce new perspectives and ideas from underrepresented communities (e.g. putting focus on adding BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authored books in our lending library).
• Share podcasts, articles, books and other resourceful mediums amongst team members that will equip us to be more thoughtful, empathetic and educated members of the community and wider society.
• Listen to and amplify the voices of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community. 

Support

Act upon the environmental and social injustices faced by BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities through the support of environmental justice organizations. 

• Establish opportunities for customers to learn about and support environmental justice organizations and activists. 
• Perform ongoing donations, collaborations and promotions in partnership with various organizations that value environmental justice activism. 

As a white and CIS woman-owned company, there is a great deal for us to learn, and while we educate ourselves we are putting our words to action. It is our responsibility as individuals, and as a company to do whatever is in our power to invoke change.

We pledge to continue to use our privilege and platform as a force for good. We as a company have taken the Intersectional Environmentalist Pledge. We stand in solidarity with those fighting for and speaking out against racial injustices.