Eco friendly products in Singapore: a list of items to help you live more sustainably

Living sustainably involves some degree of change but it doesn’t have to be hard, and it definitely doesn’t mean you have to give up all of your favourite things all at once. In fact, there are many eco friendly products available in Singapore that can help make your life simpler while also reducing your impact on the planet.

A sustainable lifestyle is something you can work on incrementally so do not feel bad that you cannot change your habits soon enough. What is important is for you to identify areas that you can change in the short term and then long term, and which areas you can create the biggest impact.

As someone who embarked on this lifestyle more than 16 years ago, I would recommend approaching it in these 3 ways. It is important to start with a mindset shift, so that your actions will naturally follow.

1. Keeping your life simple and purchasing only what you need, because the more things you own, the more things you need to take care of.
2. Buying better products that last longer, and well-designed products that are easy to clean or maintain so you create less waste
3. Don’t make impulse buying decisions. Think it through to minimise waste and save money.

The recent plastic bag charge has made the need to minimise waste a more visible topic. While it is annoying to pay for bags, or inconvenient for some to carry a reusable bag with them, there is a good reason for implementing this charge. It gives a value to plastic bags rather than something that is free and easy to come by, and it makes us more mindful about our use of plastic bags.

There are perks to bringing your own food containers, cups or bags. Other than reducing waste, it can even result in savings. ION Orchard for one has been rewarding its ION Rewards Members with Green Points. As part of their Dining’s A Breeze campaign, members can earn 5 Green Points (worth $2 in e-vouchers) for every transaction with a minimum $20 spend, when using their own reusable containers, cups or bags to participating F&B outlets. This is limited to the first 1000 members each month, till 30 July.

These dining establishments include Le Matin Patisserie, Sunday Folks, Kee Wah Bakery, Guzman Y Gomez Mexican Kitchen, Lee Wee & Brothers, Paris Baguette, Niku Kappo By Watami and Venchi. To find out more about the campaign, please see here.

With this in mind, here is a list of some great eco friendly products in Singapore to kickstart your sustainable lifestyle!

Where to buy eco friendly products in Singapore

Eco stationery

If you prefer to take notes on physical notebooks and on paper, you can opt for sustainably-made notebooks and writing instruments, or better, ones which can be composted or planted. Here is a selection of eco stationery that you can consider getting:

1. BĪJ Plantable Gift Wrapping – Love gifting wrapped presents but can’t find a sustainable alternative? This zero waste, plantable seeds wrapping paper can be planted by the recipient of your present, and plants will spring forth from seeds embedded within. Get it from Left-HandDesign here.
2. BĪJ Plantable Notebooks and other stationery – This notebook cover comprises plantable seed paper. Plant the front and back cover of their notebook for basil seedlings. Available from Left-HandDesign for $10, they have an entire plantable series, view the range here.
3. Sprout Pencils – Choose from a range of pencils that contain herb seeds and can be planted. Buy one or an entire set from The First Green Store.
4. Plantable Pen – These pens are made from recycled newspapers and once you are done using them, the base of the pen can be buried in soil and plants will grow. Colour pencils are also available. Get it from The Eco Statement here
5. Staple-less Stapler – Other than paperclips, staple-less staplers get the job done without being wasteful. Get yours from Muji or Kinokuniya.
6. Kraft Paper Tape – This water activated tape is made of kraft paper and is biodegradable. Buy it on Shopee here.

Eco Home Care Products

Less chemicals in home care products mean less exposure to toxic ingredients for you and your family and pets, as well as for the environment. Get your gentle yet effective cleaners here:

1. OASIS: retails a wide range of eco personal care and cleaning products. They have a laudable zero waste policy where all of their shipping packaging for online orders are 100% recycled. Get 10% off your first order when you use this referral link.
2. Agape Nature‘s best seller is a certified organic and safe cleanser called Love Rescue 001. It has a wide range of applications, it serves as a hand wash, fruit and vegetable wash, dishwashing detergent, floor cleaner, and surface cleaner. It eliminates over 99.99% of germs, bacteria, and viruses. For a 5% discount, enter the promo code TTG at checkout on their website.
3. Seventh Generation is an established, trusted eco cleaning brand which has been in Singapore for many years now. Their products are gentle on skin and on the environment. Get it from Cold Storage, FairPrice and Lazada.
4. Simply Good retails eco cleaning products in the form of dissolvable tablets. The main ingredient in liquid household cleaners is water, making it heavy to ship, resulting in a greater carbon footprint. Tablets also reduce the amount of product packaging, making it more planet-friendly. Available from their website.

Eco Lifestyle Products

Looking for everyday products to supplement your eco lifestyle? By bringing your own containers, water bottle, cutlery, reusable bag and other items, you will be able to cut a lot of packaging waste from your life and reduce your environmental impact. Here are some one-stop shops where you can buy a range of everyday essentials from.

1. The Green Collective is a one-stop shop featuring a wide variety of eco lifestyle products. This includes wellness, pets, bedding, gardening and even composting. Shop their website or Lazada or at their physical shop at Funan.
2. The Sustainability Project is an environmental advocacy platform which also retails planet-friendly products. Purchases help fund their educational efforts, click here to shop the range.
3. The Social Space is a cafe, eco retail store, personal skincare and home cleaning product refillery, and co-working space all rolled into one! Shop for eco home care products or bring your own bottles for refilling at either Kreta Ayer or Duo Galleria. Find out more about this social enterprise here!
4. Unpackt is Singapore’s first zero waste bulk food store which also retails personal care and household cleaning products. Shop online or at their stores located here.
5. Scoop is a zero waste grocery store which consists of bulk foods, personal care and cleaning products. Shop online or visit one of their 9 branches around Singapore.

Eco Fashion

Fashion is the second most polluting industry after oil. Instead of buying from fast fashion houses and businesses that do not have a sustainability policy, why not opt for these brands instead?

1. Esse is highly intentional about their clothing, creating only small numbers per collection and using sustainable materials like linen and bamboo knit. Shop their clothing on their website.
2. Sui is a slow fashion brand that uses good quality sustainable fabrics like hemp, organic cotton, linen, silk and more, and is hand made by skilled artisans in India. Find them online here.
3. Our Barehands is a sustainable and ethical fashion label that partners communities around the world to produce fashion and other lifestyle items. Find out more on their website.
4. Zerrin is an online marketplace of sustainable and ethically made fashion pieces. They also have a wonderful blog filled with thoughtfully written, helpful articles on the topic of sustainable fashion locally and internationally. Find out more here.
5. Source Collections make the most comfortable basics for men and women. Personally, I own several items in different colours and it is my wardrobe staple. Browse the collection here.
6. The Fashion Pulpit is a store and online platform for those who enjoy swapping fashion items. Begin your swapping journey here!
7. Swapaholic is an online platform where you can sell, buy and swap pre-loved clothing. They currently have a pop up at Centrepoint. Find out more here.
8. Refash is a thrift store where anyone can buy and sell their clothing at. Shop online or at their physical stores, learn more about them here.

I hope you found this list on where to buy eco friendly products in Singapore useful! I only recommend products I would use myself and have used some of the brands mentioned above.

All opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains affiliate links that come at no additional cost to you, and I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase.

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Main photo by Sarah Chai.