Sustainable living is becoming an issue of increasing importance as the climate crisis worsens and people look for ways to do their part in changing the planet’s fate.
Along with the growing initiative to live more sustainably comes lots of discourse regarding different ways to become more sustainable or ways to reduce waste in our lives. With all these other ideas and products circulating, it can be challenging to know where to begin. What swaps are actually beneficial? What things do I actually need to find alternatives to? Where do I even go to buy sustainable products?
Many businesses are switching to lower waste packaging or moving to more sustainable practices, but there’s another industry evolving. Stores that are entirely aimed at giving customers environmentally responsible options are beginning to emerge, and as it turns out, Portland is home to many of these businesses.
Mama and Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop — a store with locations on Stark, Mississippi, and Main Street in Milwaukie — sells products to aid customers in their journeys to reduce waste and live more sustainably. They sell items like from reusable silicone Q-tips all the way to bulk carpet cleaner and biodegradable dental floss.
Mama and Hapa’s provides customers with a unique shopping experience by giving out scan cards that keep track of the shoppers’ balance as they shop. Mama and Hapa’s stores are lined with dozens of dispensers that contain various refill items, from laundry products to floor and bathroom cleaners to hair and body care products. For refill items like these, the customer has to simply scan their card on the pad next to the product, and the amount they fill up is loaded directly onto the card, priced by the fluid ounce. Customers can bring in containers of their own to fill up or choose from a variety of free, recycled jars and containers that the store offers.
Mama and Hapa’s, which was founded in 2021, was created to give people the opportunity to reduce their use of single-use plastic, says owner Ross Ching. Ching recommends that someone looking to reduce their waste should start bringing reusable utensils when eating out at places like food trucks. Mama and Hapa’s stores sell a small utensil set that Ching recommends to store goers as it can easily be thrown in a bag when on the go; this is especially important because, as Ching observes, “A lot of the zero waste world revolves around portability; if you don’t have it on you to use, it’s not going to save the plastic.”
The Realm Refillery, another low-impact and sustainability-focused business, is a package-free grocery store on 23rd and Broadway. Their primary focus is to provide an accessible place to buy package-free food and produce. The store displays dozens of bulk dispensers with everyday pantry staples like pasta and rice, as well as different snacks and baking essentials. There are also refrigerated sections with produce from local Oregon farms. They sell other home essentials too, such as cleaning supplies and bath and body products. The idea is that shoppers can come in and purchase just as much of a product as they need. This, owner Brit Snipes shares, is a good way to reduce plastic waste and promote mindful consumption. They provide containers for customers to take groceries home in but also encourage customers to bring in their own clean and dry containers to refill.
To really cut down on your waste, Snipes emphasizes that it’s important to start small and build from there. “Remember, every small step counts!” She says, “Over time, these changes will add up to a bigger impact, and you’ll find it easier to make more sustainable choices in other areas of your life.” Snipes recommends switching to reusable versions of single-use items like straws and plastic bags and also suggests planning your meals in advance so that you are encouraged to buy only exactly what you need. When you have leftovers, she says to try and use them creatively, “You’ll waste less food and save money in the process.”
Snipes encourages customers to know the power they hold. She recognizes the importance of and need for systemic change to combat the climate crisis and highlights that individuals can make a difference by making better choices in their own lives. “Every small, collective action we take — whether it’s refusing single-use plastics, supporting local businesses, or demanding better — truly chips away at the system,” she says.
Another local business dedicated to providing the community with waste-free alternatives is Simple Sundries. While they aren’t on Google Maps, you can find them at 9041 NE Sandy Blvd. At Simple Sundries, which is open on the weekends from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., customers can shop from a large variety of bulk cleaning products as well as bath and body products. This store encourages customers to bring in their own empty containers to refill, but they also offer recycled containers in-store for customers to use, similar to the other refill stores in the city.
Porter Lee’s Reusables is another Portland-based eco-friendly small business that sells specifically reusable alternatives to single-use items like paper towels, sandwich bags, cotton rounds, and even Swiffer mop pads. Named after the owner Porsha Hendrix’s son, this brand started when Hendrix began making handmade cloth diapers and burp rags for her then-newborn. “[They] quickly became a household staple for all sorts of uses. I wanted something more socially acceptable for kitchen use, so I began developing what [became] our signature reusable paper towels,” shares Hendrix.
All Porter Lee products are handmade in Portland, come in all kinds of patterns and colors, and are crafted from eco-friendly materials. Hendrix’s passion for sustainability largely comes from her experience as a mother. “Sustainability is deeply important to me because it’s about taking care of the world we live in and leaving it better for future generations,” she shares. “When I became a mother, I started thinking more critically about the amount of waste we create and how that impacts the environment Porter and other kids will grow up in,” Hendrix says. Hendrix advises taking your journey to sustainable living one step at a time. “You don’t have to change everything overnight,” she says, “start by making small, manageable swaps that fit into your daily routine.”
Porter Lee products can be found at all Mama and Hapa’s locations, and at Portland craft fairs like Crafty Wonderland, as well as at many other locations around Oregon. Their products are also sold online on their website.
There are many ways to live a more sustainable life. Whether you are looking to make some simple switches or if you want to live a completely zero-waste lifestyle, there are resources to make it possible. Small businesses all around Portland are here to help you begin or continue your relationship with sustainability. The climate crisis won’t get better if we choose to do nothing about it. It’s up to us to decide if we care enough to start making changes. Individual efforts are an important step toward larger systemic solutions.
