Each year, the U.S. discards 38 to 40 percent of its food, a stubbornly high figure. Yet, other countries like the Czech Republic, Israel, and Denmark show promising solutions that American cities are beginning to adopt.
The global challenge is similarly daunting. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about one-third of all food produced for people worldwide is lost or wasted each year. This is not just a moral issue, since so many people go hungry, but also a big climate problem. Project Drawdown lists cutting food waste as one of the top three ways to fight climate change. Some countries have been working on this for years and offer lessons for others.
Czech Republic: Rooted in Preservation Culture
Home-grown produce from backyard vegetable gardens supplements family meals throughout the Czech Republic. Residents tend fruit trees, greenhouses, and chicken coops. Many rent municipal allotment plots to use as supplemental gardens. Home composting is common and deeply normalized.
Czechs don’t just eat what their gardens yield—they savor the adventure! During mushroom and wild garlic season, families head outdoors to forage together. Extra produce finds a second life as jams or pickles, or gets frozen and fermented into tangy cabbage. Got leftover fruit? Send it to a local distillery for a splash of homemade liquor. Even stale bread avoids the bin, reborn as crispy breadcrumbs straight from your kitchen.
Apps like Nesnězeno let Czech restaurants, bakeries, cafés, and grocery stores sell extra food as discounted ‘rescue bags,’ priced 50 to 70% below retail — for pickup before closing. This connects surplus food with local buyers looking for a good deal. By the end of 2024, Nesnězeno had 1,487 partner businesses, a 132% increase from the year before, and had expanded across all Czech regions. Prague led with 239,000 rescued packages (41% of the total), followed by South Moravian and Pilsen, according to MediaGuru.
The app has been downloaded by more than 3 million users and has saved over 3 million packages of unsold meals overall.
The Czech Republic’s recycling rate for municipal waste went up from 32% in 2017 to 44% in 2021, just below the EU average. However, separating and collecting food waste is still inconsistent. A new national program for collecting kitchen animal-based waste, starting in 2026, aims to fix this.
Israel: Food Rescue as National Resilience
Food and water security in Israel are inseparable from politics. Leket Israel, the country’s largest food bank, pursues a mission of “food rescue” that serves Israelis regardless of background, coordinating with farms, packing houses, hotels, and catering operations to redirect surplus food to 200 nonprofits serving those in need.
Bustling outdoor food markets are traditional fixtures in Israeli cities, bringing consumers closer to the source of their food. In such busy places, edible food regularly ends up on the ground. Volunteers with Leket collect leftovers to distribute to people in need.
Leket released its 10th annual Food Waste and Rescue Report in late 2025. The report showed that Israel threw away 2.6 million tons of food, or 39% of what it produced, similar to the U.S. This wasted food was worth about $7 billion, or 1.3% of the country’s GDP. Still, there has been progress: food waste per person dropped 13.3% over the last ten years, from 300 kg to 260 kg per year. This improvement is thanks to more public awareness, serving food on individual plates in cafeterias, and more online food orders. But population growth and higher food prices have kept the total amount of wasted food high.
Leket and its partners now rescue about 45,000 tons of food each year, 2.25 times more than a decade ago. Still, this is only 5% of the food that could be saved in Israel. The Food Donation Encouragement Law, first passed in 2018, was updated in 2024 to give more legal protection to donors and require large public institutions to donate food.
In September 2025, Israel released its first national plan to cut food loss and waste, written by the Ministries of Environmental Protection and Agriculture. This was a big step toward better policy coordination. Israeli AgTech companies are also known worldwide for using technology to reduce food waste. For example, Sufresca makes edible coatings to keep produce fresh longer, and Taranis uses drones and AI to spot crop problems early.
Denmark: Culture as Infrastructure
In Denmark, people often leave free food in boxes on the sidewalk. Signs in front of homes might offer free apples or potatoes, or eggs for sale using the honor system. There are also Facebook groups in every major Danish city for dumpster diving, where people collect edible food that supermarkets throw away after the best-by date.
Supermarkets in Denmark lower prices on food that is close to its best-by date, especially baked goods, which are marked down every evening after 7 or 8 p.m. Food producers and supermarket chains work with groups like Too Good To Go and WeFood, Denmark’s first surplus food supermarket, to sell rescued food at big discounts. Chains like REMA 1000, Coop, and LIDL have also stopped offering bulk-buy discounts that encouraged people to buy more than they needed.
Too Good To Go started in Copenhagen in 2015 and has grown quickly. In 2023, the app saved 121.7 million meals worldwide, up 46% from 2022, and helped prevent about 362,000 tons of CO2 emissions. The app now works in over 17 countries and has more than 85 million users.
The WeFood surplus grocery network, which began as a single location in Copenhagen in 2016, has grown to six stores across Denmark. And a voluntary national commitment, “Denmark Against Food Waste,” united more than 25 food producers and retailers behind a shared goal of halving food waste by 2030. An independent third party measures and publishes annual progress.
What the U.S. Has Borrowed
Some of the ideas first used in these three countries are now catching on in the United States. However, there are still big challenges slowing progress.
Too Good To Go started in the U.S. in late 2020 and has been growing ever since. By mid-2025, the app was available in almost half of U.S. states, including cities such as Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle. The number of meals saved grew by 67% each year. In 2024, Circle K convenience stores joined the app nationwide. Too Good To Go now also works with big chains like Whole Foods, Peet’s Coffee, and Just Salad.
Since 2020, most progress on food waste in the U.S. has happened at the state level. In 2024, 29 states introduced 100 distinct food waste bills, and 18 passed. California’s SB 1383, which started in 2022, brought organics collection to 94% of communities and rescued 217,000 tons of surplus food in 2023. Washington state also passed a major law in 2022, requiring businesses that generate large amounts of organic waste to compost or arrange for collection.
Federal legislation has moved slowly. As of 2024, 13 pending federal food waste bills were before Congress, including the bipartisan Food Date Labeling Act of 2023, which would standardize confusing “best by” and “sell by” date labeling — but none had passed. The lack of national date-label standards is a key driver of household waste, as consumers discard food that is still safe to eat.
In 2015, the U.S. promised to cut food waste in half by 2030. But a 2025 study in Nature Food found that the amount of food wasted per person in 2022, at 328.5 pounds, was about the same as in 2016. The study said that no state is on track to meet the federal goal with current policies. It also pointed out that the U.S. focuses too much on recycling food waste instead of preventing or rescuing it. In contrast, Denmark and the Czech Republic work to keep food from becoming waste in the first place, while U.S. policy mostly deals with food after it’s already lost.
What You Can Do
- Download Too Good To Go or a similar app to save extra food from restaurants and grocery stores in your area.
- Volunteer at a local food bank to help get rescued food to people who need it. You’ll also learn more about food inequality in your community.
- Check out local CSAs and farmers’ markets to help cut down on food lost in big supply chains.
- Composting at home is a simple way to recycle food scraps. If you live in an apartment, see if your city has a compost drop-off program.
- Ask your supermarket to start marking down food that is close to its best-by date. This is common in Denmark but not in the U.S.
- Reach out to your congressional representatives and ask them to support the Food Date Labeling Act. Standardized date labels could make a big difference at the national level.
- Use the Earth911 recycling search tool to find recycling and food drop-off options near you.
Editor’s Note: Originally written by Chloe Skye on March 10, 2020, this article was substantially updated in April 2026.
The post 3 Countries’ Food Waste Strategies: What Can They Teach Us? appeared first on Earth911.
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The right sustainable rug can completely transform a space. A plant-based fiber rug like jute or sisal can create a grounding warmth, while a thick responsibly-sourced wool rug adds a sense of luxury. An artisan handcrafted rug infuses character and authentic culture where a vintage one can add layers of history and soul.
Furniture is functional and can be beautiful, but adding an exceptional rug is what brings it all together. A rug is at the center — at the heart — of your living room or bedroom or dining room. In other words: a rug is how you start to turn those four walls into a home.
That said, unfortunately most rugs today are mass-produced from synthetic fibers like polyester (read: plastic), finished with toxic chemicals, and made in unethical labor conditions.
Thankfully, there is a better way. Let’s talk sustainable rugs.
What is a “Sustainable Rug”, Exactly?
I like to include an in-depth explanation on “sustainable” in our guides because there’s no standard definition of the term when it comes to fashion or home goods. So here’s how we define “sustainable rugs” at Conscious Life & Style.
Natural Materials:
We’re looking for natural fibers like jute, seagrass, sisal, hemp, cotton (less common) or ethically-sourced wool. Recycled natural fibers are a great bonus, as is organic. The most reputable organic certification for fibers currently on the market is Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
We’re steering clear of synthetic rugs, including recycled polyester in this guide, because they risk releasing microplastics into our homes and environment.
Also natural fibers that aren’t treated with or blended with synthetics are generally biodegradable at the end of their life.
“Recyclability” when it comes to textiles is largely a misnomer. We have far more textile waste than we do textile recycling infrastructure capacity. Plus many types of fabrics still can’t be recycled properly — if at all — today.
Dyes & Chemical Usage
Another source of impact is the dyes and other finishes used on the rugs. Many of these dyes and finishes are synthetic.
One better option is a “low impact dye” — this generally refers to a synthetic dye that doesn’t contain common toxic chemicals (like heavy metals) and has a higher absorption rate, which requires less water. Natural dyes on the other hand are non-synthetic colorants derived from plants, minerals, or sometimes even insects.
There are also additional chemicals these companies may add to rugs like PFAS (forever chemicals) for stain or water resistance or flame retardants. So if you see claims like “stain resistant” or “easy care” you probably want to do some additional digging to ensure those textiles weren’t treated with toxic chemicals.
One certification to look for is OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, which is a label for textiles that have been tested against common harmful substances.
Ethical Production Practices:
Unfortunately forced and child labor is still happening in the carpet and rug industries. So transparency is key. Two certifications to look for are GoodWeave (assurance against child, forced, and bonded labor) and Fair Trade Certified
. Certifications are certainly not an end all be all, so I’m also looking for transparency from the brand — who makes their products? How are they made? What is their relationship to those makers, artisan cooperatives, or facilities? Are they working in safe conditions? Are they paid fairly? A living wage?
Another element here is craftsmanship. Many of these rug-making techniques have been around centuries, but are at risk of dying out with the rise of mass-produced rug makers. Is the brand showing a commitment to sustaining heritage techniques and generations-old craftsmanship?
You might also like to look for local production, though local doesn’t automatically mean ethical. I still like to look for transparency here, as exposés have found there are still sweatshops in the US, too.
Durability & Longevity:
This one is the most challenging. Not only is it difficult to assess the durability of a rug before you’ve purchased it (even most reviewers only comment on their initial experience), but durability is also significantly impacted by how we care for that rug. Do you wash it often? Do you have pets? Kids? Are you putting the rug in a high-traffic area? Is it getting wet often (like in a kitchen or bathroom)?
That said, I’m looking for attention to craftsmanship from a brand, and attention to detail. There are also certain elements to look out for. For example:
- Thicker and denser rugs generally hold up better than looser or low-density tufted rugs.
- Reinforced edges prevent fraying and strong backings prevent the rug curling at the edges.
- Hand-knotted rugs are labor intensive (and may be pricier) but can last decades or even centuries.
Top Picks for Sustainable Rugs
Ok so that was a lot! But no stress — I’ve done the hours of heavy lifting and digging for you to curate this guide to brands with sustainable rugs. So let’s dive in.
Note that Conscious Life & Style is reader supported and this guide includes affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase via some of these links, I may earn a commission. As always all brands meet are rigorous sustainability criteria.
Secondhand First!
Part of our philosophy at Conscious Life & Style is to look secondhand first. So before we dive into the brands, here are some places to find vintage and pre-loved rugs first:
1. Urban Natural
Best for: Living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms
Urban Natural is your online destination for finding responsibly-made, exceptionally crafted home goods from sustainably-minded makers. Brands on Urban Natural include Loloi, a well-respected GoodWeave certified rug brand with rugs ethically hand-woven in Varanasi, India; and Jaipur Living, a company dedicated to preserving time-honored handcrafted art and rug weaving traditions, partnering with 40,000 artisans across hundreds of rural communities throughout India.
Other sustainable rug options on Urban Natural include 100% linen rugs from Libeco, which holds the Masters of Linen® quality label; and 100% wool rugs made in the USA from Earth Weave, the first US carpet manufacturer with a completely natural product line.
Materials: Wool, Jute, Sisal, Cotton, Silk, and Linen (Note: there are a couple of “performance” rugs made with polyester)
Price Range: Starts at $179
Shipping: Ships within the US
2. Lorena Canals
Best for: Living rooms, entryways and bedrooms
Lorena Canals revolutionized the rug industry with machine-washable cotton and wool rugs that don’t compromise on beauty or sustainability. Handcrafted in the brand’s own factory in India since 1998, each piece uses natural or recycled fibers, non-toxic azo-free dyes certified by GOTS and OEKO-TEX standards, and a water-efficient cone-dyeing method that conserves 75% of water compared to traditional processes. The aesthetic ranges from playful geometric patterns and kitchen tile motifs to minimalist neutral textures in their Woolable collection. With customizable options and designs that celebrate the natural colors of undyed wool, these rugs pair practical washability with artisan craftsmanship, all while supporting the brand’s Sakûla Project school for children in northern India.
Materials: Cotton, Wool
Price Range: From $145
Shipping: Global | Outside of US and Canada? Use this website to order instead.
3. CICIL
Best for: Living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, and dining rooms
Founded by two former Patagonia textile experts in North Carolina, Cicil brings radical transparency to rug-making with a supply chain that travels less than 1,000 miles from wool to floor. Their braided and shuttle weave rugs use 70% undyed wool sourced directly from small family farms across upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, combined with 30% jute for durability. With shapes ranging from linear and oval to curvy and arch designs, each piece celebrates natural wool tones—from deep grays to warm beiges—without any synthetic dyes or finishes. Made in the Carolinas using traditional techniques on vintage looms, Cicil’s approach is intentionally “anti-innovation,” focusing instead on time-tested methods that create rugs built to biodegrade gracefully after a lifetime of use.
Materials: Wool, Jute
Price Point: From $459
Shipping: Ships within the US (all orders ship free)
4. West Elm Fair Trade Certified
Best for: Living rooms, dining rooms, offices, or bedrooms
I tend to put large retailers, like West Elm, through much stricter scrutiny in my vetting process because they have larger supply chains which makes transparency much more difficult. It’s easy to know your factory without a certification if you work with one or two facilities. It’s much harder when you work with 20 — or 200. That’s why I appreciate that West Elm has such an extensive selection of rugs made in verified Fair Trade Certified factories.
Most of West Elm’s rugs are also made from 100% natural materials like sisal, jute, wool, and cotton. Though like most companies, their “Performance Rugs” are made with polyester. West Elm does use 90-100% recycled polyester for these rugs which makes it a lower impact choice from a carbon emissions point of view. It may still shed microplastics, but if you have pets that could be worth the trade-off for you to have a durable rug.
Note that West Elm does not have non-toxic related certifications for most of their rugs, so this can be a great choice if you value aesthetic variety, ethical production, and natural materials, but if your top priority or concern is that the rug was tested for potentially harmful chemicals, West Elm might not be the right fit for you.
Materials: Wool, Jute, Sisal, Cotton (Performance rugs use recycled polyester)
Price Point: From $459
Shipping: Ships within the US and select other countries
5. Schoolhouse
Best for: Bedrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms
Schoolhouse brings American design sensibility to handcrafted rugs woven in India using natural materials. Their collection spans hand-knotted wool pieces with vivid, whimsical patterns like the Sundrop design to reversible flatweave plaid styles perfect for layering. Natural-dyed wool yarn creates rich, enduring colors—from burnt orange and chartreuse to soft neutrals—while jute-chenille blends offer versatility underfoot without the typical scratchiness. With 80% of their assortment domestic and FSC-certified materials across their product lines, Schoolhouse prioritizes reducing carbon emissions through consolidated shipping and minimal plastic packaging.
Materials: Wool, Jute, Cotton, Recycled PET (note: PET is plastic, so this isn’t our top recommendation)
Price Range: From $79
Shipping: Ships to all US States and Canada
6. Nestig
Best for: Nurseries and playrooms
Nestig transforms nursery floors with whimsical, machine-washable rugs that parents actually want to clean. Hand-loomed in Brazil by local artisans with over 20 years of experience, each piece uses 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton grown locally and dyed with non-toxic pigments. The designs range from playful vehicles (dump trucks, airplanes, sailboats) and animals (dinosaurs, bears) to sophisticated geometric patterns and world maps. Nestig operates on a “just enough” business model that minimizes warehouse inventory and carbon footprint, partnering exclusively with sustainable, family-owned businesses. Every rug arrives as a truly one-of-a-kind piece with natural variations that come from artisan craftsmanship.
Materials: Organic Cotton
Price Range: From $399
Shipping: Ships to US, Canada, and the UK
7. Salem Hello
Best for: Living rooms, bedrooms, hallways and statement spaces
Salam Hello bridges the gap between Moroccan artisan tradition and contemporary homes with transparency at its core. Each handwoven rug is crafted by Amazigh women in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, preserving techniques passed through generations while ensuring fair wages and artisan recognition. The collection includes ready-to-ship vintage and new pieces alongside made-to-order designs where you choose size, color, and pattern. From neutral flatweaves and textured hand-knots to bold geometric designs rich in traditional symbolism, every rug carries protective meaning woven into its fibers. With collaborations like their Izra collection with General Assembly and the Atlas Form line, Salam Hello offers refined modern interpretations alongside authentic traditional styles.
Materials: Wool
Price: From $625
Shipping: Ships Worldwide
8. Organic Weave
Best for: Living rooms, bedrooms, and kids’ rooms
Organic Weave was born after founder Linda witnessed child labor at the rug manufacturers in India her family’s rug business was sourcing from. When Linda became the buyer at her family’s company, she started sourcing exclusively from the only supplier that was committed to not employing children.
Today, Organic Weave is GoodWeave certified — a certification providing additional assurance there isn’t child labor in the supply chain. And as the name suggests, the sustainable rug company also uses organic materials: 100% organic wool for high-traffic areas like living rooms and 100% organic cotton for lower traffic areas like bedrooms. Their handmade, artisan crafted rugs are Global Organic Textile Standard Certified too.
Materials: Organic Cotton, Organic Wool
Price Range: From $1,789
Shipping: Ships Worldwide
9. LOOMY
Best for: Living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms
LOOMY proves that sustainable doesn’t mean sacrificing style with a curated collection of contemporary rugs made entirely by hand from indigenous artisan weaving communities worldwide. Their natural fiber collection includes wool, jute, cotton, hemp, and sisal rugs alongside performance options crafted from recycled P.E.T. plastic diverted from oceans and landfills. From shaggy textures and bold geometric patterns to minimalist flatweaves, every design is exclusively created in-house and made without mechanical assistance, using traditional spinning, natural dye baths under the sun, and generations-old loom techniques. The brand’s transparency extends to sharing exactly who made each rug, how many hours it took, and the sustainable materials used.
Materials: Wool, Jute, Cotton, Hemp, Sisal, Recycled P.E.T.
Price Range: From $278
Shipping: Ships to all US States and Canada
10. Revival
Best for: Living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms
Originally founded as a vintage rug curator, Revival now makes a wide range of affordable, beautiful rugs for all needs, whether you have kids, pets, or just want an easy-care washable rug.
Not all options from Revival are sustainable, and some are made from virgin polyester, so for natural fibers I’d direct you to their Wool Rugs collection and Jute Rugs collection, including their naturally dyed jute rugs. Revival also carries one-of-a-kind rugs, which include vintage options.
Materials: Wool, Jute, Recycled Polyester (also has some rugs made with new polyester, which I’d avoid)
Price Range: From $169
Shipping: Ships to contiguous US and selected other international destinations
Honorable Mentions: More Sustainable Rug Options
Here are some additional companies with sustainable rugs to check out! These didn’t make the “top 10” list based on our criteria, but you might have different priorities. So if you’re not finding what you’re looking for above, I recommend taking a look at this list too.
Hook and Loom: if you’re looking for a non-toxic organic rug, Hook and Loom has undyed organic cotton and natural wool rugs made without added chemicals. Their website doesn’t have the most modern user experience, which can make shopping a bit more cumbersome, but the brand has thousands of positive reviews.
Sabai: Sabai’s all-natural textured rugs are crafted from jute and wool in North Carolina by skilled rug makers. They are one of the few companies to manufacture their rugs in the US. That said, the rug does appear to be on the thinner side considering the price point.
The Citizenry: Hand-knotted and hand-loomed by artisan partners across the globe from Morocco to Peru each piece blends modern minimalist design with time-tested techniques passed down through generations. The Citizenry’s collection features everything from plush, textured wool designs to natural jute pieces, and the retailer guarantees 100% fair trade standards on every product, partnering directly with artisan communities. However, many customers complain online about slow shipping and poor customer service, so that’s something to keep in mind before purchasing.
Yaya & Co: this brand has some high sustainability standards like 100% organic certified materials and production in a Fair Trade Certified family-owned factory! Their designs are quite colorful and fun too, which isn’t always easy to find with organic materials. Their selection is more limited compared to the other brands and retailers, which is the only reason they didn’t make it onto the top 10 list.
The post 10 Best Sustainable Rugs For a Healthier Home and Planet appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
Just like fashion has been overrun by fast fashion, home goods and furniture have similarly seen a rapid decline in quality. Rugs are no exception.
And similar to fashion, these cheap goods come at a high cost — namely, to the planet and to people. In fact carpet and rug production is rampant with exploitation.
On the other hand, fair trade rugs present the best of what a rug can bring to your home: artistry, craftsmanship, and heritage.
The brands featured in this guide are partnering with (and fairly paying!) skilled artisans who are using generations-old — and sometimes even centuries-old — techniques. These artisans are sustaining long lines of crafts, preserving their cultural diversity, and celebrating the richness of their time-honored crafts.
There’s simply no replacement for a timeless, quality artisan-made rug — they’re like pieces of art you can lay out on your floor or hang on your walls.
So, enjoy browsing through this guide to sustainable rug brands listed out below and best of luck on your search for the right fair trade rug!
Where to Find Ethical and Fair Trade Rugs
Note that this guide includes affiliates and partners. As always, brands must meet high standards for ethics and sustainability to be featured and all opinions are my own.
1. The Citizenry
If you’re browsing for fair trade rugs, but looking for a more minimalist or neutral aesthetic, look no further than The Citizenry.
The brand’s natural, handmade rugs — made by artisans working in fair trade conditions — feature striking prints but more subtle colors. Next to each product page you’ll be able to learn more about the workshop and the artisans behind that piece.
Price Range: $$$
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade, Natural Fibers, Craft Preservation
Categories: Area Rugs
2. Kiliim
If you’re well-versed in rug terminology, you may recognize that this brand’s name looks similar to the word kilim. Kiliim’s rug are made using authentic, well, kilim rug craftsmanship by artisans in Egypt coming from generations of kilim artisans. To ensure ethical production and to support the preservation of this heritage craft, Kiliim pays living wages to all artisans.
Price Range: $ – $$$
Conscious Qualities: Ethical Production, Heritage Craft Preservation, Natural Fibers
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs
3. Urban Natural
This natural home and lifestyle retailer has a beautifully curated selection of sustainably-made rugs crafted with materials like jute, sisal, wool, and cotton.
Several brands on Urban Natural are also ethically hand-loomed or hand-knotted, such as Loloi — a GoodWeave partner — and Jaipur Living — a brand that partners with thousands of local artisans to sustain heritage crafts.
Price Range: $$+
Conscious Qualities: Eco-Conscious Materials
Categories: Outdoor, Area Rugs, and Accent Rugs
4. Zuahaza
Each of Zuahaza’s artisan-made rugs is creatively designed with unique patterns and expertly handwoven by weavers in Colombia. Zuahaza’s captivating rugs are made from sustainably-sourced fique, a natural fiber from Colombia that is similar to hemp. And, just like hemp, fique requires little water to grow and is rarely attacked by pests (meaning fique is always grown organically without chemical pesticides).
Price Range: $$ – $$$
Conscious Qualities: Organic Fibers & Natural Dyes, Cultural Preservation, BIPOC-Owned
Categories: Area Rugs, Runner Rugs, Accent Rugs
5. LOOMY
Founded by a weaver, LOOMY is dedicated to making beautiful, non-toxic rugs that will last for decades to come.
LOOMY partners with highly-skilled artisan weavers who craft quality rugs made from eco-minded materials like banana silk, jute, and recycled cotton built to withstand whatever life brings you.
Price Range: $$ – $$$
Conscious Qualities: Eco & Non-Toxic Materials, Craft Preservation
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs, Runners, Outdoor Rugs
6. Leah Singh
Leah Singh’s designs are a reflection of the designer’s background, growing up surrounded by the rich artistry of India and studying at Parsons amidst the structural, minimal lines of New York.
All of the brand’s rugs are made by artisans in India who use embroidery, weaving, and printing techniques native to their respective regions.
Price Range: $$ – $$$
Conscious Qualities: BIPOC-Owned, Ethical Production, Cultural Preservation
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs, Runners
7. West Elm
West Elm is bringing ethical rugs to a broader market with their collection of Fair Trade Certified
wool and cotton rugs. While I recommend browsing the smaller shops listed above first, West Elm is supporting the movement to responsibly-made, fair trade rugs.
Price Range: $$$
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade production, Majority Natural Materials
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs
Liked this guide to sustainable rugs? You might also enjoy:
Ethical Home Decor Brands to Curate a Beautiful, Conscious Space
Eco-Friendly Furniture to Furnish Your Home Sustainably
Fair Trade and Eco-Friendly Blankets to Cozy Up With
The post 7 Best Ethical Fair Trade Rugs to Elevate Your Space appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
A durable set of eco-friendly dinnerware is a solid ingredient for a sustainably set table! But…
What is Sustainable Dinnerware?
Well looking for secondhand and vintage dinnerware is always a good start, whether that’s your grandmother’s porcelain dining sets or a pre-loved set of colorful plates and bowls at your local thrift store.
Another great place to look is estate sales. You can likely find full sets of dinnerware! If none of those options are available to you (or your just not finding something you love) you can check out a site like Etsy Used or Chairish.
*Important note on secondhand dinnerware: the FDA started regulating the use of lead in dinnerware in 1971. So you might want to avoid any dinnerware produced before 1971, unless it’s just for display!
Here are some qualities to look for when shopping for new sustainable dinnerware:
Sustainably sourced materials: such as responsibly-harvested bamboo and recycled glass.
Quality: when it comes to products you’re going to potentially use and wash daily, durability is an important factor to keep in mind. Also consider your lifestyle! Perhaps glass and porcelain aren’t the best choices if you have little ones, or you tend to drop things often. (Guilty!!)
Usefulness: You might also want to consider if you will be hand-washing or dishwashing your dinnerware. Some materials are too fragile for the dishwasher, so consider if you’ll have the time (and willingness) to hand wash them all the time. Because part of sustainability is that you’ll actually use the products and they won’t just sit and collect dust! 
Ethical production: this could look like transparent local manufacturing or artisan-made and fair trade. In any case, an ethical dinnerware brand would prioritize fair living wages for the workers, ensure safe healthy conditions (this includes no toxic chemicals used in production!) and go above and beyond to consider the wellbeing of the people who work for them and/or produce their products.
Ownership and Equity: this means looking at who owns and profits from the brands we’re supporting; if a brand is owned by a person of color, it will be indicated in their description below (BIPOC-owned stands for Black, Indigenous, Person of Color-owned and WOC-owned stands for Woman of Color-owned).
Your Values: you may have other elements you look for in a brand, such as traditional craft preservation. Or perhaps it’s really important to you that a brand is giving back to their local community.
Where to Find Eco-Friendly Dinnerware
The eco-friendly tableware and sustainable dinnerware brands featured below meet at least one (though most of them meet several) of the above criteria.
In this roundup, you’ll find sustainable pottery (including ceramic plates, sustainable mugs, and more), recycled glassware, artisan-made ethical dinnerware, and everything in between to suit your needs. I hope that this variety of brands will help you set the table, whether that’s for fancy dinner parties, Friday night pizza, or something in between.
This article features affiliates and partners. As always, we only feature brands that meet strict standards for sustainability that we love — and that we think you’ll love too!
1. East Fork
East Fork’s ethically-made dinnerware and tableware is next level — their gorgeous sustainable ceramics, glassware, mugs, and other goods are exquisitely designed and built for durability.
Committed to creating local manufacturing jobs, all of East Fork’s eco-friendly pottery is made in Asheville, North Carolina and is working to center equity and inclusion throughout their business.
Categories: Plates, Bowls, Cups, Drinking Glasses, Flatware/Silverware,
Conscious Qualities: Locally-Made, Transparent Production
Price Range: $$$
2. Our Place
From the same brand that brought us their cult-favorite Always Pan, comes a gorgeous collection of non-toxic dinnerware and sustainable pottery.
Our Place has hand-painted main plates and side bowls made with recycled and virgin porcelain ceramic and dinner glasses handmade from recycled glass and colored with natural dyes.
Categories: Glassware, Bowls, Plates
Conscious Qualities: Eco Materials, Gives Back, WOC-Owned
Price Range: $$
3. Fable
Prioritizing timelessness and sustainability, Fable sources quality materials and simple designs that last the test of time.
The eco-minded dinnerware company partners with makers in Portugal, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US that use conscious practices, like ethical employment, craftsmanship, and low-waste practices (like sourcing recycled clay).
Categories: Dinnerware, Drinkware, Cutlery, Serveware, and Decor
Conscious Qualities: Quality Craftsmanship, Low Waste Practices, Responsibly Sourced
Price Range: $$$
4. Zungleboo
Lightweight, shatterproof, and made from corn starch + bamboo fiber, Zungleboo creates family-friendly and eco-friendly dinnerware!
Their versatile plant-based bowls and plates are also dishwasher and microwave safe, making them easy to care for no matter how busy mealtime is. As Zungleboo writes on their website, their sustainable dinnerware is “from real plants, for real life”.
Categories: Bowls, Plates
Conscious Qualities: Eco Materials, WOC-Owned
Price Range: $$
Use code CONSCIOUS15 for 15% off!
5. Urban Natural
Green home retailer Urban Natural has stunning eco-friendly tabletop goods from leading contemporary brands like Farmhouse Pottery and Ethnicraft.
The brands Urban Natural curates source natural materials, use time-honored processes, and take quality craftsmanship seriously.
Categories: Plates, Bowls, Cups & Mugs, Flatware
Conscious Qualities: Artisan Goods, Natural Materials, Locally and Ethically Made
Price Range: $$ – $$$
6. GOODEE
For artisanal plates that can elevate your tablescape, GOODEE is the answer.
From 100% porcelain stone ceramic plates hand-crafted in the ancient Japanese town of Arita and hand-painted plates made from Egyptian clay to marble patterned ecothylene® (upcycled BPA-free plastic) plates ideal for family-friendly daily wares, GOODEE has options for everyone.
Categories: Plates, Glassware, Cups & Mugs, Serving, Flatware
Conscious Qualities: Ethical Production, Craft Preservation
Price Range: $$$
7. Ekobo
Ekobo’s colorful eco-friendly dinnerware is available in a variety of colors and sizes, perfect for mixing and matching to create a unique sustainable table setting for any space.
The eco-friendly dinnerware from Ekobo is made from upcycled bamboo and the result is durable, dishwasher-safe, and non-toxic diningware.
Categories: Plates, Bowls, Cups, Trays, Baby Diningware
Conscious Qualities: Eco Materials
Price Range: $$
More Guides For An Eco-Friendly Kitchen:
Best Fair Trade and Eco-Friendly Tablecloths
Your Sustainable and Zero Waste Kitchen Guide
The Best Zero Waste Food Storage Options
The post 7 Eco-Friendly Dinnerware Brands To Set Your Sustainable Table appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
7 Eco-Friendly Dinnerware Brands To Set Your Sustainable Table
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