A local’s guide to wonderful sustainable and zerowaste places to visit in London for green-loving people trying to follow an eco-friendly lifestyle!
Oh, I love nature alright. I love seeing the water in London, like little secret beaches, and I also love seeing some blooming flowers when spring comes round, turning rusty orange in the midst of fall.
I also very much love shopping in London, all kinds of shopping, from concept stores to unique shops, from high end, old money, to second hand books and charity shops.
As a writer, as a blogger, as an ex-makeup artist, I’ve always loved the idea that you can do better without leaving a trail of plastic behind (I know it’s contradictory when it comes to makeup, though, lol).
It’s easier said than done when you live in London on a budget, though, but over the years, my overthinker me, living there, has brought me to some brilliant, sustainable places I thought I’d share with you today.
Green London: 10 Sustainable & Zerowaste Spots For Eco-Peeps
In this guide, you’ll find a good handful of sustainable places you can visit in London, from a zero waste ethos in Brixton to a fabric shop in the heart of East London’s Hackney, that has been upcycling for over two decades.
I thought I’d make it a London itinerary, and then I thought – why not leave you with all those places, and mix-and-match with other creative spots and art trails I’ve shown you recently?
These are a few itineraries and guides I’ve written for you, which you should definitely read once you’re done with discovering these eco-friendly spots:
- Nerdy Places in London: 7 Quirky Spots for Geeks
- Movie Itinerary in London: 2 Perfect Days For Cinema Lovers
- Artsy London Attractions: 10 Places to Visit for Art Lovers
Sustainable Places in London: FC Designer Collective, Finsbury Park
This isn’t your average boutique, right here.
Opened by Islington Council and Fashion Enter, the FC Designer Collective gives local designers a proper high-street spot to sell work made ethically, mostly from deadstock or reclaimed fabrics.
In return, they get free mentoring and tailoring training. Fashion that actually gives something back, which feels almost radical these days.
Inside, it’s a carefully curated mix of clothing, accessories, jewellery, and hand-embroidered pieces from emerging London names.
You’ll find Buttress and Snatch, who make zero-waste ethical lingerie right here in north London, Diva Choice for statement jewellery, Jannaty for modest wear, and Another Earthling for the most exquisite needle-felted animal masks.
I love that you’re not just buying something pretty : you’re actively propping up someone’s dream.
Address: 113–115 Fonthill Road, London N4 3HH
Sustainable Places in London: SKNFED, Borough Yards
A family business born in London, SKNFED makes natural, organic, vegan, and cruelty-free skincare.
The whole thing started in 2011 with a simple belief: what you put on your skin matters just as much as what you put in your body.
You’ll now find the full range – cleansers, serums, body creams, deodorants – at their lovely little spot in Borough Yards, a restored Victorian railway arch turned into a shopping destination right by London Bridge.
Everything is still made in London, and the packaging still comes in those signature kraft paper pouches that are fully biodegradable.
Address: 2 Stonecutters Lane, Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
Sustainable Places in London: Gather, Peckham
Gather is tucked away on Bellenden Road, a leafy stretch of Peckham that feels properly removed from the city noise.
It’s a multi-award-winning organic, zero-waste shop where you can refill just about everything: laundry liquid, body wash, porridge, peanut butter, even ketchup.
There’s also a thoughtful edit of fresh produce, frozen fruit and veg and vegan ice cream that comes in circular bottles. It’s the sort of place where an entire weekly shop can happen without a single scrap of plastic coming home with you.
The people who work here genuinely want to help you figure out your waste-reduction journey, and there’s zero judgment if you’re just starting out!
Address: 121 Bellenden Road, London SE15 4QY
Sustainable Places in London: Fabrications, Broadway Market
Hackney’s Broadway Market is a treasure trove of independent shops, but Fabrications is one of its most special.
Born in June 2000 by Barley Massey, it’s a buzzing creative hub all about social textiles, upcycling, and eco design.
The shop specialises in fabric offcuts and reclaimed materials, a proper haven for anyone who sews or crafts.
They also run classes and workshops on mending, creative reuse, and textile sustainability.
It’s the perfect place to pick up beautiful remnants and learn how to give old clothes a new life. Even if you don’t sew, the atmosphere alone is worth the visit.
Address: 7 Broadway Market, London E8 4PH
Sustainable Places in London: Hackney City Farm
Right between Broadway Market and Columbia Road, Hackney City Farm is a proper little city oasis.
It’s home to friendly donkeys, pigs, goats, ducks, chickens, and geese, and it’s completely free to visit.
The farm itself is deeply eco-friendly, with a cottage garden, a tree nursery, and a butterfly house, plus an on-site shop selling organic eggs from their own hens. The café, Frizzante, is a relaxed spot that sources everything sustainably.
It’s a lovely place to introduce children – or yourself – to where food really comes from, and there’s something grounding about standing next to a goat while the Central line rumbles somewhere beneath you.
Address: 1a Goldsmiths Row, London E2 8QA
Sustainable Places in London: Stepney City Farm
Stepney City Farm is a three-acre working farm right in London’s East End, home to sheep, pigs, goats, donkeys, ducks, geese, rabbits, and a few resident farm cats.
It’s got a slightly wilder feel than Hackney City Farm, and I mean that in the best possible way. There’s a real focus on growing vegetables here, which get supplied to local restaurants.
The proper highlight for anyone trying to shop sustainably is the weekly Saturday farmers’ market, running from 10am to 3pm, where you can buy fruit, veg, and meat directly from the people who produced it.
They also sell teas made from plants grown on the farm, plus eggs, compost, and honey. The on-site café does a chic, ever-changing menu of salads, sandwiches, and properly tempting cakes.
It’s one of those spots where you genuinely forget you’re minutes from the City.
Address: Stepney Way, Stepney Green, London E1 3DG
Website: Stepney City Farm
Sustainable Places in London: Jarr Market, Stoke Newington and Herne Hill
Jarr Market is a plant-based, mostly organic refill shop with two London locations.
You bring your own jars and refill them with staples – lentils, nuts, pasta, rice, herbs, spices – and the Stoke Newington branch even does frozen food.
They also stock toiletries, cleaning products, and household bits, all from ethical, circular suppliers.
Jess, the owner, opened the first shop in Herne Hill six years ago, and the business now runs on renewable energy, pays the London Living Wage, and recycles everything through First Mile, a zero-to-landfill private recycling company.
Address: 67 Stoke Newington High St, London N16 8EL and 19 Half Moon Lane, London SE24 9JU
Website: Jarr Market
Sustainable Places in London: Walthamstow Wetlands
Walthamstow Wetlands is a 211-hectare urban nature reserve in East London, and it feels properly wild.
Ten reservoirs, eight islands, and London’s largest heronry, all open to the public daily from dawn to dusk, completely free.
The wetlands are perfect for a long, quiet wander, and the visitor centre tells the story of the reservoirs, which still supply drinking water to 3.5 million Londoners.
It’s a shining example of how nature and city life can coexist. You forget you’re in London, which is a properly precious thing.
Address: 2 Forest Road, London N17 9NH
Sustainable Places in London: The Vaults Collective, Crystal Palace
Hidden in Crystal Palace, The Vaults Collective is one of those places you could walk past a dozen times without noticing. From the street, it looks like a small plant shop.
But step inside and you’ll find an entire tucked-away space brimming with greenery, housewares, and an in-house vegan bakery that makes some of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten.
Everything about it feels thoughtful.
The plants are beautiful, the ceramics are by local artists, and the bakery runs with a low-waste ethos that slots perfectly into any sustainable itinerary.
It’s the kind of place where you pop in for five minutes and emerge an hour later with a slice of cake, a new succulent, and a much calmer state of mind.
Address: 61 Westow Hill, Norwood, London SE19 1TS
Sustainable Places in London: The Source Bulk Foods (Various Locations)
The Source Bulk Foods is an Australian concept that arrived in London a few years ago and has quietly gathered a loyal little following.
Their Chiswick shop is a clean, bright space where you bring your own jars and fill them with over four hundred bulk products: flours, grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, snacks, oils, even household cleaning liquids.
Everything is organic where possible, and the whole focus is on cutting single-use packaging without sacrificing an inch of quality.
You walk in, you weigh your jars, you fill them up, you pay – simple and properly satisfying.
They also sell reusable cotton bags, beeswax wraps, and all those little essentials that help you keep going at home. A solid, lovely addition to any sustainable routine.
Address: 24 Turnham Green Terrace, Chiswick, London W4 1QP
Green London: 10 Sustainable & Zerowaste Spots For Eco-Peeps
And that’s it, a handful of sustainable spots you can enjoy without a late night. Just good, honest places doing their bit for the planet. I hope you find them as lovely and quietly hopeful as I do.
If you’re after more, I’ve written about quirky, unique shops across London, the kind where sustainability isn’t just a label but the real deal.
There’s also a guide to amazing British brands, with high-end and smaller ethical names worth seeking out, and gorgeous plant and flower shops, too!
For something a little different, I’ve rounded up some of the oldest historical independent shops in London, places that have been doing things properly for decades, sometimes centuries – super interesting to see!