Shopping on a budget without Amazon

Ethical Consumer called for an Amazon boycott in 2012 and we have seen no reason to call it off since. Quite the opposite; from momentous tax avoidance to environmental damage and workers’ rights abuses, Amazon’s list of sins is ever growing. We have covered these issues extensively on our website.

Although more and more people are aware that Amazon should be avoided, its convenience and low price promises keep shoppers locked in.

With some planning and experience, Amazon's convenience can be easily overcome.

But with prices only going up and rent, mortgages and bills also non-negotiably increasing, most consumers need to cut corners elsewhere. Unfortunately, low prices are almost always associated with poor environmental and workers’ rights records.

Here, we will look at brands and options that are ethically much more ethical than Amazon but offer affordable, or downright cheap prices.

What are the best budget alternatives to Amazon?

People use Amazon to buy a wide range of things, so we have focused on some of the most popular items: books, clothes, tech, home equipment and stationery.

Budget ethical books

The number of independent bookshops have halved since the mid 1990s, when Amazon started to operate across the UK and the US. Following the global trend, new, online bookshops opened and this is where you can buy the cheapest books ethically. Some of these however, like Abebooks and Audible, are owned by Amazon, so steer away from them.

We always recommend buying second hand. This is no different when it comes to books. 

Excellent quality used items can be found in ethical online bookshops such as Better World Books or Oxfam books. You can typically choose the quality of the book you wish to buy between ‘very good’, ‘good’ and ‘well read’. Most will offer free delivery or free delivery once a few pounds have been spent.

Most ethical bookshops will also sell new books; if you’re concerned about the quality, choose these.

Some ethical bookshops also sell ebooks, to compete with Amazon’s Kindle. Bookshop.org is one of these.

Read our guide to ethical bookshops and to find out more about where to buy cheap books.

Budget ethical clothing

Fast fashion is notorious for workers’ rights abuses and causing environmental harm. It has made clothing cheap and disposable after just a few wears, creating an ever shortening cycle of exploitation and waste.

Competing with Amazon’s prices can be challenging when it comes to new clothing: ethical companies will pay workers fairly and use materials that don’t destroy the environment. This simply costs more money than using cheap, oil based synthetic fabrics and poor working conditions and pay.

Second hand clothing companies and charity shops create positives out of a negative and sell preloved items that are still in good condition. These pieces of clothing can often be bought just for a few pounds.

You can browse preworn clothing on huge websites such as Preworn or Vinted, where you can narrow your search just like if you were looking for new items. Charities, like Oxfam do this too. You can filter clothing by brand, size, colour and material, as well as other factors, such as neckline, closure, and importantly, condition.  

Our guide to ethical clothing companies features several brands that specialise in second hand and/or upcycled clothing.

Some clothing companies, such as Lucy & Yak also offer repair, as well as take back used clothing to re-sell at a reduced price.

Budget technology

Almost like fast fashion, electrical goods, especially mobile phones, have a throwaway culture around them too. Mobile phone manufacturers predictably release new flagship models every year. Game console manufacturers do this too, although at a slower pace.

Second hand electrical goods companies, such as Backmarket offer used and refurbished mobile phones, laptops and game consoles at much reduced prices. Just as with clothing, you can filter for the condition of the items and buy gadgets that are in excellent condition, as well as those that have cosmetic defects.

With these companies you get peace of mind with sometimes a 5 year warranty, which is often more than you can expect when buying brand new items.

Find out more about buying second hand tech items online in our additional features:

Kitchen & home equipment on a budget

Thousands of hanging organisers, air purifiers, knife sets and hundreds of other home improvement gadgets are sold monthly on Amazon. 

As a budget alternative, eBay comes to mind but when we compared the two companies we saw that eBay only marginally outperforms Amazon. Another alternative is Etsy, which is somewhat, but not an awful lot, better than Amazon, but it isn’t usually cheap.

The best solution if buying kitchen and home equipment on a budget is to look for second hand items online. 

Websites such as Freecycle, Preloved or Trash Nothing list innumerable items for sale on a very low price and sometimes for free. Facebook Marketplace is another place where you can find gems and none of the money goes to the social media giant, you pay the seller directly (just don’t look at the adverts!).

Charity shops are another option but, unless you can shop online like with Oxfam, you need time and dedication to find the items you are after, and hope that your local charity shops have what you want.

How to shop toys and games ethically on a budget?

As children grow, their toys and games become redundant and, if parents have time, they upload them to various marketplaces. The same websites that offer home and kitchen equipment will sell toys and games as well, often in excellent condition.

Back to school ethically on a budget

Nothing brings the community together better than getting a bargain. While at the start of the school year it can be expensive to buy just a couple of pens, notebooks or a pencilholder from an ethical provider, buying them in bulk can be very much worth it.

One of our Best Buys, Green Stationery, for example, sells office supplies in bulk. On its website, five A4 notebooks made of recycled paper currently cost £7.90 and 20 ballpoint pens cost £1.40. Ordering together with other families can help share the delivery fee, or if you order over a certain amount, the company offers free delivery.

A lot of parents now have – for better or worse – WhatsApp groups where bargain shopping like this can be coordinated. There will always be nay-sayers just wanting to click on Amazon but like-minded parents will join you if you make the first step!

For school clothes, parents generally have to buy a size bigger pretty much every year, so we recommend second hand clothing companies. When clothes with the school logo are required to be worn, many schools also have second hand shops. If they don’t, maybe this is the right time for you to initiate a second hand buy and sell in your school.