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Ethical Online Retailers

In this Ethical Consumer shopping guide we investigate, score and rank the ethical and environmental record of 21 ethical online retailers.

We also look at product ranges, the growth of the ethical shopping market, and ask whether it is ethical to shop online?

Ruth Strange
By Ruth Strange Last updated:

About Ethical Consumer

This is a product guide from Ethical Consumer, the UK's leading alternative consumer organisation. Since 1989 we've been researching and recording the social and environmental records of companies, and making the results available to you in a simple format.

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What to buy

What to look for when choosing an ethical online retailer:

  • Does it have a clear supply chain policy? Support retailers that have clear ethical policies, a good relationship with their suppliers and sell independently accredited products.

  • Is it cruelty free? Pick companies with clear ‘no animal testing’ policies, which ideally include a fixed cut-off date for animal-tested ingredients.

  • Is it not-for-profit? Go for companies which have a not-for-profit trading structure or only sell vegan or fairtrade products.

Subscribe to see which companies we recommend as Best Buys and why 

What not to buy

What to avoid when choosing an ethical online retailer:

  • Is it paying tax? Luckily, none of the companies in this guide score the worst Ethical Consumer rating for likely use of tax avoidance strategies. But Amazon does. See Companies to Avoid.

  • How ethical is it really? Look out for companies that use appealing words but don’t explain what they mean by them.

Subscribe to see which companies to avoid and why
FAQs

Score table

Updated live from our research database

← Swipe left / right to view table contents →
Brand Score(out of 20) Ratings Categories Positive Scores

Our Analysis

The shops in this guide

In this guide we have rated 21 shopping websites which offer a variety of products marketed as ethical.

Some sell food, other cosmetics, others clothing or a combination of the three. Lots of them provide products under the label ‘gifts’ making them a perfect place to pick up presents for family and friends.

The original guide was based on feedback from our readers about which ethical stores they regularly used online. This update includes a new entry, Social Supermarket, which aims to become 'the most comprehensive marketplace for social enterprise products in the UK'.

We’ve also added in one of our old favourites for office supplies, the Green Stationery Company, and two online retailers which we regularly recommend for readers who don’t have a local wholefood shop; Planet Organic and Big Green Smile.

Since we first looked at ethical online retailers in 2014, several of the companies we covered have stopped trading: Cebra, Ecotopia, Nigel’s’ Eco Store, Made Closer, Evolution and Fairtrade Warehouse. 

The ethical market 

The Ethical Consumer Market Report, which tracks the sales of ethical goods and services, continues to show that the market for ethical goods is growing. In 2019, the ethical market in the UK was valued at £41.1 billion.

This is an almost 400% increase over 20 years, while over the same period UK household expenditure has grown by just over 2%. In particular, we have seen the most significant growth in Food and Drink and Green Home products.

2019 ECMR graph
Ethical consumer spending in the UK 1999 -2019

Is it ethical to shop online?

Online shopping is a growing trend, which the coronavirus situation has accelerated.

Some people have deep fears about the shift online, while others are excited about it. We look at the ethics of Paypal, eBay, Amazon and more in our background feature on the ethics of online shopping.

It is not online shopping itself that is the problem, but the companies which put profit before the people who create it for them. As well as tackling the abuses by Amazon and others, we have to promote the virtuous players, virtual or not.

Do be aware that there are also scammers online. Advice from the charity Victim Support is to look for a name you know, and make sure you're on their real website. If its seller that's new to you, look for reviews and how long they're been selling online. If they've only just started there is a higher chance it could be a scam. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you're not sure, ask a trusted family member or friend. And if you do decide to buy, a credit card usually offers better protection.

Our three recommendations for ethical online shopping are to:

  • Support local shops and suppliers. You may well have a local wholefood shop, veg box supplier, fairtrade or zero waste shop that offers online shopping, even if it didn’t pre-pandemic. Search online if you’re not sure, or check their social media. These small businesses will especially appreciate your custom now, in the struggle to survive. They are also likely to be doing the deliveries themselves, rather than using a dodgy courier. For more about local shops see our blog ‘Covid 19: Lockdown for a local shop’.
     
  • Re-use. Freegle, Freecycle and OLIO are online tools for the free exchange of all sorts of items, to cut waste and reduce landfill. You can keep it local, leave items on your doorstep for contactless pickups, and collect items on foot or by bike while doing daily exercise.
     
  • If you can't go local, stay ethical online. You’ll discover brands and approaches to trade that are rarely available on the high street. Retailers in our guide include a wide range of plastic-free, recycled or upcycled small-batch products, often from fair trade, charitable or social enterprise suppliers.

We’ve found that not all of the companies included have as stringent supply chain policies as you might expect. Nevertheless, the brands listed in this report score very highly compared to other retailers.

Many pick up additional marks under Company Ethos by only selling products made under fair trade conditions, or that are suitable for vegans. In addition, many companies in this report use their profits to fund their charitable activities.

All of the companies in this guide have at least some fair trade products, from food, to clothes, bedding, jewellery and crafts, but Traidcraft, Shared Earth and the Sourced by Oxfam range are particularly focused on fair trade principles.

See our web blogs ‘Covid 19: Why fair trade is more important than ever’, and ‘Covid 19: A Shared Earth supplier story’ for more.

What the shops sell

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified cotton clothes/bedding.

Organic and fairtrade cotton Amnesty merchandise.

Small fair trade jewellery selection, social/political books, music, diaries and cards.

Sells body-care and cleaning products. Provides a list of excluded toxics, only retails ‘sustainable’ palm oil, has a ‘no animal testing’ policy.

Sells clothing with no policy on cotton but all bedding organic or Fairtrade.

Sells body care and cleaning products for which it has an unclear policy on toxics and no ingredients lists. Does however provide a palm oil free list and has a ‘no animal testing’ policy.

Jewellery is hand-made. Includes uncertified gold. Gifts toys and games are all made by independent brands.

Limited clothes selection, limited bodycare selection, fair trade jewellery, social /political books, diaries.

Retails some Fairtrade cotton clothes but not all their clothes are.  Also makes vegan shoes.

Sells vegan chocolate, lipstick, nail varnish and soap with a ‘no animal testing’ policy. The jewellery and ornaments that they sell are fair trade.

Sells Fairtrade / organic tea, coffee and sugar in bulk.

Retails professional eco-cleaning supplies by brands known to be cruelty-free or ‘no animal testing’. Sells recycled paper, writing, storage and packaging.

Sells bodycare and/or cleaning products with an unclear policy on toxics, certified palm oil only and a ‘no animal testing’ policy.

Retails fair trade jewellery made from recycled materials and also reusable containers.

Worst cotton rating for clothing. Sells food through Waitrose which has good detail on animal welfare but sells meat.

Sells body-care and cleaning products. John Lewis has a fixed cut-off date for animal testing in its own brands but sells other brands that are known to test on animals.

Sells jewellery, but no mention of responsible sourcing. Wide range of gifts and games for sale.

Sells second hand clothing as well as Fairtrade foods, jewellery and gifts.

Oxfam also sells bodycare with a ‘no animal testing’ policy, but without any clear policy on toxics. Assumed to use ‘sustainable’ palm oil in body care products.

Sells a wide range of vegan or organic options. Also sells meat however.

Sells bodycare and cleaning products but without a clear policy on toxics or palm oil or animal testing.

Sells fair trade jewellery and gifts.

Sells organic clothing with GOTS certified cotton as well as organic or surplus food to tackle food waste.

Sells bodycare and cleaning products where it only lists organic/’sustainable’ palm oil. Also has a ‘no animal testing’ policy.

Jewellery on the website is made of recycled materials and you can buy gift boxes of food from social enterprises.

Sells organic cotton clothes/bedding. Sells food with a wide range of vegan or organic options.

Sells body care and cleaning products with a labelling system for toxic-free, all products are either palm oil-free or ‘sustainable’ palm oil, and the company has a ‘no animal testing’ policy.

Jewellery is made of recycled materials or fair trade. You can also find wooden and recycled plastic toys on their websites.

Sells clothing made of Fairtrade cotton, sells Fairtrade food and 'sustainable' fish.

Also retails own-brand natural soap with Fairpalm palm oil, ‘no animal testing’ policy as well as Bio-D cleaning products and fair trade gifts.

Sells clothing made of certified or upcycled cotton, and vegan food as well as body care and cleaning products.

For these it provides a list of excluded toxics and requires brands to be certified cruelty-free with ‘sustainable’ palm oil.

Sells clothing made of organic cotton as well as Viva! merchandise.

You can also buy vegan treats and wine on their website.

Sells clothing made of organic or upcycled cotton.

Has a good toxics policy for cleaning and bodycare products, although it's not public. They also have a ‘no animal testing’ policy, and are palm oil free.

Jewellery is made of recycled materials and gifts/toys and games are made by independent UK brands. Independent brands also for certified/ reclaimed wood furniture.

Full online access to our unique shopping guides, ethical rankings and company profiles. The essential ethical print magazine.

Avoiding Amazon

This guide is part of our ‘alternatives to Amazon’ series, to help you find more ethical online retailers.

Amazon’s massive tax avoidance is the key reason for our Amazon boycott, but it is also widely criticised for workers’ rights issues, as well as the domination of the market which leads to the closure of other businesses, and manipulation of customers through data collection. For some of the latest criticisms, see our updates on Black Lives Matter, and our feature on Amazon's poor response to the pandemic.

The good news is there are alternatives out there, which, as well as simply not being Amazon, also deliberately offer a more ethical selection of products, or even fund campaigning through their sales.

Brands in this guide are generally retailers rather than manufacturers, so offer a range of more ethical brands of staple food, body care and household products, as well as clothes, books, stationery, furniture, tablets and e-readers, gifts and jewellery.

Covid 19 and worker mistreatment

Under lockdown, online shopping became a relief for many, but an unnecessary risk for others. Although depended on more than ever, the people who pack and deliver the goods for major retailers have in many cases seen poor treatment get worse. Staff in warehouses including Sports Direct and JD Sports reported that social distancing measures are not good enough, and Royal Mail workers have been walking out over safety concerns.

Both DPD and Hermes courier companies are on our list of ‘Ten companies to avoid over their response to COVID-19’. Both make annual profits in the millions, yet offered such low compensation to drivers who need to self-isolate that they have effectively encouraged them to continue working when they may be contagious.

Ethical online retailers that sell face masks

Of these options, KN95 masks (equivalent to N95) offers the highest protection but are disposable and its generally suggested they should be reserved for health workers or those at particularly high risk.

Even homemade face masks are said to contribute to reducing transmission of COVID-19. For regularly updated advice on what mask to wear see this Guardian article.

Big Green Smile
£7.99 for two KN9 masks before postage and packaging. Buy here.

Ethical Market
From £7.49 to £18.50 before postage and packaging.

From £16 they have a filter pocket (filter not included) and wire nose clip. Handmade in Britain. 10% of sales of the £7.49 option will be donated to charity partners Find Your Feet. Buy here.

Green Stationery Company
£55+vat for 50 (3 ply), £12.50+vat for 10 (3 ply), £6.95+vat for 1 (KN95)  before postage and packaging.

Medical masks (not surgical grade) / KN95. Buy here.

Shared Earth 
£3.99 - £5.99 before postage and packaging.

A WFTO Guaranteed Fair Trade product. Handmade. Washable, with filter/tissue pocket (filters not included) and wire nose clip. BLUESIGN certified. Large or medium. Buy here.

Veo.world
£15 before postage and packaging. Handmade, reusable, made from upcycled sari materials, vegan company. With filter pocket (filters not included). Buy here.

Wearth
£25 before postage and packaging. Made from recycled ocean plastic, vegan company. Includes 6 filters, lasting 1 month each. Additional 20 filters (PM 2.5) £20. Not surgical grade. Buy here.

Company profile - Spark Etail Ltd

Spark Etail owns the Ethicalsuperstore, Natural Collection, Frank & Faith and Spirit of Nature websites.

In December 2018 it was acquired by the delivery company Whistl. With an annual turnover of over £600 million, it is by far the largest company group in the Ethical Online Retailers guide other than John Lewis, and is trailed by Planet Organic at £35 million.

The Spark Ecommerce Group already handled more than its own more ethically focused websites. It was led by a consortium of investors and provided outsourced contact centre and fulfilment services to a range of bigger brands including Toys R Us, Fitflops, Rocket Dog and Barbour.

Spark did score well in the product related categories as all of its cotton clothing was organic, it had a clear policy on toxics in bodycare and household products, and a good approach to animal testing, timber and animal products.

However, it had little detail in terms of the environmental reporting of the company operations, or how it monitored workers’ rights in its supply chain.

One reader wrote to us to complain that as the company ran four separate ethical shopping websites, it was misleading for customers who didn’t know they were connected and were trying to make price comparisons.

Another asked us to reconsider our score of Spark given that it stocked over 400 product lines from China, known for its human rights violations. China is on our list of oppressive regimes, but our rating only applies if companies have manufacturing operations in two or more oppressive regimes, and then we would not mark them down if all products were marketed as fair trade. With over 400 lines we couldn’t check them all, but several products checked did mention fair trade.

We asked Spark for a response. They said they are transparent about where products are manufactured, and always favour those made locally, or by small- scale suppliers who hold Fairtrade certifications. They said they work with suppliers who audit and regularly visit their manufacturers and will be adding this information to all manufacture descriptions going forward.

They also stated, “There are many producers working in China using innovative technologies and new materials to create their products, such as sustainably sourced bamboo and recycled plastics – a huge market in China. Many who use these materials opt to have their products ethically made in China rather than ship the raw materials to another country, as the carbon footprint of products is also an important issue to take into consideration.”

Want more information?

If you want to find out detailed information about a company and more about its ethical rating, then click on a brand name in the Score table. 

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Places to buy

  • Image: Ethical Shop mug

    Ethical Shop stock a range of products on its website

    Shop now
  • Image: Oxfam

    Buy books, clothing and gifts from Oxfam's Online Shop

    Shop now

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