Sustain Eco Store

This month we're showcasing some of the incredible suppliers that Sustain works with. Meet Tara Love of Love Pottery. Based in Dorset, Tara creates beautiful pottery and can make anything from teapots to ring dishes. We love carrying her pieces in the store and our customers absolutely adore her work. @lovepotterystudio What do you love about your business?... The simple act of feeling a heart connection to the pieces we eat & drink out of elevates the quality of what we are consuming. It brings me joy to know that my pieces have the ability to do that. What makes your products sustainable? I embrace the fact that pieces don’t always turn out the way I’d imagined. If they crack or warp, I just find a new use for them. It is extremely rare that a piece is thrown away. When you’re not working what do you love to do? I love going on outdoor adventures. That often includes swimming, campfires & exploring our property with my family. I also love cooking and building things for our home out of reclaimed wood. . . . . #SustainEcoStore #LovePottery #MeetTheMaker #FemaleOwned #OntarioBusiness #CanadianBusiness #HandmadePottery #Pottery #PotteryLove See more

Dr. Bronner's Hand Sanitizer is back in stock! This super popular product has been highly requested since March and we finally have it back in. If you're looking for an organic sanitizer option, Dr. Bronner's is natural, effective, and comes in two beautiful scents... peppermint + lavender! @drbronner . .... . . #SustainEcoStore #OrganicHandSanitizer #NaturalHandSanitizer #ShopCanadian See more

Happy Tuesday! We wanted to share our favourite go-to kale salad with you. It's super tasty, nutritious and an absolute staple in our home. This is a 'to-taste' recipe so feel free to play around with the amounts. You'll need:... -Kale -Drizzle of olive oil -Freshly squeezed lemon juice -Splash of maple syrup -Sprinkle of salt -Dash of cayenne pepper -Sunflower seeds or walnuts -Thinly sliced apples Toss everything together and massage the kale with your hands and it will turn dark green and become soft and tender. Enjoy! . . . . . #SustainEcoStore #LowWaste #Recipe #GoTo #KaleSalad #HealthyRecipe #WinterSalad See more

With your kiddos at home more than usual this season, we wanted to share some fun, engaging, and educational activities we have for sale at Sustain Some of our top recommendations would be include; Natural Wood All-In-One House, Stockmar Paint Set, and Londji Creativity Battle Game All available online and for curb-side pick up! ... . . . . #SustainEcoStore #EcoKids #CanadianBusiness #ShopSmall #ShopLocal #Londji #NaturalToys #ChildsPlay See more

We choose our products very carefully and love creating relationships with our suppliers. Over the next month we want to introduce some of them to you, interview style! First up, SarahAnn of Charcoal & Rose Petals. She creates the most beautiful handmade soaps and they’re always a best seller at Sustain @charcoal.and.rosepetals What do you love about your business?... I love all the amazing women I get to work with. I love the aspect of creation - bringing something new into the world to serve my community. And I love being able to create and share these products that I 100% can stand behind and recommend without any fear of unknown ingredients or harsh chemicals. What makes your products sustainable? Having my products be natural and sustainable is number 1 for me. All products we make are what are called one pot creations. This means no waste is produced in any of our products - everything that is used is present in the final product. Most of our products are vegan and all the businesses that we support have ethical and eco friendly practices. And the most important thing - we use 0% plastic packaging! All our packaging is as minimal as possible, glass or metal. When you’re not working what do you love to do? I like to spend my time outdoors with my partner and our puppy Asha. We like going for long walks in the country in every season. I also really love crafting - knitting, macrame, any sort of holiday decoration. See more

One thing that makes us different than many eco/zero waste stores is our natural children and parenting section. Raising children with earth-centered values from the the beginning is part of our home-life and ethos behind Sustain. Over the years this section has grown in popularity and so, by customer request, over the last few weeks I've devoted my time to gently expanding our offering. Our collection is highly curated and chosen carefully based on certain uncompromising sta...ndards: All products must be ethically made and fairly traded. Priority is given to locally or domestically made items. Must be made with natural, renewable materials. For example FSC-Certified wood or organic fibers. Open-ended toys are our preference so that they have multiple uses limited only by children's imaginations. Open-ended toys also provide more value for the dollar AND mean that fewer toys are needed, embracing a less is more approach. All finishes must be nontoxic. Heirloom quality so that these items can be kept for future generations OR can easily be sold/gifted when your child has outgrown it. When possible, toys can double as learning tools (hello, loose parts!) or to develop fine motor skills. We consider parents too!! By carefully choosing items that are beautifully made, you'll be happier layering these toys into your living space. Keep watch for a big restock as well as the addition of new items! Photo: @everydaydeelights See more

We are very pleased to share that our stores are now fully open Mon - Fri 10 - 5 and Saturday 10-4! Being an entrepreneur takes bravery at the best of times, and this year has truly tested small business owners, across the globe. We'd like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported us thus far, and to those who ordered during the shut down using our online ordering system. It truly kept our chins up and helped us face the challenge of each new day. We love and cherish the community held within our stores! Photo: the view as you walk through the doors of our @downtownptbo store, captured by @everydaydeelights #thankyou #grateful #shopsmall #supportsmallbiz

Picked up our first Ontario peaches at the farmer's market this week and we truly cherish this delightful fruit (along with nectarines!). Here's one of the many ways we like to enjoy them - roasted in the oven and served with homemade coconut yogurt and granola. A little vanilla bean sprinkled on top if you have it takes it next level To roast a peach, you'll need the freestone variety. Cut the peach in half, gently twist to seperate and remove the pit. Arrange on a tray and drizzle a small amount of maple syrup in the hollow of the peach. Roast at 350 until soft, juicy and fragrant. Have you tried making coconut yogurt before? Let us know if you'd like a tutorial!

We just received a restock of @bottlenone shampoo and conditioner bars and we thought we would take a moment to share how much we love them!! This is a photo of our personal bars, which we have been using since February (washing about 2-3 x / week and also sharing with our little Charlie)! Of the various bars we've tried over the years, these ones have exceeded our expectations. They leave zero buildup in your hair, lather up very well, and leave your hair clean but not dry.... The conditioner bar adds just the right amount of moisture but in fact the shampoo bars are so balanced that we don't use conditioner every time, which is why the bar pictured here (on the left) looks less used. You can also use the conditioner bar as a leave-in treatment to alleviate dry ends. The secret to long life with your shampoo bars (or any bar of soap) is allowing them to dry between uses. Store them in a dish that has really great drainage, and store them out of the shower so that they can air dry. (Our favourite method is a shallow dish filled with stones we've collected - swipe for a better shot and keep swiping for a shot of new bars to compare the size.) Being that it's #plasticfreejuly, if you've ever wanted to try a shampoo bar this is a great time. We love to focus on consumables with our swaps, or things that are used and disposed of regularly. It feels especially powerful to end that cycle of linear use when it is something you reach for daily and would be using some version of anyway. Find the bars at the link in our bio. See more

Open your children's eyes to the magic and wonder hidden in the woods, and help them uncover how to open up their sense of play and adventure in the forest with this book. PS it's equally fun for the parents! Available in store and online.

You'll never hear us complain about summer (it's the best!!) but admittedly the heat has been pretty intense! Small pleasures like frozen popcicles are extra delightful on such days, and YES they are finally BACK IN STOCK!! We were happy to collaborate with Joanne's Place who used our #plasticfree #reusable stainless steel popcicle molds to create three vegan recipes: watermelon lemonade, vegan fudgcicle, and haiwaiian creamcicle. They sound incredible, we'll be making a batch this afternoon! Find the recipes here: https://joannesplace.ca/2020/07/02/vegan-popsicles-3-ways/. Popcicle molds available online or in store: https://shop.sustainecostore.com/collections/popcicle-molds Photos by Julia Burnett.

Today kicks off #plasticfreejuly and while this year's circumstances bring additional challenge to the task there is still much that we can do. To begin, on June 22 over 100 scientists, including epidemiologists and virologists from around the world, released a statement reassuring that it is safe to use reusable products including cups, bottles and jars/containers for food, drinks and other groceries, as well as reusable bags, as long as they are thoroughly washed and precautions taken. So plan ahead and pack what you need - we must take the time and make the effort to #eliminatesingleuse!

Back in stock (and every time without fail they sell out very quickly)!! Use these reusable facial rounds, made locally by @cheeksahoyhandmade, to apply makeup remover, toner or an oil cleanser - if you're like us you'll probably find many more uses, like cleaning cuts and scrapes! They are super soft and available in white organic bamboo, black hemp or warm neutrals in cotton flannel. Find these, and many other cloth wipes and unpaper towels from Cheeks Ahoy, in the shop - link in bio! #sustainecostore #cheeksahoyhandmade #reusablerevolution #ditchdisposables #greenbeauty #zerowasteliving #zerowastebathroom

Encourage your little naturalists with our collection of outdoor items designed to spark curiosity and a deeper awareness of the natural world. We truly believe that a relationship with nature developed at an early age should be a core concept in childhood education, for as David Sobel so wisely said "we must teach children to love the Earth before we ask them to save it." Embark on that journey of love and enquiry alongside them with magnifiers, bug boxes, books, and cards as your tools! Newly added: bamboo grass whistles and kaleidoscopes (they are really neat, you use bits of nature finds such as flower petals to create the kaleidoscope effect). View the collection at the link in our bio!

Something simple and fun! If you have chives growing, they are probably in bloom right now. We leave most of the flowers alone because they are lovely and the pollinators love them, but this year our crop is abundant, so we gathered a handful to make this infused vinegar (the blossoms create that stunning and cheerful hue!). To make, simply stuff a handful of blossoms into a mason jar and pour over white wine vinegar until the blooms are covered. Keep the jar out on the counter and a few times a day give it a shake. Within a few days (3-5) you should notice the vinegar has turned a deep rosy shade. Strain and press out the blossoms. The resulting light, chive flavoured infusion makes a lovely salad dressing paired with olive oil and an herbed salt.

Ask anyone at the store and this product right here is our #1 summer must-have for glowing, healthy skin. @livinglibations Everybody Loves the Sunshine is a skin and sun harmonizer, designed to synergize the sun's rays on the skin to the maximum benefit for the body. In a nutshell, here is what is does: 1. Naturally supports melanin production, which is the skin's natural defense against sun damage. 2. The sun harmonizing concentrated botanicals in this blend such as rasp...berry seed oil have a protective effect - similar to an SPF 25. 3. The synergistic blend of oils nourishes and heals the skin due to their anti-oxidant and regenerative properties. 4. Studies have shown that sandalwood has a cancer-preventative effect, and along with other oils such as frankincense, immortelle and rose, fades hyperpigmentation. All of these amazing benefits mean that you can embrace a healthy and appropriate dose of sunshine rather than avoid it, and unlike while wearing sunscreen 24/7, you are still absorbing enough sunshine to create Vitamin D. While it's true that you can supplement vitamin D, there is no comparison to the real thing - manufactured in our skin in response to sunlight, it is uniquely water soluble, moving freely in the blood and unlocking the many pathways that occur in the body as a result. As just one example, you cannot absorb calcium without vitamin D and it also promotes healthy immune function! Of course when it comes to sun it's possible to have too much of a good thing - don't forget to sun yourself wisely. Seek shade, cover up and use a mineral block during the strongest solar hours, and make sure not to overexpose. The rest of the time, with an application of Everybody Loves the Sunshine, you can spend time outside doing the things you love knowing that you are helping your body do the amazing things it needs to take care of you!! Curious to dive deeper into wise interaction with the sun? Click this photo in our bio for a link to a podcast with @livinglibations creator Nadine Artemis. We promise, it's incredibly eye-opening! See more

Books are a huge part of our home life. As an avid reader myself I've been counting down the days until our Charlie can read chapter books, it will be the greatest gift she gives herself! We first got this book from the library but thought it was so sweet we now offer it as part of our children's collection so we can use it daily. The book is a collection of short readings based on what might be happening outside seasonally, both in the wild and in the garden, brought to lif...e with colourful and gorgeous illustrations. The ideas are simple and easy for a young child to relate to and go out and experience for themselves. At home we've been using the book to practice reading, and then we work on comprehension by drawing a picture of what the reading meant to us, along with writing out a sentence or two to go with the drawing. It's proven to be a lovely exercise! Find this title along with a selection of other new ones in the shop (link in bio -- more coming soon!)! @ Sustain Eco Store See more