Earth Day is right around the corner. What better time to make small changes to live more sustainably? One way to do that is to support local businesses, and Houston has some great choices. Here, we’ve rounded up six businesses that aim to make Houston a less wasteful, more sustainable community.
Magpies & Peacocks
This non-profit is Houston’s answer to fast fashion. By collecting and reusing post-consumer clothing, scrap textiles, and accessories originally destined to the landfill, Magpies & Peacocks aims to disrupt the cycle of waste in the fashion industry. They’ve been doing this by working with local businesses, creating luxury upcycled products, training emerging designers, and more. You’ll find dresses, bags, face masks, candles, and more in their online shop. Keep an eye out for their trunk shows and pop-ups, too.
Farmers Markets & Farm Stands
It’s hard to pick just one Houston farmers markets and farm stands, so we’ll urge you to consider the many options around you when looking to buy locally grown produce, meats, cheeses, and more. You’ll find weekly markets all around town, including the Urban Harvest Farmers Market, Rice Village Farmers Market, Heights Mercantile Farmers Market, and Memorial Farmers Market. You can also look to urban farms like Finca Tres Robles, a private urban farm in the East End that sells its produce directly to Houstonians. Stop by on Saturdays for its farm stand or subscribe to one of its produce boxes.
Bee2Bee Honey Collective
You’ve probably heard about how important bees are to our ecosystem, yet their populations have been declining. Houston’s Bee2Bee Honey Collective grow encourages people to become beekeepers and sells locally produced honey. If you want to give beekeeping a shot, this is the place to help you get started. You can also support them by buying local Houston honey – plain or infused with ingredients like lavender, fennel, and elderflower – at local farmers markets, retailers or by scheduled pick-up in Montrose. Read more about where to buy.
Refinement House
Plastics and the single-use packaging in body care and cleaning products create a ton of waste. Refinement House in Montrose has a solution. Founded by Wenting Xie in 2017, the business has a refill station so you can bring your reusable container and stock up on your needs. You’ll find tooth tablets (chew a tablet and brush), household cleaners, and no-tox shampoos. You’ll also find a variety of other products to make your home less wasteful – from reusable bags to bamboo toothbrushes and utensils. Refinement House is open on weekends from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on weekdays by appointment. You’ll also find them in farmers markets and pop-ups, including a permanent pop-up at Tenfold Coffee.
Asch Building
This collection of shops in Houston Heights brings a carefully curated selection of sustainably and ethically made gifts, home goods, food, cleaning supplies, and clothing. Owner Destiny Ellis wanted to create a lifestyle store where she would want to shop at. To her, that meant a place where no matter what you were purchasing, you could do so knowing where the item was made and how. Divided into three shops – Market, Atelier, and Home – the Asch Building on Studewood is a great place to shop in Houston.
Happy Earth Compost
Have you noticed how much food waste you produce? Turn that organic waste into high nutrient soil with the help of Happy Earth Compost, a Houston-born curbside compost service. Instead of sending everything to the landfill, you can collect your compostable waste and Happy Earth Compost will pick it up weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly. You can also drop off your compost at local farmers markets and places like the Houston Arboretum. Bonus: Members can request free finished compost.
