This guide covers Wellington City only. For other parts of the Greater Wellington Region, please refer to the Zero Waste in the Greater Wellington Region homepage.

Our heartfelt gratitude to Sugarcube Studios, the creators of EcoSpot, for bringing our guides to life – designing a map for us and creating such joyful imagery to go with it!

Lots of pantry staples – from flours, grains and rice, through to condiments, spices, legumes, nuts, seeds and liquid foods – usually come in single-use packets. These shops stock all manner of pantry foods loose in bulk bins (or operate return & refill systems for their packaging), allowing you to put these goods straight into your own bags, jars, containers and bottles, and skip the packaging! Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City – a wonderful zero waste refillery run by the founders of Waste-ed . The store stocks a range of dried and liquid foods in bulk dispensers, including grains, flours, pasta, nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruit, muesli, condiments, spices, vinegars, oils, honey and even chocolate in bulk. The store is also working hard to reduce its own waste, sourcing as much as possible from local suppliers who refill the store’s dispensers, e.g. local Wairarapa EV olive oil in a refillable steel container (rather than olive oil from far overseas that comes in a single-use plastic bladder)! If there are things you’d like to see stocked that aren’t stocked yet, just have a chat with the staff, who are very receptive to suggestions!

The Naked Pantry , Wellington City – a Wellington-based zero waste grocery delivery business! The Naked Pantry stocks a wide range of both dried and liquid wholefoods/pantry staples (check their website to see the full range) which they’ll deliver to you in reusable glass jars, glass bottles and cotton bags. You pay a small deposit on each item, which you get back when you return your empty containers on your next delivery. All the containers are washed, sterilised and reused. This system means that shopping at The Naked Pantry is very low-waste as all packaging can be reused over and over again.

Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie – offers a wide array of dried food in bulk bins (including, but not limited to, nuts, seeds, cereals, grains, flours, legumes, herbs and spices), liquid foods (including vinegars, oils, tamari and honey), and the Kilbirnie store stocks unpackaged frozen blueberries – BYO containers/bags! They even offer free cups of tea – just bring a reusable cup. 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie – offers a wide array of dried food in bulk bins (including, but not limited to, nuts, seeds, cereals, grains, flours, legumes, herbs and spices), liquid foods (including vinegars, oils, tamari and honey), and the Kilbirnie store stocks unpackaged frozen blueberries – BYO containers/bags! They even offer free cups of tea – just bring a reusable cup.

GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro – this popular homegrown packaging-free store chain has now made it to Wellington. GoodFor stocks a wide range of unpackaged dried foods, such as grains, flours, nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruit, spices, sweets and snacks, as well as a decent selection of liquid foods, including oils, syrups and vinegars. You can also get harder to find things like vege stock, pasta and cocoa butter (to name a few). It’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth a visit for the range of options. , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro – this popular homegrown packaging-free store chain has now made it to Wellington. GoodFor stocks a wide range of unpackaged dried foods, such as grains, flours, nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruit, spices, sweets and snacks, as well as a decent selection of liquid foods, including oils, syrups and vinegars. You can also get harder to find things like vege stock, pasta and cocoa butter (to name a few). It’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth a visit for the range of options.

Newtown Green Grocer , 100 Riddiford Street, Newtown – good range of affordable bulk bins stocking grains, legumes, spices, snacks, nuts, seeds, dried fruit. , 100 Riddiford Street, Newtown – good range of affordable bulk bins stocking grains, legumes, spices, snacks, nuts, seeds, dried fruit.

Manga the Foodstore , 218 Riddiford Street, Newtown – another great range of dried foods at very affordable prices. Unfortunately, a couple of years back Manga decided to remove their bulk bins in favour of pre-packing their goods in ziplock plastic bags. However, they were happy for us to continue bringing our own bags and containers to fill either directly from out back of the shop or from their ziplock bags which they then reused. It’s always worth asking!

The Spice Emporium , 31 Coutts Street, Kilbirnie – stocks a wide range of unpackaged dried food in bulk bins, including grains, flours and legumes.

The Nut Store, 284 Cuba Street, Te Aro – quality nuts, seeds, fruit and spices sourced as locally as possible. Most things are pre-packed in cellophane (which is compostable), but if you drop off your own bags outside of their peak lunch hours (11am-2pm), they can fill them up for you to pick up later – just let them know the quantities you require. 284 Cuba Street, Te Aro – quality nuts, seeds, fruit and spices sourced as locally as possible. Most things are pre-packed in cellophane (which is compostable), but if you drop off your own bags outside of their peak lunch hours (11am-2pm), they can fill them up for you to pick up later – just let them know the quantities you require.

V1 Vegan Store , 207 Cuba Street, Te Aro – most things are packaged in this small specialty shop, but they have 3 small bulk bins containing vitamin b12-enriched nutritional/savoury yeast, textured vegetable protein (tvp) and vital wheat gluten. There are also unpackaged vegan lollies in stock, just BYO bag/jar!

Moore Wilson’s, corner of Tory Street and College Street, Te Aro – most bulk items are packaged here, but they do sell large brown paper bags full of different flour and huge glass jars of olives and the like which you can stock up on. An industrious person on our FB page also noted that Moore Wilson’s sells 1kg blocks of fresh brewer’s yeast wrapped in paper – you can cut this into cubes, freeze in 2 tsp portions and when you need it, defrost ahead of time and use as you would dried yeast – wow! corner of Tory Street and College Street, Te Aro – most bulk items are packaged here, but they do sell large brown paper bags full of different flour and huge glass jars of olives and the like which you can stock up on. An industrious person on our FB page also noted that Moore Wilson’s sells 1kg blocks of fresh brewer’s yeast wrapped in paper – you can cut this into cubes, freeze in 2 tsp portions and when you need it, defrost ahead of time and use as you would dried yeast – wow!

Indian Spice Land , 189b Willis Street, Wellington CBD – most of what is in this store is packaged, but you can get rice and flour from bulk bins here.

Yan’s Supermarket , 28-30 Hopper St, Wellington – sells loose egg noodle nests. , 28-30 Hopper St, Wellington – sells loose egg noodle nests.

Harriet and George Organic Produce and Wholefoods , 5 Collins Avenue, Linden – get tamari on tap into BYO bottle here. , 5 Collins Avenue, Linden – get tamari on tap into BYO bottle here.

Urban, Johnsonville Shopping Centre – unpackaged fudge, woohoo! (BYO container)

Narayan Spices n Food , 10/6 McMillan Court, Newlands – stocks a good selection of bulk bin spices, condiments, grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, dried fruit, just BYO bags!

Payal’s Spice Mart , 199 Main Road, Tawa – stocks a small selection of spices and condiments in bulk bins.

Himalayan Herbs and Spices , 172 Main Road, Tawa – stocks lots of legumes in bulk bins. Potentially storekeepers could be asked about expanding their bulk bin range as a lot of other items (such as spices) are clearly packed in-store into little plastic bags. They may even be able to fill your own containers from the storeroom out back

Supermarkets – all major supermarkets in Wellington have well stocked bulk bin/pick and mix sections with wholefoods (BYO bags for these). However they’re pretty expensive, often more so than equivalent ingredients in packets (bah!), and more so than the bulk bins at places like Commonsense Organics or Hopper.

The following stores bake and sell unpackaged bread and bakery goods (in some of these stores some items might be pre-packed or wrapped in cling film, just avoid those things!). Simply BYO bread bag to put the bread/bakery goods into. Some places will bag up their bread later in the day, so you want to get in there before they do that (i.e. before 1pm). Leeds Street Bakery , Unit 6/g, 14 Leeds Street, Wellington

Arobake , 83 Aro Street, Aro Valley, Wellington , 83 Aro Street, Aro Valley, Wellington

Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City – on Fridays and Saturdays at Hopper Refill Shop you can get unpackaged, day-old Arobake bread that would have otherwise gone to waste, for a great price! So many wins right here!

Pandoro , 2 Allen Street, Wellington CBD; 89 Willis Street, Wellington CBD, 14 Woodward Street, Wellington CBD , 2 Allen Street, Wellington CBD; 89 Willis Street, Wellington CBD, 14 Woodward Street, Wellington CBD

Prefab , 14 Jessie Street, Te Aro, Wellington – delicious in-house sourdough , 14 Jessie Street, Te Aro, Wellington – delicious in-house sourdough

Wellington Sourdough bread. Starta Bread Kitchen , Leftbank Lane, Cuba Mall, Te Aro – also deliciousbread.

The Naked Pantry. Get Shelley Bay Baker loaves, buns, bagels and more delivered through

V1 Vegan Store , 207 Cuba Street, Te Aro – stocks unpackaged vegan pies, cakes and slices, just BYO bag/container.

Bordeaux Bakery , 220 Thorndon Quay, Pipitea , 220 Thorndon Quay, Pipitea

Brezelmania – The Original German Bakery , 90 Upland Road, Kelburn; and 23 Bay Road, Kilbirnie.

Newtown Bakery & Cafe , 2 Constable Street, Newtown

Hataitai Bakery , 8 Moxham Avenue, Hataitai

Nada Bakery , 64 Johnsonville Road, Johnsonville , 64 Johnsonville Road, Johnsonville

Moore Wilson’s Fresh , corner of Tory and College Streets, Te Aro – stocks a range of locally baked bread unpackaged.

Most supermarkets (and even some Four Squares) stock unpackaged bread, bread rolls and/or bakery goods in their bakery section – just pop them into your BYO bags! Markets – No two ways about it, if you want to get a good source of unpackaged (often locally grown), produce, markets are the place to go! BYO bags to get fresh produce from large markets at Newtown School on Saturdays, or at the Habourside market outside Te Papa and on the corners of Willis, Victoria and Vivian Streets on Sundays. For a smaller range of local, organic produce and artisan products, check out the Thorndon Farmers’ Market (aka Hill Street Farmers’ Market) on Saturday mornings. By and large, we’ve found that markets, where you can meet the grower/producer face-to-face, are really great for starting fruitful conversations about waste-free food, and developing relationships and systems that enable you to get your favourite fruit, vege and preserves without the packaging. Many of the Wellington markets have local producers of pre-made foods like tofu, noodles, preserves etc. Have a chat to see if you can leave containers with the stall holders for them to fill with your desired product for you to pick up from them the following week, or if the stallholder uses glass jars for packaging, ask whether they will take their empty glass jars back for sterilisation and reuse. – No two ways about it, if you want to get a good source of unpackaged (often locally grown), produce, markets are the place to go! BYO bags to get fresh produce from large markets at Newtown School on Saturdays, or at the Habourside market outside Te Papa and on the corners of Willis, Victoria and Vivian Streets on Sundays. For a smaller range of local, organic produce and artisan products, check out the(aka Hill Street Farmers’ Market) on Saturday mornings. By and large, we’ve found that markets, where you can meet the grower/producer face-to-face, are really great for starting fruitful conversations about waste-free food, and developing relationships and systems that enable you to get your favourite fruit, vege and preserves without the packaging. Many of the Wellington markets have local producers of pre-made foods like tofu, noodles, preserves etc. Have a chat to see if you can leave containers with the stall holders for them to fill with your desired product for you to pick up from them the following week, or if the stallholder uses glass jars for packaging, ask whether they will take their empty glass jars back for sterilisation and reuse.

Veggie boxes/co-ops – there are lots of fruit, veg + food co-ops around town from whom you can order your veggies each week. Around the country we’ve found that unless these co-ops have a zero waste policy, the fruit and veg will usually be pre-packed, so it’s essential to contact them before ordering and have a conversation about whether the co-op is willing to use reusable bags for your box, or to leave things unpackaged (you may be the first person who’s ever asked, so always good to plant the seed!). Generally, if it’s a local operation, it should be possible to arrange this. If it’s not possible to arrange, we recommend looking elsewhere or simply getting unpackaged fruit, vege and other staples from markets and other stores. Some box and/or co-op schemes to look at are Wairarapa Eco Farm or the organic Bounty Box in Linden. – there are lots of fruit, veg + food co-ops around town from whom you can order your veggies each week. Around the country we’ve found that unless these co-ops have a zero waste policy, the fruit and veg will usually be pre-packed, so it’s essential to contact them before ordering and have a conversation about whether the co-op is willing to use reusable bags for your box, or to leave things unpackaged (you may be the first person who’s ever asked, so always good to plant the seed!). Generally, if it’s a local operation, it should be possible to arrange this. If it’s not possible to arrange, we recommend looking elsewhere or simply getting unpackaged fruit, vege and other staples from markets and other stores. Some box and/or co-op schemes to look at areor the organic Harriet & George by in Linden.

Trade Aid – Trade Aid‘s 2kg sugar bags are also great for upcycling as bulk bin bags, and are home compostable when they do wear out. Trade Aid’s coconut oil is one of the few on the market that does not have a plastic seal around the lid. You can get these products at Trade Aid, 82B Victoria St, Wellington CBD or Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie. ‘s 2kg sugar bags are also great for upcycling as bulk bin bags, and are home compostable when they do wear out.’s coconut oil is one of the few on the market that does not have a plastic seal around the lid. You can get these products at, 82B Victoria St, Wellington CBD or147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie.

Look out for places that sell whole or ground coffee beans unpackaged, and bring your own bag and container to fill. Going direct to coffee roasters is the best option, but you can also look out for bulk dispensers of coffee in other stores. Here are some spots we found:

Raglan Roast at multiple locations – 40 Abel Smith Street; 156 Willis Street; Chaffers Dock, 18 Herd Street; and 12 Holland Street, Wellington (who are not only happy to put freshly ground beans into your BYO container, but for $10 you will get 200g of beans, as well as a regular coffee made up for you on the spot). Also get Raglan Roast beans in reusable glass jars delivered through The Naked Pantry. at multiple locations – 40 Abel Smith Street; 156 Willis Street; Chaffers Dock, 18 Herd Street; and 12 Holland Street, Wellington (who are not only happy to put freshly ground beans into your BYO container, but for $10 you will get 200g of beans, as well as a regular coffee made up for you on the spot). Also get Raglan Roast beans in reusable glass jars delivered through

Havana Coffee Works , 163 Tory Street, Wellington

Midnight Espresso , 178 Cuba Street, Wellington , 178 Cuba Street, Wellington

Prefab , 14 Jessie Street, Te Aro , 14 Jessie Street, Te Aro

Vic Books Cafes , Easterfield Building, Victoria University of Wellington, 1 Kelburn Parade, Kelburn; and Rutherford House, Victoria University of Wellington Pipitea, 27 Lambton Quay, Pipitea

Rich Coffee , 27/369 Adelaide Road, Newtown – roastery open Saturdays. You can also get Rich Coffee delivered to your door via a glass jar swap system! Your first order will include the price of the jar, but you simply swap your empty jar for a full one next time you order.

GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro

New World Wellington City 279 Wakefield Street, Wellington , 279 Wakefield Street, Wellington

Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie

Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City. Depending on stock, you may be able to find Peoples Coffee beans in bulk at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City.

We avoid teabags as most have plastic in them, which we don’t want in our tea or our soil. Using loose leaf tea is an easy way to get around this. The trick is to find somewhere that sells loose leaf tea packaging-free, so you can put the leaves straight into BYO jars/containers! You’ll find loose tea leaves in bulk dispensers at:

Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City – the most zero wastey option – you’ll find both , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City – the most zero wastey option – you’ll find both Heke Homemade Herbals teas and Wellington based Ritual Tea in bulk (both these teas arrive in Hopper’s dispensary either through the empty dispensers being refilled when empty, or through compostable brown paper bags).

The Wellington Apothecary , 110a Cuba Mall, Wellington CBD (ask at the counter to have them put into BYO jars/containers).

GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro

The Kilbirnie Commonsense Organics store (37 Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie) stocks a selection of loose tea leaves in bulk too.

The Naked Pantry. Get a few loose leaf teas in reusable glass jars delivered through

Sourcing cow’s milk without the plastic bottles or non-dairy milk without the dreaded Tetra-pak is no mean feat! We’ve found the following options:

Glass bottle return/swap scheme for dairy milk – How does the system work? The first time you buy a bottle of milk, you pay a little extra to cover the cost of the bottle and to ensure that you return it when you’re done. Return empty bottles to the store of purchase and exchange it for a full bottle for only the price of the milk (or else get your deposit back). The empties are then sterilised and refilled – so the bottles just go around and around – true zero waste! TWO options in Wellington City: Eketahuna Country Meats milk in reusable glass bottles at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City. Empty bottles go back to Eketahuna for sterilisation and refill, so there’s no backroom waste. milk in reusable glass bottles at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City. Empty bottles go back tofor sterilisation and refill, so there’s no backroom waste. Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro. Empty bottles are sterilised and refilled from big plastic bladders sent to the stores by Jersey Girls Organic (so there’s a bit of back-room waste). Jersey Girls Organic milk in reusable glass bottles at Wellington City147 Tory Street, Te Aro. Empty bottles are sterilised and refilled from big plastic bladders sent to the stores by(so there’s a bit of back-room waste).

Cow’s milk delivery in reusable glass bottles – You’ve got TWO options! Eketahuna Country Meats do do home delivery of milk in reusable glass bottles (just like the old days!) across the Wellington Region – to check out which day they deliver to your area, you’ll need to begin the registration process on their website. You’ll have milk delivered to your door in reusable glass bottles (just like the old days!) – leave your empty bottles out on the next delivery day so they can be returned to Eketahuna Country Meats for sterilisation and refill. YAY! The Naked Pantry does home deliveries of Jersey Girls Organics ships their milk in (so there’s a bit of back-room waste). does home deliveries of Jersey Girls Organic milk in reusable glass bottles. You swap your empty bottles for full ones on each next order. Empties are sterilised and refilled from big plastic bladders thatships their milk in (so there’s a bit of back-room waste). MannaMilk is a raw milk company delivering raw milk all across the Lower North Island, including drop-off points throughout Wellington. The milk is delivered in single-use plastic bottles, which isn’t zero waste. HOWEVER, you can request that the milk be dropped-off in a reusable 10L pail, which you can pour into BYO bottles. As this is a large quantity of milk, you can either get a lot and freeze some, or go in with a group of others and share the milk and the cost between you. You can see MannaMilk’s delivery routes, days and drop-off points is a raw milk company delivering raw milk all across the Lower North Island, including drop-off points throughout Wellington. The milk is delivered in single-use plastic bottles, which isn’t zero waste. HOWEVER, you can request that the milk be dropped-off in a reusable 10L pail, which you can pour into BYO bottles. As this is a large quantity of milk, you can either get a lot and freeze some, or go in with a group of others and share the milk and the cost between you. You can see MannaMilk’s delivery routes, days and drop-off points here

Non-dairy mylk paste – find some of the amazing Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City – simply add the butter to water and either blend or froth up to become mylk. At Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe these butters are sold in bulk – just BYO jar. Once empty, the bulk glass container is sent back to V&V to be washed, sterilised and reused – yus! – find some of the amazing Vigour & Vitality plant-based mylk butters at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City – simply add the butter to water and either blend or froth up to become mylk. Atthese butters are sold in bulk – just BYO jar. Once empty, the bulk glass container is sent back to V&V to be washed, sterilised and reused – yus!

Look out for places that sell beer on tap and BYO bottles/flagons to fill up. Breweries are awesome, but lots of liquor stores offer this option too! We found beer on tap at:

Also, don’t forget that most liquor stores do ‘swappa crates’ of beer – i.e. crates of twelve 745ml bottles of classic NZ beer (e.g. Lion Red/Brown, Speights, Tui, Export Gold etc.) which can be returned (when the bottles are empty) and are then sent back to the brewery for sterilisation and refill (a better outcome for glass bottles than recycling because reusing the same bottle over and over requires way less energy and resources than recycling).

Did someone say WINE on tap?

Yes we did! Fill your own bottles at

Drinking Chocolate – get cocoa powder from a bulk bin at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City or delivered in reusable glass jars through The Naked Pantry. – get cocoa powder from a bulk bin at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City or delivered in reusable glass jars through

Juice – find apple juice on tap (subject to availability) at Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie. Alternatively, The Brothers ColdPress deliver all manner of juices in glass bottles that, once empty, are collected to be taken back for sterilisation and reuse – yay! You can also find these juices at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City; and Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie. – find apple juice on tap (subject to availability) at, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie. Alternatively,deliver all manner of juices in glass bottles that, once empty, are collected to be taken back for sterilisation and reuse – yay! You can also find these juices at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City; and, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie.

Ginger beer – head to Hopper Refill Shop and get – head toand get Hardy Boys ginger beer and lemon, honey, ginger drinks in glass bottles you can return to Hopper, who will take them back to Hardy Boys to be sterilised and refilled!

Kombucha – BYO bottles to get kombucha on tap at Hopper Refill Shop; and GoodFor, 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro. Or delivered in reusable glass bottles through The Naked Pantry. – BYO bottles to get kombucha on tap atand, 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro. Or delivered in reusable glass bottles through

The Hippie Straw – a local Wellington business focused on affordable reusables. They’ve got an online shop, but to avoid packaging cost/waste, find them and their products in person at the Harbourside Market on Sundays, and at the Wellington Underground Market on Jervois Quay. NB: Many of the below items are stocked by– a local Wellington business focused on affordable reusables. They’ve got an online shop, but to avoid packaging cost/waste, find them and their products in person at theon Sundays, and at theon Jervois Quay.

Reusable drinking vessels (cups and water bottles)

Refills of cleaning products

The following stores stock a range of liquid and/or powdered cleaning products in bulk dispensers that you can fill your own bottles/containers with:

Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City – stocks products made by Figgy & Co for refill – so it’s really low-waste! , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City – stocks products made by Figgy & Co . When the store’s bulk dispensers are empty they get returned tofor refill – so it’s really low-waste!

Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington – similar deal to above, with OurEco products – the bulk dispensers get taken back to be reused/refilled, yay!

Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie

Good House Keeping , 287 Cuba Street, Wellington

GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro

The Minimal Co, 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria

Low-waste dishwashing

You can find dishbrushes with wooden handles and removable + replaceable, home compostable heads at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City; Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie; Sustainability Trust‘s EcoShop, 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington; Good House Keeping, 287 Cuba Street, Wellington; Vessel, 87 Victoria Street, Wellington CBD; New World Thorndon, 150 Molesworth Street, Thorndon; The Minimal Co, 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria; and The Axe, 193 Adelaide Road, Newtown.

Also, you can get wooden veggie brushes with plant fibre bristles which can also be used as dishbrushes (they just don’t have a handle) at Cre8tiveworx, 217 Cuba Street, Wellington CBD; GoodFor, 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; New World Thorndon, 150 Molesworth Street, Thorndon; The Minimal Co, 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria; The Axe, 193 Adelaide Road, Newtown; and Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie – as these are made only of bamboo and plant fibre, they’re home compostable should they ever wear down.

We also encourage people to move away from using dishclothes, sponges and bench wipes made out of synthetic material (as these leach microfibres and they’re also destined for landfill when they wear down) and to use natural fibre cloths instead:

Wet-it!, Munch and other brands of 100% cotton + cellulose dishcloth sponges (home compostable at the end of their life) which are available at Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie; Good House Keeping , 287 Cuba Street, Wellington; Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington; The Minimal Co , 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria; Natty , 476 Adelaide Road, Berhampore; and PAK’nSAVE Kilbirnie , 98 Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie. For something more like a traditional dishcloth sponge, check out the SPRUCE and other brands of 100% cotton + cellulose dishcloth sponges (home compostable at the end of their life) which are available at, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie;, 287 Cuba Street, Wellington;, 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington;, 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria;, 476 Adelaide Road, Berhampore; and, 98 Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie.

Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City or 100% organic dishcloths from Vida Textiles , 27A Webb Street, Te Aro, Wellington City. 100% cotton, hand knitted dishcloths are sold at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City or 100% organic dishcloths from, 27A Webb Street, Te Aro, Wellington City.

At The Axe , 193 Adelaide Road, Newtown; and Tea Pea, 22 Ganges Road, Khandallah you can get the fancy Bianca Lorenne cotton dishcloths.

Alternatively, find 100% cotton cloths that can be used as dishcloths at The Wellington Apothecary , 110a Cuba Mall, Wellington CBD (subject to availability as they are handknitted by a local) ; Vessel , 87 Victoria Street, Wellington CBD; Good House Keeping , 287 Cuba Street, Wellington (also stocks 100% cotton/rayon cloths); and Tea Pea, 22 Ganges Road, Khandallah.

If you’re after a coarser scrubby, you can get 100% coconut fibre coarse scrubby from Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie.

Laundry

Eco Planet and New World Wellington City 279 Wakefield Street, Wellington; New World Thorndon , 150 Molesworth Street, Thorndon; New World Newtown , 195 Riddiford Street, Newtown; PAK’nSAVE Kilbirnie , 98 Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie; Four Square Hataitai , 1 Moxham Avenue, Hataitai; New World Newlands , corner of Newlands Road and Bracken Road, Newlands; and New World Tawa , 35 Oxford Street, Tawa. and Earthwise laundry powders come in a cardboard box with a cardboard scoop (or no scoop at all for Earthwise!) – no plastic lining! You can get both at , 279 Wakefield Street, Wellington;, 150 Molesworth Street, Thorndon;, 195 Riddiford Street, Newtown;, 98 Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie;, 1 Moxham Avenue, Hataitai;, corner of Newlands Road and Bracken Road, Newlands; and, 35 Oxford Street, Tawa.

laundry powder, which is in just cardboard and brown paper (also septic tank safe) with a bamboo scoop, from (almost) any Countdown supermarket. You can also get Living Green laundry powder, which is in just cardboard and brown paper (also septic tank safe) with a bamboo scoop, from (almost) anysupermarket.

Soapnuts – natural nut shells that release saponin (like soap) in water and can be used for laundry. Once spent, the shells can be composted. Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City stocks the SoapNuts NZ brand that come only in a cardboard box with no inner plastic lining. – natural nut shells that release saponin (like soap) in water and can be used for laundry. Once spent, the shells can be composted., 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City stocks thebrand that come only in a cardboard box with no inner plastic lining.

Laundry/dish soap bars – get the Good House Keeping , 287 Cuba Street, Wellington; Ethique laundry bars at Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington; and No Tox Life dish washing block at The Minimal Co , 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria. – get the Fair + Square brand at, 287 Cuba Street, Wellington;laundry bars at, 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington; and No Tox Life dish washing block at, 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria.

The Axe , 193 Adelaide Road, Newtown – sells bars of laundry soap that come with a natural fibre/wooden scrubbing brush (all packaged only in a strip of paper and two cotton ties). They also sell a general household cleaner version so you can avoid buying various cleaning products in plastic bottles.

Non-plastic clothes pegs – bamboo and/or stainless steel pegs available at Sustainability Trust‘s EcoShop, 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington; GoodFor, 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; New World Tawa, 35 Oxford Street, Tawa; and Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie.

Ingredients for DIY cleaning products

Baking soda – available unpackaged in bulk bins at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City; Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; and delivered in reusable glass jars through The Naked Pantry. – available unpackaged in bulk bins at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City;, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro;, 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; and delivered in reusable glass jars through

White Vinegar – locally-made Figgy & Co distilled white vinegar sold on tap at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City. Other varieties of white vinegar also sold in bulk at Commonsense Organics ; and GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro.

Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City stocks a variety of other DIY cleaning/bathroom products ingredients, so go in and have a look around!

Essential Oils – get your refills of essential oils (as well as other products) at The Wellington Apothecary , 110a Cuba Mall, Wellington CBD.

Bars of castile soap, which you can use as a base for homemade dishwashing and laundry liquid (see how it works Four Square Kelburn, 97 Upland Road, Kelburn. The other option is Dr Bronner’s castile bars (made in the USA), which are available at Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie. Good House Keeping, 287 Cuba Street, Wellington also stocks dishwash bars made by Fair + Square. BUT you can also get locally-made liquid castile soap by Figgy & Co on tap at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City. , which you can use as a base for homemade dishwashing and laundry liquid (see how it works here ) – locally made castile soap by Hopi is available at, 97 Upland Road, Kelburn. The other option iscastile bars (made in the USA), which are available at, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie., 287 Cuba Street, Wellington also stocks dishwash bars made byyou can also get locally-made liquid castile soap byon tap at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City.

NB: Many of the below items are stocked by The Hippie Straw – a local Wellington business focused on affordable reusables. They’ve got an online shop, but to avoid packaging cost/waste, find them and their products in person at the Harbourside Market on Sundays, and at the Wellington Underground Market on Jervois Quay.

Zero waste teeth and mouth

Bamboo toothbrushes – a great alternative to plastic toothbrushes because they have wooden, home compostable handles (though bristles are still plastic and need to be removed from the handle and put in a rubbish bin). You can find bamboo toothbrushes at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City; Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie; Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington; The Wellington Apothecary , 110a Cuba Mall, Wellington CBD; Foursquare Kelburn , 97 Upland Road, Kelburn; New World Thorndon , 150 Molesworth Street, Thorndon; G ood House Keeping , 287 Cuba Street, Wellington; V1 Vegan Store , 207 Cuba Street, Te Aro; New World Wellington City 279 Wakefield Street, Wellington; Wellworks Pharmacy , 75 Taranaki Street, Wellington; GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; The Minimal Co , 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria; PAK’nSAVE Kilbirnie , 98 Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie. , 207 Cuba Street, Te Aro; , 279 Wakefield Street, Wellington;, 75 Taranaki Street, Wellington;, 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro;, 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria; Unichem Pharmacy Kilbirnie , 37 Bay Road, Kilbirnie; and, 98 Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie. – a great alternative to plastic toothbrushes because they have wooden, home compostable handles (though bristles are still plastic and need to be removed from the handle and put in a rubbish bin). You can find bamboo toothbrushes at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City;, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie;, 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington;, 110a Cuba Mall, Wellington CBD;, 97 Upland Road, Kelburn;, 150 Molesworth Street, Thorndon;, 287 Cuba Street, Wellington;

Dental Floss – Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City; Good House Keeping , 287 Cuba Street, Wellington; Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie; Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington; and The Wellington Apothecary , 110a Cuba Mall, Wellington CBD all stock Do Gooder floss, which comes in a refillable glass tube with a screw on metal lid. The WHITE floss is made of 100% silk and is home compostable (the black, bamboo and activated charcoal floss has polyester in it so is landfill only). When you run out of the floss, no need to get a new dispenser, you can get refills of the floss in a cardboard box from all stockists listed above – just pop the refill into your original metal/glass dispenser.

Toothpaste – natural toothpaste powder available unpackaged in bulk bin, as well as flouridated toothpaste tablets by Dent Tab (BYO container for all of these) at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City. At Wellington Apothecary, 110a Cuba Mall, Wellington CBD you can get a variety of natural toothpastes made by Kerikeri company Nature Body, which come in glass jars that you can return to Nature Body, when empty, for sterilisation and refill.

Unpackaged Bars of Soap

It’s easy to get soap without packaging in Wellington. The following stores sell totally naked bars of soap:

Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City (locally made by , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City (locally made by Underground Soapery ).

Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie

Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington

The Wellington Apothecary , 110a Cuba Mall, Wellington CBD

Good House Keeping , 287 Cuba Street, Wellington

GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro

The Minimal Co , 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria

Koru Hub , 118 The Parade, Island Bay , 118 The Parade, Island Bay

Village Green, 14 Ganges Road, Khandallah 14 Ganges Road, Khandallah

The Gift Shack, 4/210 Main Road, Tawa

Bars for Shampoo/Shaving/Deodorant/Moisturiser

We’d encourage you to get your everyday toiletries – from shampoo through to shaving soap – in bar form, which means you totally avoid the plastic/aluminium bottles that liquid products usually come in!

Ethique ‘s bars come in home compostable packaging): Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie; Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington; V1 Vegan Store , 207 Cuba Street, Te Aro; Cre8tiveworx , 217 Cuba Street, Wellington CBD; Wellworks Pharmacy , 75 Taranaki Street, Wellington; Farmers , 206-218 Lambton Quay; GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; and 46-54 Bay Road, Kilbirnie; and Many places stock the popular Ethique range which includes shampoo bars, conditioner bars, shaving bars, deodorant bars, moisturiser bars, etc. (all of‘s bars come in home compostable packaging):, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie;, 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington;, 207 Cuba Street, Te Aro;, 217 Cuba Street, Wellington CBD;, 75 Taranaki Street, Wellington;, 206-218 Lambton Quay;, 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; and46-54 Bay Road, Kilbirnie; and Life Pharmacy Kilbirnie , 26 Bay Road, Kilbirnie.

If you’re into an all-in-one bar, you can get the Global Soap Shave, Shampoo and Body bar made with beer (:-D) from Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie; and Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington (also stocks a range of shaving soaps).

who make shampoo bars (among other things) – you can buy their products online, at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , or find them at one of the markets in the Wellington region. Check out local company Underground Soapery who make shampoo bars (among other things) – you can buy their products online, at, or find them at one of the markets in the Wellington region.

No Tox Life face, body, shampoo, conditioner and deodorant bars are sold at The Minimal Co , 24 Elizabeth Street, Mount Victoria

A couple of Wellington shops stock deodorant, dry shampoo, lip balm and/or sunscreen in compostable cardboard tubes. Nature Body is sold at The Wellington Apothecary , 110a Cuba Mall, Wellington CBD; several brands at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City; Aotearoad deodorant and dry shampoo at Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie; and GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; and No.8 Essentials deodorant at Unichem Pharmacy Kilbirnie , 37 Bay Road, Kilbirnie.

G ood House Keeping , 287 Cuba Street, Wellington – stocks , 287 Cuba Street, Wellington – stocks Simple Naked Soap shampoo bars, as well as Dunedin-made Pitstop Power deodorant bars in a home compostable cardboard box + home compostable baking paper (you can buy a plastic refillable tube of this brand first time off, but we reckon it’s unnecessary and a bar alone does just fine!)

Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie – as well as the above, Commonsense also stock shampoo, conditioner and shaving bars made by Jeymar Soap & Body and Frankie Apothecary. 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie – as well as the above, Commonsense also stock shampoo, conditioner and shaving bars made byand

GoodFor, 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro – also stocks Fair + Square face cleansing, body and pet wash bars. , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro – also stocksface cleansing, body and pet wash bars.

If you’d like to get unpackaged natural deodorant in bulk straight into your own containers, you can get this at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City.

Reusable Menstrual Products

There are zero waste, low cost alternatives to disposable sanitary items like tampons and pads.

Menstrual cups – stocked at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City; Commonsense Organics , 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie; Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington; V1 Vegan Store , 207 Cuba Street, Te Aro; Unichem Cuba Mall , 122 Cuba Mall, Wellington; Madame Fancy Pants , 225 Cuba Street, Wellington CBD; Wellworks Pharmacy , 75 Taranaki Street, Wellington; GoodFor , 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; New World Wellington City 279 Wakefield Street, Wellington; New World Thorndon , 150 Molesworth Street, Thorndon; Unichem Pharmacy Kilbirnie , 37 Bay Road, Kilbirnie; and Life Pharmacy Kilbirnie , 26 Bay Road, Kilbirnie. – stocked at, 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City;, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie;, 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington;, 207 Cuba Street, Te Aro;, 122 Cuba Mall, Wellington;, 225 Cuba Street, Wellington CBD;, 75 Taranaki Street, Wellington;, 23 Jessie Street, Te Aro; , 279 Wakefield Street, Wellington;, 150 Molesworth Street, Thorndon;, 37 Bay Road, Kilbirnie; and, 26 Bay Road, Kilbirnie.

Reusable, washable pads are available at Hopper – Refill, Shop & Cafe , 11 Hopper Street, Te Aro, Wellington City; and Sustainability Trust ‘s EcoShop , 2 Forrester’s Lane, Te Aro, Wellington.

Period-proof underwear is available at Commonsense Organics, 147 Tory Street, Te Aro; 37 Rongotai Rd, Kilbirnie

Shaving