maiji: More green Canadian stuff I've been using for a while
A one-year-ish later February 2026 followup to this Pillowfort post from back in February 2025!More Canadian companies, some with a green focus or aspects that make them more appealing for people looking for sustainable solutions. You may also have similar companies local to you, so also a list for ideas!I am not paid for talking about any of these companies. I just like what I use and I would like them to keep existing.
Updates from my last post
🧺 Unscented Co.
We have a replacement for the TruEarth strips! We now use Unscented Co.'s liquid detergent. We skip the plastic jug/container entirely and just use the refill; the box that the refill comes in is already designed with a little spout so we just pour straight from that. Downside is the spout and the bag the detergent actually is in are still plastic, but the packaging is minimized compared to most products and is not saturating directly into our clothes... But it's been great, convenient and easy to use! And it's high-efficiency so it's lasting a long time. Bearing in mind I'm saying this as a household without small children, pets, or outdoor enthusiasts, so your mileage may vary.
💔 Cereal updates
Sadly, I learned that Nature's Path, while a Canadian company, does pretty much all its manufacturing in the US. But!! I've since tried Holy Crap and Farm Girl (both Canadian brands made in Canada), enjoyed both, and also moved on to happily make my own cereal. Yay! Also want to note that I really enjoy Farm Girl's Cinnamon Crisps as a snack as well.
👝 Roncy PacksI love this Toronto-based women-led, family-run company! They're focused on sustainable slow-made bags and upcycled materials. My first Roncy Pack was this amazing Sunny packs, made from actual expired airplane life preservers. It's ridiculously fun and earns great reactions and compliments every time I wear it! They do lots of wonderful local partnerships, and you can also check out this Earth Day feature on them (<6 min video). I appreciate their ethos very much.🧤 Leather BetterLast year I got a fancier recycled leather Roncy Pack, and from there I wanted to better learn how to take care of it. Leather Better is a small Canadian company by a guy who was backpacking in Australia, took a job selling leather conditioner and enjoyed, and then when he came back to Canada and decided to keep doing that here was like, "wow, the products here are so full of terrible chemicals and they suck!!" (my paraphrase lol) Thus Leather Better was born. It's a non-toxic beeswax based conditioner that you can use just with your hands. As the site says, it "restores, waterproofs, and protects leather, vinyl, and wood. It’s safe, long-lasting, and incredibly versatile and designed for everything from daily touch-ups to deep conditioning." I have since used it on a bunch of things, including a really old bag for my mom, and was quite impressed with the results. Even my hard-to-impress dad was impressed. It's super easy to use, and it also smells wonderful, so fresh and citrusy.(That said - if you have cats, I don't think this is safe for them because of the D Limonene citrusy-ness!)🩲 Q for Quinn100% cotton socks and underwear including bras!! The company is Canadian and founded by a mom looking for better socks for her son who has eczema. The products are made in Portugal and India. They're very comfortable and breathable, and I like that you can get them in no-dye or plant-dyed cotton. They also have a First-Pair Guarantee if you're worried about sizing, and the support staff are super helpful if you have questions. About my only "complaint" is that I wish they had a thicker-strapped bra design... They did release a sports bra design recently but sadly it contains 5% elastane (i.e., spandex/leather). But I very much appreciate what they're doing and love that they do have 100% cotton goods and provide a lot of information about their materials and sourcing. Their packaging is great from an eco perspective too, with biodegradable mailers and the underwear themselves packaged in recyclable paper bags. Even the little tags on the items are all cotton and attached with little cotton cords!🪨 Universal StoneCanadian and female-owned company; the product itself is made in Germany. It's pretty neat - a multi-surface, eco-friendly and biodegradable cleaner that's eco-friendly. It's like a tub with a polishing stone inside it. You wet a sponge and wring it out, scrub over the top of the stone, and then get to work on wherever you're cleaning, then rinse it off. I've only really used it in my sinks and bathroom tub because I don't have enough separate sponges to use it in more places, but it works well and I can see it doing a great job on floor tiles, around your toilet, etc. The only thing is that if you forget and leave it a bit before you rinse, it can have this white residue, which seems to happen easily on my faucet, but it's easy enough to just wet it again and scrub it off.Shoutout to my friend who is an orange who gave me hot tips or helped me to find options for almost all of the above!
Cindy Cinnamon
Deborah Preuss, pcc 🇨🇦
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