At Sweeping Dimensions, we want to do whatever we can to limit our impact on the environment. Sometimes that means making a small switch here in the office, and sometimes it means encouraging our loved ones and our customers to try a new eco-friendly alternative! Fortunately, the Chicago area is full of wonderful locally owned stores that can help us all to refocus on sustainability and make a positive impact in 2021.
This holiday season, we thought there would be no better way to show our support for our community than by putting together a list of some of the local, environmentally friendly places where you can do your gift shopping, online or in-person.
This year, our list is made up of all locally owned businesses all across Chicago, and most are woman-owned!
Zefiro
Neighborhood: Online only
Category: Home Goods, Woman-Owned
Zefiro’s founder Carley Pulford was tired of all the “unnecessary plastics” in her life. So, she decided to create a place where you can find affordable, eco-friendly products that help limit or eliminate the need for plastic and single-use items. Many of the products available are compostable once they’ve reached the end of their useful life.
TeaGschwender
Neighborhood: Old Town
Category: Organic, Tea
What could be better for warming up on a chilly Chicago morning than a freshly brewed mug of organic tea? TeaGschwender’s Chicago tea shop is locally owned and operated by a female tea sommelier, and staffed with enthusiastic clerks who can help you learn more about the world of organic loose leaf teas.
Lena Rose
Neighborhood: Ravenswood Gardens
Category: Beauty, Personal Care, Woman-Owned
Lena Rose was the first green, non-toxic, holistic spa opened in Chicago. Owner Jenny Duranski opened her first non-toxic nail spa in 2013 and has since grown the business to offer a wide range of clean and green beauty products, which she calls “farm-to-facial”. She now makes her own hand-crafted line of beauty products, and advocates for safer cosmetics in Washington, too!
City Press Juice & Bottle
Neighborhood: Ravenswood, Lakeview, Wicker Park, Loop
Category: Food, Health & Wellness, Family-Owned
At City Press Juice, owners Angela and Anthony Maicki fully believe in the power of whole, raw nutrition for healing and detoxifying for your health. Their juices and raw foods are made in-house with only 100% organic ingredients, and packed using fully-recyclable materials. You can also find City Press Juice products at restaurants and grocers around Chicago.
Flowers for Dreams
Neighborhood: West Loop, Deliveries all over Chicagoland
Category: Flowers, Home Goods
At Flowers for Dreams, a whopping 25% of their profits go to local charities doing important work in the community, including cleaning up the Chicago River. The flower delivery shop is a certified B Corp, which means they place the same importance on people and planet as they do on profits. Browse online for blossoms and blooms, or search through their great stock of locally made candles, teas, and other niceties.
La Fournette
Neighborhood: Old Town
Category: Baked Goods, Family-Owned
Both authentically French and authentically Chicagoan, La Fournette bakery is a Sweeping Dimensions favorite. Owned and operated by World Baking Champion Pierre Zimmermann and his wife, Michele, La Fournette focuses on providing baked goods that are quality, affordable, and accessible, while using seasonal, local produce and all-natural sourdough starters.
Scratch Goods
Neighborhood: West Loop and Online
Category: Beauty, Woman-Owned
Scratch Goods’ skincare products are made in small batches with simple, food-grade ingredients sourced from its community garden and local farms. Founders Elizabeth and Maureen opened their shop in 2015, and now offer their mask bar experience virtually.
Lilla Barn
Neighborhood: Online Only
Category: Kids, Women’s Clothing, Home Goods, Woman-Owned
Waste not! Lilla Barn designer Bergen Anderson designs her colorful clothing to maximize the use of fabric, and when it can’t be done, she takes the remaining pieces and uses them to create fun household items like pot holders, scrunchies, headbands, and now COVID-friendly masks. Everything is made in-house right here in Chicago by Bergen and her team of local sewers.
Mineralogy
Neighborhood: West Ravenswood
Category: Jewelry, Woman-Owned
If jewelry is on your holiday wishlist, take a look at the one-of-a-kind, handmade pieces by Theresa Cowan at Mineralogy. Each piece is unique and beautiful, and meant to become family heirlooms to be treasured for decades to come. The studio hand-selects gems and minerals from reputable, ethical and conflict-free sources, and uses only recycled precious metals.
Milk Handmade
Neighborhood: Andersonville
Category: Women’s Clothing, Home Goods, Woman-Owned
Milk Handmade is a boutique for women created by Hallie Borden in 2012. Borden’s ethos is to create ethically and sustainably sourced fashion that celebrates local designers and hand-made clothing. Find designs in store and online made with sustainable fabrics like organic cotton, tencel, and bamboo, as well as products colored with natural vegetable-based dyes.
blade + bloom apothecary
Neighborhood: Lakeview, Humboldt Park, West Loop, Evergreen Park, and online
Category: Beauty, Home Goods, Woman-Owned
All of the products in blade + bloom’s product lines are all-natural, plant-based, and cruelty free. Terri, the brand’s founder, hand mixes all of the products in small batches. You can find them at Plum markets, Four Sided shops, Humboldt House, Union Handmade, and lots of other shops around Chicago.
Sparkl Car Wash
Neighborhood: All over Chicagoland
Category: Home Care, Cars, Woman-Owned
Did you know you can get your car washed without wasting a ton of water? Sparkl is a local, mobile-friendly car wash that will come to you. The technicians use natural and biodegradable cleaning products and a water-based solution. Who wouldn’t love to have the salt washed off of their car for the holidays?
Eco & The Flamingo
Neighborhood: Lincoln Square
Category: Food, Home Goods, Beauty, Jewelry, Woman-Owned
Eco and The Flamingo has grabbed the title of Chicago’s first zero-waste general store. In their Lincoln Square shop you can purchase eco-friendly refillable containers and bulk foods by weight, as well as a variety of zero-waste items to replace your single-use plastics.
Green Explorers Club
Neighborhood: Bucktown
Category: Kids, Arts & Crafts, Woman-Owned
This one’s for the kids. The mission of Green Explorers Clubs is to teach kids about sustainability through adventures and lessons focused on life sciences and the environment. Founders Erin and Kelly wanted to teach Chicago’s kids how to save the planet, and have fun while doing it! You can sign up for virtual classes and purchase project boxes for your home on their site.
Earth Cadets
Neighborhood: Online only
Category: Kids, Women’s Clothing, Men’s Clothing, Home Goods, Woman-Owned
Krissy Callahan is the designer and master screen-printer behind Earth Cadets’ lines of clothing and home goods, which are made locally in her Chicago studio. She uses eco-friendly water-based inks and organic, recycled materials whenever possible. The designs are colorful and encourage earth-friendly living.
Bright Endeavors Candles
Neighborhood: Online only
Category: Kids, Women’s Clothing, Men’s Clothing, Home Goods, Woman-Owned
If you like to make sure your gifts make a positive impact, then Bright Endeavors might be worth checking out. 100% of their proceeds support their mission to empower moms, their kids and communities. The 100% soy based, cotton wick candles are made locally by young moms in a paid job training program.
WasteNot Compost
Neighborhood: All around Chicagoland
Category: Home Care
WasteNot is Chicago’s first (and only!) zero-emissions compost collection company. If you know someone who has been wanting to do more to reduce their footprint, a compost subscription with WasteNot might be just the thing. They’ll leave a 5-gallon bucket by your, or your giftee’s, door, and pick it up on a regular schedule.
Four Star Family Cyclery
Neighborhood: Avondale
Category: Kids, Health & Wellness, Woman-Owned
Elsbeth Cool is the brainchild behind Four Star Family Cyclery, which aims to encourage families to use bicycles year-round and limit their use of cars and other carbon emitting vehicles. Check out their shop in Avondale for bikes and bike products for the whole family.
Katherine Anne Confections
Neighborhood: Logan Square
Category: Food, Chocolate, Woman-Owned
This chocolate shop’s namesake started making chocolate at the age of 10! Katherine’s shop composts, sources their ingredients from local vendors, and uses all compostable disposables in store. You can find Katherine Anne chocolates in shops around the city.
Want to Give the Gift of a Safe, Clean, and Comfortable Home This Holiday Season?
What better gift than a clean and sanitary home before (and after!) the holidays? Our extensively trained and uniformed cleaning teams use natural, eco-friendly, biodegradable, and compostable cleaning products and solutions whenever possible. Purchase a gift card or book a time online to give yourself or someone you love the gift of a green clean as we wrap up 2020.
