FAQ's

• One-stop-shop for eco-friendly products

• No greenwashing, products are vetted for you

• Real humans will engage with you, not bots or drop shippers

• Products sourced from good companies doing good for the planet & people

• At least 1% of our total revenue is donated via 1% for the Planet® to support social and environmental justice

• No memberships or annoying subscriptions

• Free recycling of your old batteries, nail polish, and eyeglasses

• Eco-friendly packaging with an option to reuse packaging

• All shades of green are welcome: no preaching, no ‘you should’ & no guilt

• Not behemoth-mart or ginormous-zon

• Green America Certified Business

• Small, woman-owned company committed eco and social responsibility

• YOU. You make this all possible. Thank you.

Hello friends!

Life is full of plot twists. The kind that make our personal stories more interesting and our lives richer. My story is no different. A few years ago, I found myself amidst big changes in my life—personal and work.  The universe was telling me it was now or never, do something you love. Do something you’re passionate about. Do something with purpose. So, with the brain power and support of friends and family, What’s Good was born.

Here you can shop online with purpose, choosing from a curated selection of eco and socially responsible products from businesses that care, about you, their employees, and the greater good.  

We’re different than Amazon. Where Amazon is impersonal, What’s Good is personal. Every product is vetted to be ‘good’. Which simply means each of the following has been thoughtfully considered:

• Ingredients

• Sourcing

• Packaging

• Quality/Efficacy

• Certifications

• The Company

What’s Good works with small businesses and makers committed to better products that do no harm to the people that make them and use them. Products that do no harm downstream. Products that work as well as the products they replace. And where possible, products that don’t have to travel around the globe to get to you. Nearly as important, What’s Good gives preference to businesses that have a high standard of corporate responsibility to its employees, its stakeholders, and gives back to the greater good.

While there’s often no perfect product or company, you can be certain the products and manufacturers that What’s Good represents are better alternatives to the traditional products they replace.  

The goal is not to preach or eco-shame folks into choosing good products, but to be a trusted resource in your eco journey. More and more of us are socially conscious shoppers, we have the power to make great change just with our shopping dollars. When you shop What’s Good, you support not only this small business, you support a collection of small businesses and makers seeking to make a difference in the world by way of innovative products that do less or no harm to the environment, and by giving back to the greater good. It’s a win, win, win, win.

Initially What’s Good will offer a limited collection of items for  home and business, but with your feedback, product suggestions, and support What’s Good 2.0 will include more business options, a baby & kids section, an artisan section, and much more.

There are a couple of cool programs we’re offering right out of the gate such as our Give-Back, Send Back, and Seasoned Traveler programs. What’s Good 2.0 will also feature Fundraising for your local organizations.

Send-Back — Use the packaging we send your products in to collect your used, non-lithium batteries, nail polish (it’s hazardous waste!) and all types of eyeglasses (prescription, sunglasses, readers). When it’s full, send it back to us to recycle or up-cycle. At our expense.

Give-Back — At the end of our first year, we will donate a portion of our profits to organizations that work to advance environmental and social responsibility. PLUS, every time you choose a “Seasoned Traveler”  box – gently used packaging over a new box — What’s Good will plant a tree with our reforestation partner, One Tree Planted.

If I can take just one minute of your time, please write to me with your product ideas and ways I can improve our service. 

On behalf What's Good, my deepest thanks for your support,

Jennifer

"Many Shades of Green" is an expression we use at What’s Good. It reminds us that every individual is at a different point in the journey. Some of our customers and team members are super green and socially conscious, while others are just starting to explore. We think this is great. It’s not just people, each of our product manufacturers is a different shade of green, too. Some are making amazing products but haven’t yet established a sense of corporate responsibility, while others do a little of both, and still others are flat out leading the movement. The bottom line is that there is always something to learn, always something to improve on. To that end, What’s Good strives to NOT preach or shame or make folks feel guilty… it’s our intention to help people from all walks of life learn and connect with products and companies that are doing good. So welcome, one and all. We’re in this together, and we look forward to growing greener with you.

What’s Good is a ‘not-just-for profit’ online store, specializing in environmentally and socially responsible products for home and office.

We believe a customer shouldn’t have to forgo a healthier, greener choice because the right choice is too expensive or too hard to find. We believe What’s Good® customers do more than buy, they understand the power of their dollars—each dollar that he or she spends is an action, a force that sends a message, limits our negative impact on the earth, provides a living wage for our employees, and contributes to the greater good.

Our vision is to become the trusted online resource for ‘good’ products from makers and small businesses who care about the greater good, providing informative content, convenient shopping, and good-friend customer service, while generating good opportunities for our employees, and significant returns to the greater good.

Our mission is to provide healthy, green, ethically sourced products in one place at competitive prices along with helpful content, friendly and knowledgeable customer service (delivered by humans), all while sustaining give-back programs that support the greater good and a company culture that enriches the lives of our employees.

It’s an interesting question and probably depends on your definition of best.

We strive to find products that meet and exceed our values with regard to the environment and people. Our goal is to curate the products to make it easier for you to find what you need in one place — without being sucked into greenwash marketing. At the same time, we believe there are as many shades of green as there are budget differences, so we sometimes offer products with varying shades, too. 

For example, we’re bringing in a wooden toothbrush with nylon bristles. It’s the best we found. It took us forever to find because every wooden toothbrush on the market seems to be made of bamboo…we’re not fans. We also found one with pig hair bristles, but it’s not vegan and we’re not sure everyone is ready. So in this example, the nylon wooden toothbrush wins, not because it’s necessarily the absolute best for the environment, but because all-in-all it’s the better option. As we grow, we’ll probably offer both.

Here’s another example, our disposable birch cutlery hits all the points: recyclable non-chlorinated and minimal packaging, comes from well-managed forests, it is biodegradable, compostable, and has no additives or glues (like bamboo), plus it doesn’t require industrial composting. The good list goes on, except for one thing — it’s made in China. Today, it’s the best we could find today. Tomorrow, who knows what we’ll find.

You can join us in the search for the best of the good products. Share your wish list. Share brands you love (even if it’s a small maker you know locally). Share what you like and don’t like about the products you buy from us. We’re in this together.  

Maybe there's a product you use today that you love? 

Maybe there's a product that makes you cringe every time you buy it, and you'd love a healthier, eco-ier alternative? 

Maybe you're tired of every product having its own website? And you'd just like us to carry it so you can do all of your shopping in one place?

We're listening. Email us your suggestion: hello@shopwhatsgood.com

What's Good launched with a single employee —  but she didn't do it alone. Friends, family, and professional colleagues supported the effort with advice, candid feedback, positive pep-talks, writing, editing, photography, geek coding, and so much more.

Here's to good people that helped bring What's Good to life:

Kathy

Will, Liam, Henri & Regan

Mary & Chrys

Karin, Jim, Annie, Mack, Willa

Betsy, Jim, Will, Bridget

Claire & Cris

Tina & Ann

Terry & Joe

Sandy

Matt & Max 

Nama & Cooper

2019 represented our launch into the the world, and more importantly, our introduction to you.

Today, we're a very small store with big dreams. Tomorrow, we'll be a less small store with big dreams. 

By purchasing our products and sending us your feedback, you help us build a better, faster, stronger What's Good:

• Expanded categories—from babies, kids, and expectant parents to featured artisans and apparel. 

• Good Business—a program providing your small business eco friendly office supplies. AND certification to show your customers you mean business. Good business.  

• Product Ranking System—so you'll know, at a glance, if the product is a match for your particular 'shade of green.' 

• Fundraising Program—imagine selling products people actually want to raise money for your team or organization. Goodbye junk pies and candles.

If you have feedback to share, please email us at hello@shopwhatsgood.com.

Thanks for coming along on the this journey with us. 

In a perfect world, you are always satisfied with your order. In reality, there may be a time where you choose to return something you bought. It happens. No worries.

Within a 14-day window of receiving your order...

Full refund —Donate the product you don’t like to your local food cupboard or homeless shelter, share a copy of the donation receipt with us, and we’ll refund your money in full. It’s a win-win-win! You get your money back, no extra fuel is wasted shipping back to us, and someone or some charity in need benefits.

After 14 days...
Store Credit Refund: Donate the product you don’t like to your local food cupboard or homeless shelter, share a copy of the donation receipt with us, and we’ll refund your money as store credit. It’s a win-win-win! You get to choose something else, no extra fuel is wasted shipping back to us, and someone or some charity in need benefits.

To start your return, email us (hello@shopwhatsgood.com) and we’ll get the ball rolling.

At What’s Good®, our goal is to offer you the best shipping options, no matter where you live.  

That said, please understand we don't drop ship. This means we research, vet, and stock our own products. Then we thoughtfully pack each one in eco-friendly boxes or mailers. For now, we do it all from one location. 

Our processing time is fast, within 24 hours we'll verify your order, pack and send it on its way to you. What happens after that is not entirely up to us. UPS, USPS, FED EX and additional day or two to process the shipment depending on the day of the day and holidays. Ground shipping can be anywhere from 2 to 7 business days. 

We provide free ground shipping on all orders over $60 in the domestic USA. If you need your shipment sooner, you may chose an expedited option at check out. We have no problems shipping around the globe, with a special shout out to our Canadian friends, however, we're not able to offer free shipping at this time (but we're working on it!).

We live a world where giant corporations that don’t pay their share of taxes or demonstrate corporate social responsibility have set the standard for free shipping. It’s cool. We all love free shipping. But to be frank, it’s expensive for small businesses to ship products for free, because we don’t buy in big volumes nor do we have distribution centers, and therefore, the clout that the aforementioned behemoth holds.

So, in order to offer you free shipping — without raising prices — we ask that you spend a minimum of $60 with us. In exchange, we’ll fulfill your order within 24 hours, then UPS or USPS does its thing. (Note: we typically pick 2-3 day shipping, but depending on where you're located, those options may not be available, but we'll try.) On average, your free shipping costs us anywhere between $8 – $18, though we've paid our share of $26 shipping bills. We aren't able to offer this perk outside of the USA, yet.

The short answer is YES.

The more interesting answer is YES and...

From the start, we believed that if we were going to play in the shipping-products-across-states-and-countries-game, we’d have to do everything in our power to be as thoughtful as possible with our packaging. And packing material. And shipping labels. And stickers. And packing tape.

We’re happy to say, we figured it out with eco-packaging products made in the USA.

Packing Paper is 100% recycled, and TCF.

Shipping labels and stickers are constructed from 100% post-consumer content and are Processed Chlorine Free (PCF). Both have zero waste release liner that is 100% recycled AND 100% curbside recyclable. Traditional stickers have release liners with a thick silicone coating and can only be recycled by a handful of specialized operations that have the equipment needed to separate the silicone from the paper. Our labels and stickers are different. These liners have a thin UV coating that imparts the necessary release properties; however, this coating is so thin that the liners can be recycled along with standard copy paper. 

Kraft packing tape features a renewable and biodegradable plant-derived adhesive & backing.

Boxes are made from recycled materials, non-chlorinated, and biodegradable.

Bubble envelopes are the world’s most eco-friendly bubble mailers — made with at least 32.6% post-industrial recycled content (51% recycled content in the outer layer, 8% recycled content in the bubble layer and 8% recycled content in the capping layer). Plus, they are fully recyclable at stores and services that accept grocery bags.

Gently Used Boxes, also called our 'Seasoned Travelers' are the best options. Read more in the next section.

A “Seasoned Traveler Box” is what we call clean, gently used boxes that get to travel the globe again and again. We give you the option of selecting a gently used and clean box at check-out. As our thank you, we'll plant one tree with our partner, One Tree Planted.

Here’s why it’s the best option:

Reduce pollution and energy consumption. Recycling, manufacturing, and transporting raw materials and finished products are energy intensive. Reduce dependence on trees. With the rise in online sales, there’s been a greater need for cardboard. While it’s typically a mix of new and recycled material, your box still requires the felling of trees. Lots of trees. Reduce costs. By reusing, we buy fewer boxes, a savings you feel in competitive pricing and our ability to donate $1 for every “Seasoned Traveler Box” we ship to our reforestation partner, One Tree Planted and they in turn, plant one tree. 1 box=1 tree. Be good to your box, you never know where it could go next!

Note: All of gently used packaging options are clean, never used for food, and still in their prime. Also we reserve the right to make the choice for you, because while we have a ton of new eco-boxes and mailers, we try to use the smallest possible container for your order. Sometimes the smallest box is the used box. 

SEND US YOUR OLD STUFF!

Part of how we do good, is by making it easy for you to do good, too. Our Send Back is a free and easy way for you to recycle old batteries (non-lithium), nail polish, and eyeglasses. Simply reuse the envelope or box we packed your products in to collect your old stuff. When you’re ready, email us for a free shipping label and send it back (get it?). We'll make sure your batteries and nail polish are recycled appropriately. We will make sure your old readers, prescription glasses, and sunglasses are distributed to needy groups around the globe.

NOTE: Places like Lowes will take back batteries, and some batteries can be placed with your trash. Check your local area first, and if there's no one willing, we'll figure out what to do with the batteries! No worries.

Give-Back is simple. As a not-just-for-profit business, we believe in actively supporting our community, and organizations that work to advance environmental and social responsibility.

We all measure success differently, but here at What's Good, we're pretty darn happy that in our first year we were able to support a variety of organizations doing good. And we're just getting started.

Here are a few of our recipients:

Feeding America (via our commitment to 1% for the Planet)
ACLU
ACLU—Women's Rights Project
Equal Justice Initiative
One Tree Planted
Save Our Monarchs

You sure can! We recently added the option to "ADD GIFT WRAP TO YOUR ORDER" when adding an item to your cart.

See examples of our eco-friendly gift wrapping here.

OUR GIFT WRAP INCLUDES:

• Handwritten note: we’ll personally handwrite your custom message on a recycled brown craft note. 

• Eco-friendly gift wrap: we use only material that can be recycled or reused, whether it’s paper- or fabric-based. We have a variety of wrap to choose from:  colored or black white newsprint like comics, sewing pattern tissue, 100% kraft paper, and remnant eco-wrap from Wrappily. We don’t use tape — instead, we use creative folding techniques, ribbon, and string, most can be reused. 

Note: We can also wrap your gift in fabric from our collection of Furoshiki fabric wraps. Be sure to place it in your cart and indicate in the note that you want us to use it to wrap the gift. 

• Gift “garnish”: we frequently top the gift off with an organic “garnish”. If it’s holiday time, that could be something like a dried orange slice, a cinnamon stick, or a festive sprig of evergreen. At other times of the year, it could be a sprig of lavender, or other found object from nature. 

• Personal artistic touch: no two gifts are wrapped alike! 

• Packing: as with all of our orders, we take extra care in how we pack them to ensure they're protected during shipping and arrive safely to your recipient.

WHAT OUR GIFT WRAP WON'T INCLUDE:

• We never include a packing list or receipt in our gift wrap or non-gift wrapped orders because you receive a digital receipt/packing list via your email. 

• We don’t use traditional wrapping paper. If it’s shiny, has a coated surface, or has a glitter or metallic element, it's paper that’s bonded with plastic and it can’t be recycled.

• We don’t use glitter.

• We don’t use adhesive tape unless it’s absolutely required (but usually not!)

Yes, if they're all going to the same address, we can wrap each gift with a name tag. Be sure to tell who gets what gift. If your gifts are going to multiple addresses, you'll need to do a separate order for each address.

Want something special, just let us know.

Even though we always take special care in packing your order, when we wrap and label each gift, it takes more time and materials. We believe we've priced our gift wrap option more than fairly. Amazon charges $5.