Many people seem to get intimidated or turned off by the prospect of sustainable living—and I can’t blame them. For most, the immediate convenience and affordability of using plastic products and packaging greatly outweighs the good. After all, living sustainably is not easy.

But the public’s consciousness seems to be expanding, and there is a growing community of makers, artisans, and crafters who are creating products with social and environmental responsibility in mind, making it easier for beginners to step into an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Here are some of the local eco-friendly and sustainable shops and products we’re loving. (P.S. They’re going to be at the ECOlta Fair over the weekend, so you might want to drop by. Don’t forget to bring reusable tote bags if you plan on shopping.)

Space Garden

A post shared by Space Garden (@spacegardenplants) on Feb 9, 2018 at 12:24am PST

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to ‘go green’ is to buy some greens i.e. plants. Spruce up your home—maybe even your office—with these elegant cultivations.

The Real Happy Cow

A post shared by The Real Happy Cow (@therealhappycowph) on Apr 6, 2018 at 1:04am PDT

Going vegan is much easier if you don’t have to give up cheese. Kidding aside, The Real Happy Cow makes dairy-free cheeses such as cashew parmesan, nacho cheese sauce, cashew cream cheese, and even smoked truffle cheese sauce. Uh, yum? They also have other plant-based goods like egg-free mayo and vegan honey butter sauce.

They’ll only be available at Escolta over the weekend, but you can find them at the Vegan Grocer or order online.

Indayog

A post shared by Indayog (@indayogph) on Aug 5, 2017 at 2:53am PDT

Go full-on summer mode with these chic sling bags and backpacks. Support local and sustainability with these bags, skillfully crafted by women of Laguna and made with locally-sourced water hyacinth.

A Beautiful Refuge

Reposting from awesome customer @lesserbetter ! You can use your A Beautiful Refuge reusable bulk/produce bags for all sorts of things, including picking up some plastic-free bread from the bakery! 😍🥐🍞🥖

A post shared by A Beautiful Refuge (@abeautifulrefuge) on Apr 4, 2018 at 12:13am PDT

Packaging can be particularly challenging to reduce, not because it’s difficult, but because having no tissue, plastic, or paper to hold our food or products with is just a hassle. But reusable produce bags like these offered by A Beautiful Refuge makes it so much easier.

Main images courtesy of HUB Make Lab on Instagram.