Let’s face it: the biggest barrier for most of us when it comes to sustainable shopping is price. We’d all love to have earth-friendly, health-friendly everything, but other than the MOST sustainable ways to shop (thrifting and abstention), the cost of voting with our wallets is not always sustainable for those wallets.

Enter the big box store. On the outside, Costco doesn’t look like a place where a savvy sustainable shopper would sink half a day of their life. But Costco has several items that I feel good about putting into my cart — at a fraction of the price my local Whole Foods charges for the same exact things. They’re also a more ethical company than their main big box competitors. They’re not perfect, not a B-Corp, but they are taking sustainable strides that I like my shopping dollar to encourage (especially when it comes with great prices on products I want).

It also makes me happy to vote with my wallet at a store whose decisions have big impact. The more of us who buy the sustainable products at Costco, the more they’ll continue to carry them and add more — at a scale that will make a big impression on companies who want them to carry their products.

A major drawback to Costco shopping is the plastic. Costco is making transparent efforts to reduce their packaging, and for everything that you would buy in a plastic wrapper in the outside world, the Costco super size packaging very often uses less plastic per item. They also carry a lot of excellent products from companies who are making major efforts to be part of the climate change solution — products I’m happy to have in my pantry, even if I have to recycle their plastic packaging to get it there.

For a shopper like me, who would like to be as sustainable as possible, a little more so each day, but hasn’t gone all the way to the plastic-free side, here’s my guide to rocking Costco in 13 steps:

1. CLOTHING — Yup, a lot of their brands are the stuff we avoid. But on my last trip to Costco, I found a plaid flannel shirt (fall comfort incarnate) from Frank and Oak (a Canadian B-Corp) for $18.99. A friend recently scored two Patagonia fleeces for her teenage daughters under $40 each. There’s a Fjallraven anorak on their website right now. Mondetta, a certified B-Corp, is a line I sometimes see there, too. Don’t get me wrong — Costco does sell a lot of (non-recycled) polyester junk, but more and more lately, I find it worth a walk through the clothing aisles. Some great, eco-friendly lines are in the mix — at prices you’ll likely find sustainable to boot.
2. KIDS SNACKS — Packaged snacks might be the bane of the environmentalist’s existence, but when it comes to packing lunches, this is a compromise we often make. Costco has some EXCELLENT snacks that are health conscious, Earth-friendly in the production (if not as perfect in the packaging), and have the Non-GMO label. Made Good and Bobo’s are two brands my daughter loves in her lunch box.
3. FISH — A friend of mine used to sell seafood for a living. He’d import it from Asia and sell it to stores in North America. One of his favorite clients was always Costco. They paid on time, they pay their workers well, and they cared about the origin of the product they sell. You do have to read labels, because not everything they sell is something I’d want to feed my family, but a LOT of Costco’s frozen and fresh seafood meets my sustainable seafood criteria.
4. NUTS — Costco traces their nuts right down to their source, and is part of several projects in developing countries to improve living and working conditions for nut farmers. I love buying their mixed nuts knowing this. They’re also the best tasting nuts at the best price for miles around.
5. MEAT — Most of Costco’s meat is on my ignore list. The exceptions (which are standing items on my shopping list) are their extra lean ground bison (hormone- and antibiotic-free) and their frozen organic chicken breasts. If the bison isn’t there, I’ll buy the organic lean ground beef. (I just prefer extra lean, so the bison wins if they’re both in stock.) I also love to buy their imported Italian prosciutto and mixed salami — I don’t buy their North American counterparts (beware of labeling like “Italian style”) but anything actually imported from the EU has way higher standards, including a full ban on the hormones and antibiotics that are allowed into our food supply here.
6. FROZEN PRODUCE — This is why I love my deep freezer. So many of our household staples come from Costco’s freezer aisle. Organic peas, organic cherries and berries, broccoli. Lately I’ve been loving their roasted mixed vegetables. Really healthy food for people and the planet, at prices that leave other stores in the dust.
7. FRESH PRODUCE — This is hit-and-miss, but I usually find at least a couple of hits when I walk through their produce section (and the freezing cold room beside it). Their big bags of clementines are usually great, and they’ll often have organic berries at conventional pricing. Sadly, they only sell conventional potatoes, but I keep looking for organic, because maybe one day soon they will bring them in.
8. KIRKLAND SIGNATURE BRAND — A high quality store brand that offers great value. Lots of KS items are staples in our pantry, like organic quinoa, organic nacho chips, organic seaweed snacks, organic salsa, nuts, salt, and soooo many more.
9. PACKAGED FOODS — CEREALS, CRACKERS, and MORE – Organic and non-GMO options are growing their shelf space in all of the carb aisles. Earth friendly companies like Simple Mills (we love their almond crackers), One Degree (their sprouted oats and granola are both repeat orders for our family), and Prana (we recently discovered their Peas & Favas Mix) are gaining popularity for their great products at great prices.
10. BREAD — There are two kinds of bread I love to buy at Costco. One is Stonemill fermented sourdough rye (a deliciously grainy bred that even my picky daughter says is good), and another is Vero Vero heritage sourdough — a white bread with sneakily healthy ingredients.
11. DAIRY — Have you noticed dairy prices SKYROCKETING lately? Costco has grass-fed butter, organic milk, and free-run eggs at prices we can still afford.
12. GIFT CARDS — I buy their movie passes often. One of my favorite sustainable gifts to give at a kids’ birthday party is an “Experience Card” where we give them a choice of outings, including a movie in a theater. Costco’s kids’ movie passes, at $12.99 a piece, buy a child’s entry to a movie and a kids’ snack pack, which includes popcorn, a small drink, and a treat. (I plug my nose when I order the popcorn, though. Maybe one day, Cineplex will get on the non-GMO bandwagon.)
13. CLEANING SUPPLIES — Yes, the cleaning aisle is still dominated by things like Lysol and Mr. Clean, but I have bought eco-friendly dish soap there (which works just as well as its eco-unfriendly counterparts). On my last trip, I picked up a giant container of ECOS laundry detergent for $16.99. This is a sustainable step I haven’t taken in the past, because our family has been happy with the results of Tide for as long as I can remember, but since I’m on a mission to make at least one permanent change every week, I thought I’d give this one a try. (I’ll let you know if it’s a good one!)

Do you have a favorite sustainable Costco product? Let me know in the comments so I can check it out and add it to this list!