Is online shopping more sustainable than in-person?

In short...yes! Study after study has shown that shopping online is in fact more sustainable than shopping in-person...even if you use public transit! At A Drop in the Ocean, we do everything we possibly can to keep your online orders as eco-friendly and zero waste as possible. In particular, we: Reuse shipping boxes from our friends, family, neighbors, and customers. Reuse internal packaging materials that are always 100% plastic-free. (Fun fact: We've never once purchased internal packaging materials in the 6+ years we've been in business. Every single piece has been reused.) Use paper packing tape and 100% recycled paper shipping labels that come on curbside-recyclable liners (that we actually reuse as packing materials to give another life to before recycling!) . Ship all orders with USPS since they're coming to your home (and our office) every day anyway. Plant 1 tree for every item sold through Trees for the Future. Offset every mile we drive through tree planting with Trees for the Future. 💡 Wanna learn more? Check out our blog post all about the sustainability of online shopping and our carbon footprint analysis of shipping empty containers back and forth versus recycling them locally .

Our Impact

Q: Is A Drop in the Ocean ACTUALLY zero waste?

Yes and no. True zero waste does not exist in our current linear (take, make, waste) economy. It is not possible to produce zero trash. However, the true intention of the zero waste movement and lifestyle is a transition to a circular economy, in which materials are designed with the end of life in mind, to be reused again and again. Everything we do at A Drop in the Ocean is with this circular economy goal in mind — and every decision is backed by science. With our closed-loop product sourcing (we return large empty containers to our vendors to refill) and our closed-loop delivery system (you return your empty containers to us to refill) , and our behind-the-scenes business practices, on average we produce less than 0.5 pounds of trash each month. 💡 Wanna learn more? Check out our blog post where we break down exactly how we keep our trash output to such a minimum .

We're on a mission to use business as a force for good. That's why we donate at least 1% of our sales (not profits) to ocean conservation and plant one tree for every item purchased. Although these individual numbers may not seem like much on their own, the collective impact of our actions is immense, and we can see how even 1% amounts to massive changes towards a healthier planet.

The numbers below represent our collective impact since opening our virtual doors in February 2019.
Last updated July 1, 2025.

2024

Sustainability Report

Check out our most recent Annual Report for a full look behind the scenes - including everything from our refill impact to our trash output, and even our financials.

2024 Year-End Report

meet our tree planting partner

Trees for the Future

For every item purchased at A Drop in the Ocean, we donate one tree in your honor.

All of our tree planting is done through the organization Trees for the Future. Trees is doing so much more than planting trees. Their work in sub-Saharan Africa is changing lives. Through their Forest Gardens program, Trees works with local community members to plant fast-growing trees that restore critical nutrients to degraded soil. This regenerative agriculture provides an ideal environment for farmers to grow an array of fruits and vegetables, providing a food source and a source of income.

The long-term benefits of this program are immense. Farmers realize an average annual income increase of 400%. As the trees mature they sequester greater amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Revitalized lands lead to greater biodiversity, less erosion, and a higher productivity. We love the work Trees for the Future is doing, and are proud to support them in our daily business.

meet our ocean conservation partner

Vermilion Sea Institute

We donate 1% of all of our sales (not profits) to Vermilion Sea Institute as our ocean conservation partner.

VSI is on a mission to foster sustainable and enriching relationships between human societies and the ecosystems that support them. Conservation is about so much more than fencing off a piece of land - conservation issues are complex, and require multidisciplinary approaches to address them. VSI is doing just that.

VSI connects people to the world around them, inspiring action and greater knowledge-seeking. Krystina, A Drop in the Ocean's owner and founder, visited VSI for the first time in 2017, and from the five days she spent on the water with the VSI team, her life transformed. From that trip, A Drop in the Ocean was born, and since the beginning it has been one of our core goals to give back to VSI to support the incredible work they do each and every day.

FAQs

In short...yes! Study after study has shown that shopping online is in fact more sustainable than shopping in-person...even if you use public transit!

At A Drop in the Ocean, we do everything we possibly can to keep your online orders as eco-friendly and zero waste as possible. In particular, we:

Reuse shipping boxes from our friends, family, neighbors, and customers.
Reuse internal packaging materials that are always 100% plastic-free. (Fun fact: We've never once purchased internal packaging materials in the 6+ years we've been in business. Every single piece has been reused.)
Use paper packing tape and 100% recycled paper shipping labels that come on curbside-recyclable liners (that we actually reuse as packing materials to give another life to before recycling!).
Ship all orders with USPS since they're coming to your home (and our office) every day anyway.
Plant 1 tree for every item sold through Trees for the Future.
Offset every mile we drive through tree planting with Trees for the Future.

💡 Wanna learn more? Check out our blog post all about the sustainability of online shopping and our carbon footprint analysis of shipping empty containers back and forth versus recycling them locally.

Yes and no. True zero waste does not exist in our current linear (take, make, waste) economy. It is not possible to produce zero trash.

However, the true intention of the zero waste movement and lifestyle is a transition to a circular economy, in which materials are designed with the end of life in mind, to be reused again and again.

Everything we do at A Drop in the Ocean is with this circular economy goal in mind — and every decision is backed by science.

With our closed-loop product sourcing (we return large empty containers to our vendors to refill) and our closed-loop delivery system (you return your empty containers to us to refill), and our behind-the-scenes business practices, on average we produce less than 0.5 pounds of trash each month.

💡 Wanna learn more? Check out our blog post where we break down exactly how we keep our trash output to such a minimum.

Absolutely! We only began publishing them in 2023, but we will continue to publish them each year moving forward.

2024 Year-End Report
2023 Year-End Report