Edible Food Finds: Cleenland
Photos by Jesika Theos
Just a short walk from Central Square in Cambridge, Cleenland offers a new concept for Greater Boston: a one-stop shop with the goal of “cleaning up a dirty world.” The shop aims to tackle community waste and promote environmental awareness by selling bulk personal care products and household essentials with little to no packaging. Since so much packaging waste occurs adjacent to food and its preparation, Cleenland fits the bill as an honorary “Edible Food Find.”
Owner and founder Sarah Levy greets each customer with a smile that matches the bright yellow wall trademarking the space behind her. The intimate atmosphere is easygoing and inclusive. It is a place for anyone to shop with a sustainable focus or start a conversation. To Sarah, any kind of sustainable lifestyle change makes a difference. She points out, “It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the news and statistics about waste and that’s totally understandable. Just start with one thing—we’re here to help!”
Sarah started selling her eco-friendly goods at the Union Square Farmers Market in the spring of 2019, and with that momentum decided to open a store in June 2019.
Cleenland’s carefully curated approach features “For Refill” items like hand soap, dish soap, detergent and sunscreen or items “For Keeps” like bar soaps, cleaning brushes and compostable food storage bags. The bulk format supplies (in five-gallon containers) are priced by weight, and veteran shoppers have the option to bring their own reusable containers for refill. Newbies can pick up containers directly from the store to fill and reuse.
Sarah established guidelines for the products sold at Cleenland: They cannot include parabens, phthalates, ammonia, chlorine bleach, petrolatum, paraffin, phosphates, artificial colors or fragrances. In addition, Cleenland is mindful of each company’s background and mission. The store gravitates towards family- owned companies that treat their employees well and are thoughtful about their supply chain. Puracy is one example company that makes all-natural, nontoxic, plant-based, hypoallergenic stain removers, cleaners and detergents.
Cleenland also sells starter gift baskets, including one designed specifically for the home cook. This low-waste basket includes Abeego Beeswax food wraps (reusable hemp and organic cotton cloth wraps made with beeswax, tree resin and organic jojoba oil); Stasher bags (reusable storage bags made from pure platinum silicone); Vejibags (machine-washable cotton vegetable storage bags); copper pot scrubbers; a compostable sponge cloth; a dish brush with a compostable and replaceable head; bar dish soap (one of many products in the store that comes in an eco-friendly bar format) and a Cleenland tote bag made from 100% recycled cotton.
Reflecting on the past several months, Sarah says, “I think the biggest impact we’ve had in terms of changing minds so far is just helping visitors along the journey of connecting the dots between products they use every day and thinking about the resources that go into making them. Visitors to the store say things like, ‘Oh, wow, I didn’t even think of my deodorant as plastic!’ or ‘Oh, cool—I’ve never seen dish soap in bar format! That’s such a good idea.’”
To Sarah, the awareness of what goes into a product and what sustainable options are out there is key to people making “resource-efficient” choices.
Cleenland is located at 89A Norfolk St., Cambridge, and is open M, W, Th, F 11am–8pm, Sa, Su 9am–7pm, closed Tu. Cleenland also has a Suggestion Box on the website for new product ideas and feedback.
This story appeared in the Winter 2020 issue.
