FAQs

ABOUT US

What is Sustainable Travel & Living?

We are a crew passionate about traveling and passionate about how we impact the world around us. That’s why we created the first shop exclusively dedicated to providing resources for how to be a sustainable traveler and a big, awesome, ever-evolving collection of goods to back it up.

We hope the products and info you’ll find here are a catalyst for thinking about broader lifestyle changes you might make, just like we have… its catching, we warn you! We work really hard to not only make sure we offer more sustainable options, but really cool, high-quality products you’re gonna love and will last you to boot. Here’s for leading a shift towards a slower, more thoughtful way to shop!

Greenwashing is real. How are you walking the walk?

Here’s the deal, when you get into product sustainability there usually is no singular “perfect” or “right” choice. Almost everything comes with trade-offs: why it’s a “good” or “better” choice, and why it’s still not perfect. And these factors change every day with new information and technology.

To top it off, there will always be differing opinions on what matters most. That’s why one of our most important jobs is giving you transparent, honest information to help you make your own informed decisions as a responsible consumer.

So with that said, what we promise is lots of on-going research, with help vetting by some highly-credentialed lifecycle assessment, recycling and sustainable product design and other experts, to give you the best options we can find. Then, we work hard to be as transparent as possible to tell you why we picked each of our products (and why they still aren’t perfect), plus offer other education as we ourselves have learned. At the end of the day, we’re all students of sustainability, so please, share your input, expertise, advice and opinions via our Join Us page!

ORDERS & SHIPPING 101

How long will my order take and how will you update me?

Your order will typically ship out from our warehouse on weekdays within 1-3 days upon confirmed payment. It will be sent per the shipping method/carrier and delivery timeframe you selected at checkout.

Don’t worry, we’ll send an email confirmation when you first place your order, and again when we have your confirmed tracking info.

In some cases, items will ship separately, directly from the manufacturer and will typically arrive within 5-10 days; this will be noted on all your confirmations (also, hooray for saving here on transport energy!). If you have any troubles and have not received any part of your order after 10-14 days, please contact [email protected].

How can I track my order?

You should get a second email confirmation from us with your shipping confirmation and tracking details within 24 hours of your order being shipped. Use that tracking number to track against your carrier:

USPS Tracking | UPS Tracking

Note, if we alerted you some items may be shipping separately, directly from the manufacturer, we won’t always be able to provide a tracking number. These typically arrive within 5-10 days of your other shipping confirmation notice. We aren’t able to guarantee exact timing, but are happy to answer any questions or check on an order as needed.

Other sites don’t make me pay for shipping, what gives?

OK let’s unpack it: we’re a small business so we’ve got to charge you for at least some shipping to cover our costs. It’s an important way you can support us. And, this is one area we consumers have to start trading convenience (ahem, the behemoth with “prime” offerings) for larger responsibility… are you with us?

Do you ship internationally?

We currently ship to all 50 U.S. states from our warehouse in Indianapolis, IN and Canada upon request.

If you’re interested in an order to Canada or elsewhere in the world now, email us at [email protected] with a list of the items you’re interested in and we’ll help you place a special order (with associated international duties and import fees).

How is your shipping sustainable?

Our small team packs your orders with care, often from re-used shipping bags, boxes and other materials we collect locally before they’re tossed. If not re-used, we’re pretty much allergic to new plastic (read our stance), so we source and use recycled, FSC Certified paper-based products. All 100% recyclable by you. Plus, we’ve sourced eco-friendly packaging tapes that are also curbside recyclable.

How do you charge sales tax?

Currently we are charging sales tax, as required, to customers in the State of Indiana. Because we are incorporated in Indiana and hold our re-seller license here, we are required to charge sales tax in those states we have a business nexus.

Do you offer bulk corporate or other special orders?

Why yes, we would love to talk about helping you for any special bulk and/or branded orders. Hit us up on the Contact/Join Us form or email [email protected].    

RETURN POLICY

What is the return policy?

Personal Care products are final sale, and not eligible for returns or refunds; neither are items noted as ‘final sale.’ On other Gear, we will consider returns within 10 days of delivery, if items are unopened, in original packaging and we’re able to re-stock it. (See requesting a return next.) With that, we will deduct a $3 re-stock fee from any refunds.

For those products sent separately, directly from our third-party manufacturing partners (as noted on the product pages and in check-out) their specific return policies may also apply (see the respective product pages for details).

Nope, not interested in re-gifting. How do I request a return?

Email us your refund request within 10 days of product delivery to [email protected] and we will confirm what we can return and specific instructions from there. We’ll leave shipping back to our warehouse with you (and your wallet) and a refund will be issued against your original form of payment ASAP, less a $3 re-stock fee, once we confirm items can be re-stocked. Other individual supplier return policies may also apply when items are sent directly from the manufacturer.

Inquiring minds… why is your returns policy so limited?

Part of our model is encouraging slower, more thoughtful consumerism above convenience and mass consumption. Our return policy is therefore limited by design and your understanding is another layer of support for our business!

ISSUES WITH ORDERS

Oops, can I make a change to the order I just placed?

If you have the wrong address or otherwise made a delivery or similar error, email us with your request and order confirmation number to [email protected] and we’ll see what we can do to help correct it in time.

Sorry, we cannot typically change the product orders themselves once placed—because, slower, more considerate consumerism and all.

My order hasn’t arrived. I think it’s lost or stolen, now what?

Porch pirates and lost-in-transit issues are real. Do us a favor and just double-check with the carrier (USPS, UPS or FedEx) against your tracking number or see if it’s hiding at that pesky neighbor’s or in the bushes after all.

USPS Tracking | UPS Tracking

Then, if after 15 days of placing your order you still haven’t seen it, or it shows delivered but neither you or the shipping carrier can find it, email your order number and tell us what’s up at [email protected] and we’ll see if we can help. (Note, ultimately per our Terms of Service we aren’t responsible for Risk of Loss once we hand the package off to your chosen transit method and give you a tracking number.)

My order was damaged. Who do I tell?

We’re crushed more than a run-over package when that happens! Make sure to email us within 10 days of delivery at [email protected], with detailed description of any specific issues and pictures of damage claims (mandatory fun), and we’ll do our best to make it right, on a case-by-case basis.

I only got part of my order, where is the rest?

Sometimes we ship part of your order directly from the manufacture, in which case it will come separately, generally within 5-10 business days. Typically there should have been note on your email confirmations about this. If you still haven’t gotten it after 12-15 days of ordering, email [email protected].

I WANT TO WORK WITH YOU!

I’m a brand and would like to be sold by Sustainable Travel & Living

Hooray! We’re always looking for the latest and greatest sustainable gear to share with our travelers. Fill out our Contact/Join Us form or email us at [email protected] and send links to check out your stuff. Let us know of your wholesale margins and if you offer any extras like corporate branding or drop shipping too. Note that we’ll request complimentary, non-returnable samples of product we think are a fit. (We’ve learned the whole try-before-buy thing the hard way and we have to deliver on our customer promise we’ve vetted it for them.) We’ll also want to make sure you can work with us to minimize plastic and packaging appropriately.

I am a travel company and am interested in partnering

Let’s get together, yeah, yeah, yeah. If you’re a travel seller or operator we definitely want to work with you to create more responsible travelers.

If you have a sustainable travel offering or service you’d like us to promote in our growing Action Center, let us know! 

Conversely, if you want to help us do the right thing and look really good to your audiences for it, we can discuss a white-label, affiliate version of our website for your brand and other turn-key partnership marketing offerings. Please use our Join Us/Contact form or email [email protected].

I am a blogger or other potential affiliate partner

Great minds think alike. We do have an affiliate program available. So if you think your site is aligned with ours, and you want to send us traffic and earn referral for it, use our Affiliate form and get in touch.

I am a non-profit or sustainable organization and want to collaborate and be promoted

Strength in numbers. We are building a bank of brand partnerships to cross-promote other like-minded, responsible organizations to our engaged audiences.

We’re always on the look-out for great educational content we can publish and credit you for, like blog articles, quizzes/certifications, webinars, videos, etc.—and we can share ours back.

We’re also building our Action Center for other ways consumers can take action in their daily lives if you have a service offering you think we should promote. Fill out our Contact/Join Us form or email [email protected] and tell us about yourself!

I think it would be cool to work for Sustainable Travel & Living

Must love doing the right thing and having a great time! While we’re not hiring for any additional full-time positions at this time, we’re always looking to keep our part-time contractor roster of content writers, sustainability experts, graphic designers and other contributors full. So don’t hesitate to reach out via our Contact/Join Us form and send us your info.

I didn’t see myself on the list…

We love hearing your feedback and ideas and starting interesting new business conversations, so don’t hesitate to hit us up via the Contact/Join Us form or email [email protected].