How Cardiff’s Businesses Are Making Everyday Choices Greener
Sustainability can sometimes sound like a massive lifestyle overhaul. A full kitchen of glass jars, a wardrobe purge, a bike for every journey. But talk to Cheselle Efthimiadis, better known online as The Sustainable Stylist, and the story becomes much simpler. City living, she says, might actually be the easiest place to start.
Working across television, commercial shoots and fashion, Cheselle builds sustainability into everything she does, often behind the scenes. Pre-loved clothing, biodegradable garment bags, water-kind cleaning products and even car sharing all play a role.
“It’s not one big thing,” she explains. “It’s lots of small choices adding up.”
And Cardiff, as it turns out, gives you plenty of opportunities to make those choices.
A City Built for Better Habits
For someone who previously lived in rural Pembrokeshire, Cheselle says city life has made sustainable living far more practical. Cardiff’s mix of zero-waste shops, local producers and walkable neighbourhoods means the eco-friendly option is often right in front of you.
The first stop for many is Siop Sero, the city’s well-loved zero-waste store, where shoppers bring their own containers and buy only what they need. Add in local butchers, bakers and fresh produce stalls and the city starts to feel like one giant refill station.
Cardiff’s markets are at the heart of that movement. The historic Cardiff Market sits in the city centre buzzing with fruit and veg stalls, independent traders and local food makers. Across the city, smaller community markets create their own weekly rhythms, from the Friday market in Rhiwbina to the lively Riverside Farmers’ Market and neighbourhood favourites in Roath.
There’s a wider movement too. Cardiff was awarded Gold Sustainable Food Place status, recognising the city’s joined-up approach to ethical, local and environmentally responsible food systems.
Fashion: The Most Sustainable Thing Is Already in Your Wardrobe
When it comes to clothing, Cheselle’s advice is refreshingly blunt: shop less.
She set herself a “nothing new” challenge back in 2022 and discovered something surprising. Buying pre-loved slowed everything down. Without the quick-fix dopamine of fast fashion or the safety net of free returns, every purchase became intentional.
Her tips for building a sustainable wardrobe without blowing the budget:
• Invest in classic pieces that outlive trends
• Choose natural fibres like wool, cotton and leather
• Care for clothes properly so they last decades, not months
She points to her favourite example: a vintage camel cashmere coat from the 1980s that still looks effortlessly current and gets worn constantly from autumn through spring.
Cardiff’s independent and vintage scene makes this easy, with shops such as DeJa Vu Wales helping shoppers lean into circular fashion rather than chasing micro-trends.
Repair, Don’t Replace: Cardiff’s Quiet Sustainability Movement
Another part of Cardiff’s growing sustainability story is the rise of local Repair Cafés. These volunteer-run events pop up across the city, inviting people to bring along broken or tired items, from clothes and small electricals to furniture and bikes, and learn how to fix them rather than throw them away.
It’s sustainability at its most practical. You walk in with something destined for landfill and often leave with it working again, plus a new skill or two. Repair Cafés are about more than saving money or reducing waste, they’re about rebuilding a culture where things are repaired, shared and valued.
Across Cardiff, regular sessions have been held in areas such as Cathays and Llanishen, with volunteers giving their time and expertise to help the community repair everyday items for free.
For Cheselle, whose whole ethos revolves around extending the life of what we already own, this mindset is key. A loose seam, a wobbly lamp or a broken zip doesn’t need replacing. Sometimes it just needs someone willing to show you how to fix it.
Eating Sustainably Without Becoming “That Person”
Good food and sustainability go hand in hand, and Cardiff’s independent food scene is quietly leading the way.
At Dusty’s Pizzeria, the philosophy goes beyond great pizza. The team are advocates of the Slow Food movement, focusing on quality ingredients, slower processes and sourcing that supports local producers.
Across town, Penylan Pantry champions seasonal menus and local suppliers, proving that everyday brunch can still be thoughtful and low impact. (Locally sourced ingredients and sustainability-led cafés like this are becoming central to Cardiff’s independent scene.)
Then there’s Heaneys, where the focus lands squarely on hyper-local produce, including ingredients grown in their own Chef’s Garden. It’s a reminder that sustainability doesn’t always look rustic or minimalist. Sometimes it looks like fine dining with very short supply chains.
Cheselle’s own food mantra is simple: avoid plastic where you can and eat with the seasons. That usually means:
• Shopping for produce before heading to the supermarket
• Carrying reusable containers for lunches
• Avoiding impulse meal-deal extras that end up in the bin
Small habits, repeated often.
Beauty, Hair and the Business of Doing Better
Sustainability doesn’t stop at clothing or food. In the beauty world, businesses are finding inventive ways to reduce waste too.
Cheselle highlights Suburb Hair Salon, a family-run salon she and her husband recently took over. Like many small businesses, they admit perfection isn’t possible, but progress is. Vegan and sustainable products are used where possible, and leftover hair is recycled into floating booms that help absorb oil spills. It’s one of those quiet innovations you’d never notice, but it matters.
The Power of Small Swaps
If sustainability sounds overwhelming, Cheselle has one clear message: don’t aim for perfection.
Ride a bike or take public transport where you can. Walk short distances. Bring your own lunch. Resist the lunchtime fast-fashion browse when the sales signs are shouting your name.
And maybe most importantly, don’t beat yourself up if you’re not doing everything all at once.
“Even I switch off sometimes,” she says. “It can feel like a drop in the ocean. But every small choice counts.”
Cardiff’s Green Mindset
What ties all these places together is not perfection but intention. Independent businesses across the city are building sustainability into everyday choices, whether that’s sourcing locally, reducing waste or simply making it easier for customers to live a little lighter on the planet.
From market stalls to pizzerias, salons to fashion finds, the city is proving that eco-conscious living isn’t reserved for countryside retreats or off-grid cabins.
You can do it on your lunch break.
You can do it on a high street.
You can do it right here in Cardiff.
And as Cheselle puts it:
“You don’t need a 1970s Woodstock lifestyle. You just need to start where you are.”
