Progress, not purity
Sustainability advice for people with full lives.
Slightly Better helps busy, budget-conscious people find sustainable swaps they can realistically keep. The quiz considers routines, household realities, budget, and tolerance for inconvenience before offering a personal five-swap plan.
Useful advice should be researched, candid about tradeoffs, and completely free of scolding. The goal is not a picture-perfect zero-waste life. It is one better choice, followed by another when you are ready.
“Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”
— Tanzanian proverb
Founder story
Lena and the K-Cup reckoning
Lena kept throwing away K-Cups and imagining millions of them collecting in landfills. Eventually, she switched to a French press—even though it takes longer and the coffee costs more.
That experience became the starting point for Slightly Better: a resource for people who want to make better choices without pretending the better choice is always effortless, cheaper, or magically convenient.
“Created by someone who cares deeply about the planet—and also understands why convenience keeps winning.”
Our standards
How We Choose What to Recommend
Every Slightly Better recommendation begins with the same questions: Does the product work? Is it genuinely useful? Is it reasonably accessible? And does it offer a meaningful improvement over the conventional option?
When products meet those standards, we make a deliberate effort to include small and independently owned businesses—particularly those led by women, Black entrepreneurs and other founders from historically underrepresented communities.
Ownership alone does not guarantee a recommendation, and larger brands are not automatically excluded. Our goal is to consider a wider range of products and help excellent businesses earn attention based on what they actually make.
For makers
Do You Make Something Slightly Better?
We would love to hear from small and independent businesses creating thoughtful alternatives to everyday products—especially companies led by women, Black entrepreneurs and other historically underrepresented founders.
If you have a product you think the Slightly Better community should know about, send us a note and tell us what makes it different.
Submitting or providing a product does not guarantee coverage or a positive review. If we recommend something we received for free or may earn a commission from, we will always say so clearly.
Find your next manageable swap.
Start with the habits you already have. No account, no guilt, no requirement to replace every container in your kitchen.
Take the free quiz