Here are some of my favourite resources and places to shop for sustainable living in Graz.

Nachhaltig in Graz is a great source of information (mostly in German but you can use a web translator). They have lists of events, recommendations on where to shop & eat, and a huge number of tips on sustainability in Graz. They also run a food sharing program, with fridges around the city where you can leave leftover food. Plus they manage the ‘free little library‘ bookshelves you see dotted around. Also they run the Verschenkladen on Leonhardstraße 38 where you can donate and also pick up for free households items, clothes, toys, books etc.

Zero waste Graz also has a good list of places to shop especially if you are looking to avoid plastic packaging. I can also recommend their facebook group, where you can ask questions and get answers to just about anything sustainable and they have a monthly Stammtisch (meetup) at Dekagramm.
Das Gramm on Neutorgasse is a beautiful small shop selling package free food such as lentils, pulses, spices etc where you measure out what you need. They also have fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, milk from nearby farms. Plus they offer a daily lunch special with their zero waste Anna Cafe.
Das Dekagramm is the bigger sister to Das Gramm, and offers package free food items plus household items, cleaning materials (you can fill your own bottles), beauty products etc. They also have a cafe too.
I like visiting the small organic stores ‘Bioladens‘ which are all around Graz and are often very helpful with advice. There is also a chain of larger healthfood stores – Denns biomarkt.

The farmers markets around Graz offer a wide range of locally grown fruit and vegetables. Plus delicious homemade juices, chutneys and jams.
Lush by the Rathaus is also a good place to treat yourself to some package free soap. I like their hairshampoo bars and they make my bathroom smell amazing!
DM are also starting to sell their own branded bamboo toothbrushes, hairshampoo soap bars, planet pure cleaning products etc. And at their Murpark shopping center, Jakominiplatz and Andritz Grazer Str stores you can refill laundry detergent and dishwasher liquid bottles.
Mohren apotheke (Südtirolerplatz 7) makes their own shower gels which you can fill into your own bottles.
Bürsten- und Korbwaren, Rösselmühlgasse 4 (Griesplatz) have a great selection of wooden brushes of all types (shaving, teeth, cleaning, sweeping etc), spoons, baskets, combs, chopping boards and many other household items.
There are several fresh milk vending machines ‘Milchautomat’ around Graz (St Peter, Andritz, Gösting, Grottenhof, Liebenau) where you can fill your own bottles.
At Spar and Billa supermarkets you can bring your own containers to be filled at the meat & cheese counters. Spar also has a program where they take back used cooking oil at certain stores.
(c) Verena Kasser I Das Dekagramm
BackCup is a great initiative where you pay a €1 deposit for a reusable cup for your coffee/tea and use it as often as you want at participating cafes in Graz. When you’re finished, just return it to one of the cafes and receive your €1 back.
Refill Graz is another nice project to reduce plastic bottle waste. Bring your own water bottles to any participating store or cafe and they will fill it with tapwater for free. Just look out for the blue Refill Graz stickers. You can also find public drinking water taps in the summer (turned off in winter) in most public playgrounds and around the city center (for example on the Schlossberg, just below Cafe Aiola / Hauptplatz, in front of the Rathaus, Freiheitsplatz / opposite the Shauspielhaus and Cathedral).
You can also read my repair cafes in Graz post to find out more where to fix your broken appliances or mend old clothes.
And if you looking to travel sustainably, you can read my post on TIM carsharing, or biking in Graz.
4 thoughts on “Sustainability in Graz”