{ Hilly, sunny, windy, perfect }
I spent a day and a half in the windy, hilly, beautiful city of San Francisco. Since I’ve been there before I steered clear of the most obvious tourist attractions and instead focused on finding the best eco fashion shopping and vegan/vegetarian food options to fill my days. It was amazing and I’m hoping it won’t be too long until I get a chance to go back. Check the map at the bottom for adresses, which you can easily download the map to the Google maps app on your phone by pressing the star after the “TNFN Eco City Guide: San Francisco”.
{ Blush, pink and white at Everlane }
{ “Facts Matter” on Eileen Fisher’s store front }
{ Everlane’s store front <3 }
{ Adorable Hayes Street }
{ Reformation’s new retail experience is brilliant }
{ Old, new and classic books }
{ Favourite Kombucha and locally grown cherries <3 }
{ Hipster supermarket Bi-Rite }
Shop
Everlane
American Everlane offer great quality basics in a beautiful, airy store. The staff is friendly and helpful and while there are things to be noted on the brand’s choice of materials, their wish to be transparent about production and cost models, as well as the classic designs are enough to put them on my list of favourite brands.
Reformation
Another favourite brand I also love is Reformation, so when I learned they open a new store in San Fran I knew I had to visit. Their retail experience is brilliant and I’m hoping many more will incorporate some of their elements to make physical shopping stand out compared to the comfort of online shopping from your couch.
Amour Vert
I hadn’t planned to visit this store, but was so happy I randomly came across it. The San Francisco based brand offers classic pieces made exclusively from natural materials. The have several stores in the Bay area, but the store on Hayes St. was really lovely and the sales advisor was so sweet.
Eileen Fisher
Sustainable fashion pioneer Eileen Fisher is eager to change the industry to take more responsibility through collaborations and circular business models. I loved visiting their store on Filmore St. And was happy to discover the quality, feel and look of the clothes lived up to all my expectations.
Bi-Rite Market
Cutest little, hipster, organic supermarket. I refuelled on sustainably grown, local cherries and the best organic, vegan and raw kombucha I’ve ever had.
Dog Eared books
As much as I love my Kindle for travelling, I have a soft spot for real books and struggled to constrain myself in this cute, little book store with a great selection of new, old and classic books.
{ The most delicious vegan tacos at Gracias Madre }
{ Vegan ‘Tuna’ salad at Nourish Café }
{ Filmore St. – It was a steep walk, but this view made it so worth it }
{ Organic, plant based, whole foods at Seed + Salt }
{ ‘Neatballs’ and zucchini pasta and a side of the best garlic bread I’ve ever had }
{ The perfect break at Sightglass Coffee, SF MOMA }
Eat
Gracias Madre
Mexican vegan food at it’s best. We also visited Gracias Madre when we were in L.A last summer, so I was hopeful it would be equally delicious. It is open for lunch and dinner, but reviews told me dinner time were busy, so I opted for lunch in between my shopping. The restaurant was quiet and the food was delicious. The staff is friendly and helped me chose when I wanted to get one of everything.
Nourish Café
This vegan café have two locations in SF. I visited the one on Hyde St., but I’m sure the other one is just as good if it fits better with your schedule. I had the best ‘tuna’ salad ever and it was the perfect healthy end to a long day of walking, shopping and exploring.
Seed + Salt
Vegan and delicious. They have a great selection of salads and sandwiches, but I was keen to try something I wouldn’t be able to quickly whip up at home. The zucchini spaghetti and ‘neatball’ dish was the answer. I only wished they would serve the food in reusable bowls and with real cutlery – even if it was labelled as environmentally friendly and recyclable it has still required a lot of resources to produce and so will the recycling process.
Coffee
Ritual Coffee Roasters
The girls at Reformation recommended this place to me. It’s a few minutes walk from the Ref store and it provided a nice little break and great coffee to keep me going.
Sightglass Coffee, SF MOMA
Local artisanal coffee purveyor Sightglass serves up handcrafted coffee creations and an assortment of pastries. Perfect for a break in between perusing the beautiful art at SF MOMA.
{ ‘Lorna’ Oil on Canvas by Chuck Close }
{ ‘Untitled’ Acrylic paint on Canvas by Sam Francis }
Do
Walk
I walked almost everywhere in San Francisco, which is quite the exercise considering the hilly streets the city is known for, but it’s such a lovely way to experience a new city, not to mention environmentally friendly.
San Francisco MOMA
The museum has just reopened last year and I was keen to visit. I stopped in the café for a coffee and croissant, which was great and the perfect art perusing pause I needed.
Yoga to the People
Unfortunately I didn’t have time for a yoga class, but this place was on my list of things to try. You pay a donation ($10 suggested), which makes it available for everyone.
de Young Museum
I wish I’d had time to make it to this museum it would have been great to combine with a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge
Japanese Tea Garden
Another thing on my to do list for the next time I’m in SF. It’s suppose to be such a beautiful walk through the garden.
You can easily download the map to the Google maps app on your phone by pressing the star after the “TNFN Eco City Guide: San Francisco”.
