Ethical Planet

Closed and empty. Website says they are moving, but looking for the «right» place. Sounds like spin to me but I hope not. Apparently they still do business online though.

Awesome shop.

you guys rock! I loooove this store!

I love Ethical Planet and Fran… Evanston is lucky to have such a store. There is a wonderful eclectic mix of all sorts of things… exactly what you would imagine a vegan general store to be… and she brings a vision of a kinder, eco-​friendly world. Fran has been responsible for many of the green coalitions/​fests, etc and shares her time and expertise abundantly.

They really do have everything vegan here and the owner is always really helpful and friendly. And it’s right around the corner from me so I’m lucky! I am attempting to go vegan this year (already Vegetarian) and when I told Fran, the owner, she was so nice and supportive. She loaded me up with a ton of free literature and magazines and told me to pop in and ask her anything if I needed help. So cool!

Vegan «beef» (soy) jerky, eco-​planet cheddar crackers, environmentally-​friendly toilet paper that’s ACTUALLY soft on your ethical bum.
I wish it was closer to where I live, like an hour-​and-​a-​half closer. But, they have a website you can order from!

Ever need to buy a gift for someone who’s vegan or really environmentally conscious? Dont’ want them secretly thinking, «Oh, there’s another dead goat/​cow/​dolphin, because of me?» Well, you can either say screw you hippy or you can take a trip to Ethical Planet and get them some recycled goodie or tasty treat.
Also, if you want to get a quick bite to eat they have a little fridge with sandwiches and wraps from Soul Vegetarian. Delicious!

What a vegan dream! They have it all = snacks, body products, gifts, etc. It’s great to have a shop where you don’t have to search every label for animal ingredients. I highly recommend the Raw Creations and the Soul Veg treats in the refrigerated case. I buy all of my gifts here.

I freakin’ love this place. I went in here the other day in search for vegan winter boots – to no avail but I walked out with great recommendations on where to find them and a huge bag of great stuff-​some of which is for me and others for holiday gifts…
–ricemallow fluff
–organic/​vegan cotton candy
–vegan bacUN bits
–vegan lipshineystuff
–fleece hood
–organic hand sanitizer
etc.
I could spend all day here and I practically did. They owner is super nice and passionate about her shop (although not obnoxiously so…)

After stopping off at the post office, my partner (a vegetarian and once vegan) and I (no longer vegetarian but still sympathetic), decided to grab a snack, but we were short on time.
Right across the street, we noticed a small «hippie» general store. We both got excited and ran to check it out.
There were lots of items we hadn’t seen in a while, and it made us very happy to have this resource not far from our home.
The woman behind the desk answered all of our questions.
For vegans and vegetarians who also enjoy supporting local businesses, this is a great resource. Sure, you can probably find most of the items at Whole Foods, but I know i will use this shop for anything «ethical» that our household needs.

How lovely!
We found this place by accident and just walked in for a minute. The store is really small and they really don’t have a very large food selection, so that’s my ‘minus one star’, but everything else was fabulous.
They actually do have a lot of stuff that ISN’T being sold at larger stores in the area. They carry some imported candy from Germany, where I just moved here from, so that made me happy. There is a fairly great selection of non-​food items. I very spontaneously bought a mooncup (no more expensive than elsewhere, and you get to look and feel before you make a decision) here, and got great and completely un-​awkward help from the saleslady, so that was a huge plus.
At the counter, they sell little soaps that are handmade by a person from Evanston, and they smell really great. Overall this was a very nice experience.
There is a lovely looking café right next door, and it’s close to the other shopping possibilities on Davis, so I would say it’s worth a trip.

i REALLY wanted to love this place! i first heard about it on the vegan meetup message board and when i finally got a chance to swing by, i was so excited!
sadly, i’m no longer thrilled. i found the selection limited — you can get a greater variety of vegan and fair trade items — at a much fairer price — at your local wild oats, at
, or at any number of online retailers. essentially, this is a boutique, with high-​end boutique prices and — dare i say it — a boutique attitude.
fran may indeed have been friendly to dave and the meetup folks. when i visited, however, her demeanor was barely polite. i spent over $ 100 (my entire shoe budget for the year) on a pair of Bump Shoes, thinking they’d be great for winter. when i got home, though, i realized how uncomfortable they were. i called to inquire about their return policy and was told i could return them, but only on a weekday.
so i made a special trip, all the way from the loop (taking time off work to do so) only to be told that i could only return them for store credit. fran said, «you should have looked at the receipt.»
it’s true, i hadn’t noticed the fine print on the receipt or seen the sign in the store. she had a right to refuse my request. but there was no need for the withering stare. even while i was buying the shoes, i did not feel welcome in that store.
i had intended to return the shoes and spend some of the money in the store, on items i needed. that would have left me some money left to get shoes for the winter and she still would have made some $. i also planned on coming back to buy fair-​trade sneakers in the spring, and on making field trips of my own, with my veggie friends.
and a joyful noise on Unilocal,of course.
but now i won’t be back, and i don’t recommend it.
so much for the joyful noise.

After one particular VegChicago Meetup a buncha us piled into cars and made a trip to this rumored vegan store in Evanston. I imagined a tiny shop with sparse shelves but i was pleasantly surprised. We burst into the shop and found proprietor Fran Horvath stunned as we pelted her with questions about her and her shop. We immediately set about oooing and ahhhing at all the vegan products on the shelves. I picked up a pair of Bump Shoes i’ve been coveting forever and a few other goodies. (picture:
) Fran was such a cheerful dear and we are all so excited to have a business cater to people who shop ethically. Hooray!