I think it’s easiest to slowly learn as you go, or research specific products. Details change and guides/resources can go out of date by the time you need to buy something

Some links:

• CIRA puts out a (small) list of .ca small businesses https://www.cira.ca/en/canadian-gift-guide/

• we have [email protected], but you’re free to post here with specific requests too

• I came across this website, I’m not familiar with it https://madeinca.ca/

Look for local craft or art shows. This can help you find local crafters that make some common items like socks, soaps, etc. Hand-knitted socks are the best.

Other than that, for more commercial things, watch labeling (as you already are), go to farmer’s markets, choose local grocer cooperatives (they’re more likely to carry locally produced goods), etc.

Are you in BC? Even if not, you can find out at this BuyBC Gov site what food is in season, so that you are most likely to be able to find locally produced foods. Other provinces probably have similar sites and campaign pages.

For general products like furniture, they exist, you just have to search for them, for example start with “Canadian Hardwood table” as a search, then you can vet a site and its products whether they are based in Canada (cross-reference with a mapping tool).

Be aware there are some things, like microelectronic components are produced so much cheaper overseas that you will not be able to find anything produced domestically off-the-shelf for less than 10x the price from China, so you may have to live with some parts coming from elsewhere but sold, designed or assembled locally.

Go and visit your local smaller retailers, try to search up stores that sell the mind of thing you are looking for. Note that you should check google reviews that they are actually the retail business you are looking for and not just a corporate office if you will visit. Also note that in some areas of Toronto and Vancouver you may have trouble finding information in English about stores, as there is a concentration of services tailored toward a population speaking another language.

reason being to help decrease my environmental footprint

Since you mentioned Silk and Earth’s Own, I’m going to assume that you’re vegetarian or vegan. If not, consider going plant-based as it would reduce your carbon footprint even if you’re eating imported food.

That said, it’s great that you’re buying second-hand!

I’d also suggest keeping an open mind about buying products that are built to last and/or with repairability in mind. That way, even if you have to buy something new, you can keep it out of the landfill for longer.

When I’m looking for Made in Canada products, the ease at which I find them will often depend on what it is. For bike stuff, I’ve been lucky that we have quite a few companies who make bike bags in the country (Atwater, Arkel, etc.), and even bike trailers (like the Wike company out of Guelph).

Most non-electric items can be found as Made in Canada, and I’ll tend to simply do a search during my research of any new products.

The website “Made in CA” (https://madeinca.ca/) would be a good link to bookmark, even though they don’t cover EVERY company or product.

There used to be an app that would tell you this and who owned the company, etc. when you scanned the barcode but it is no longer supported.

By far the best thing you can do, if you have the option, is find an independent grocery or farm store that sources food locally. Compared to the occasional purchase of a blanket or a hammer, grocery shopping is something you’re doing every single week. Eating local reduces your footprint, supports local businesses, and you’ll often find that the prices are actually better. When I started buying my meat from local butchers, I discovered I was paying half as much as I was at the big grocery chains, for meat that was much higher quality. And they’ll source specific cuts for me, cut my steaks to exactly the thickness I want, give me advice on the best ways to cook a certain meat, etc. And buying local produce has again been cheaper, fresher and tastier. I get a lot of my produce straight from the farm where it was grown now, and the difference is just amazing.

Shopping local like this isn’t always possible, but I find that a lot of people just haven’t even bothered to check what options are out there when it comes to good, local, farm to table food. There are also some things that you can just start making at home, if you have the right equipment and a little bit of time (often much, much less than you’d think). I make my own pickles now; I do a batch maybe once every few months, it takes about half an hour, and I get the most delicious pickled vegetables I’ve ever had, at a fraction of grocery store prices. More recently I’ve gotten into making my own beef jerky. Super cheap, incredibly tasty. A sous vide immersion heater (for low effort pickling) and a dehydrator are about a hundred bucks each and basically do all the work for you. That may or may not be a small purchase for you, I get that, but I’m just putting the recommendation out there in case it is a reasonable option for you. You can also try baking at home. If a stand mixer is something you can afford and have space for, there’s really very little work involved. A dough hook does all the kneading for you. If your oven sucks, try baking in a heavy metal casserole dish / Dutch oven; this helped me to make beautiful home made bread even when I had a piece of shit oven that came with my apartment. Also grab some linen bread bags to keep your bread fresh longer. Anyway, you get the picture.

For food it’s pretty easy just because we’re in an extreme climate (pacific coast excepted). In season you get BC fruit and the like, but that’s usually labeled, and otherwise anything that rots is going to be coming from elsewhere. If it’s something relatively shelf-stable that could grow here, it’s probably local, just because shipping still costs something and we’re a net exporter. The main exception I can think of are corn products because of US subsidies. I know less about meat.

Maybe there’s some way to distinguish between coldchain products from the Americas and products from further afield. I haven’t really looked into it, though, because I’ve just focused on using less produce in general.

Anything non-coldchain is significantly harder to figure out. You can buy carbon offsets, which honestly seems way easier to me than reverse-engineering the global supply chains.

Just only buy 100 percent real maple syrup and beaver fur clothes and you should be good. What else do you need?