In a Nutshell
pros
- Totally sustainable product line + stylish
- Chemical, paraben-free, non-GMO ingredients
- Vegan, gluten-free, and cruelty-free products
cons
- No returns
- Free shipping threshold is a little high
- Takes 5-10 business days to arrive
Public Goods at a Glance
Services available: Online grocery deliveries
Price per Delivery: Varies according to location and size of order, free for orders over $45 or $100 with subscription
Delivery options: Overnight, second day, standard ground shipping to US and Canada
Subscription options: Annual subscriptions
What’s Unique About Public Goods?
What’s unique about Public Goods? How about everything? From its product lineup to the way it handles shipping and membership, Public Goods stands out from your typical online grocery delivery service. Sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. Here’s a closer look at what makes Public Goods different:
- Healthy, sustainable products
Public Goods is serious about health and world preservation. Items are made from biodegradable materials and renewable resources like sugarcane and bamboo. Paper products are tree-free. And health products are really healthy, without any of the junk like sulfates, toxic chemicals, parabens, etc. Groceries are GMO-free and organic. Take a typical bottle of body wash, for example. Public Goods combines ingredients like essential oils, mandarin, nutmeg, rosewood, and cinnamon, certainly not your typical chemical cocktail found in standard products. Products are also vegan-friendly and cruelty-free. Public Goods even plants a tree for every order placed in order to offset its carbon footprint.
- Shipping policies
Public Goods also tackles shipping differently from most grocery services. You’ll usually have your groceries delivered within a day or two, with competitive offers for faster shipping options. Public Goods doesn’t offer that. Instead, you might wait up to 10 business days for your groceries to arrive. You can pay for expedited shipping, but that adds an extra cost. The good news is that you can get your items shipped overnight or next-day if you need them in a hurry.
- Style uncompromised
What’s also different about Public Goods is that it doesn’t trade style and quality for sustainability. The company has a tremendous selection of high-quality food staples and household essentials. Public Goods even designs its own houseware items like linens, dinnerware, candles, and glasses. Each item is designed to look stylish and attractive. While the packaging is in quintessential brown paper bag style, the quality remains at the top. So you’re not trading in aesthetics for ethical choices.
How It Works
Here’s how to order from Public Goods online grocery delivery service:
- Sign up
To get started, you’ll need to sign up for a membership with Public Goods (actually, this isn’t a separate step. You’ll automatically be signed up for the membership when you place your order. But it’s good that you know it from the start). Subscriptions are free for the first two weeks and then $59 for the year after that. You can cancel your membership at any time without penalty (even before the first $59 payment is charged) if you’re not interested in continuing.
- Shop
Once you’ve signed up, you can start shopping. Public Goods has an amazing selection of items to choose from. Categories range from standard groceries to personal care items, household essentials, and vitamins and supplements. Public Goods even has an entire section for CBD products.
Within each category, products are broken down even further for more convenience. For example, within the grocery section, you can choose from snacks, beverages, pastas/grains, canned goods, and more. Within household items, dig deeper into laundry, kitchen, bathroom, candles, dinnerware, etc.
- Place your order
When you’re finished putting items in your cart, you can complete your order by adding shipping and payment information. Choose the type of delivery option you want (more on that in a minute), confirm your order, and await your groceries.
Delivery Options
Once your order is placed, Public Goods ships it out the next business day. There are several shipping options available, though you can’t always choose expedited shipping (it depends on the items you are ordering). Here’s the time frame you can expect for your order delivery:
- Standard ground shipping: 2-6 business days
- Expedited shipping: Next day, second day, third day
Public Goods ships to everywhere in the United States and its territories. Shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands does have a higher delivery fee though. Canadian orders ship ground within 5-10 business days.
Pricing
Public Goods is a premium quality, health, and environment-conscious delivery service. So it’s not surprising that you don’t see the cheapest price tags for its products. That being said, I was happy to see that the prices were not astronomical, either. Paying $32 for a set of four bowls is not unreasonable by any means; neither is paying $4 for a 24 oz bag of organic brown sugar. Public Goods works directly with the suppliers. So it’s able to charge less than the average health food and eco-friendly stores because there’s less markup on each product.
Membership costs $59 a year. And when you subscribe, you’ll get free shipping on all orders over $45 within the US (you’ll need to spend $100 to get free shipping to Canada). If you don’t reach the minimum order amount required for free shipping, you’ll pay according to your location and the weight of your order. When we placed an order, shipping was only $4.90 to New York. So rates are not unreasonable. If you want to get your items faster, you can also pay for expedited shipping and choose between second-day or overnight shipping.
Help & Support
Public Goods doesn’t offer any phone support, which is annoying for those who like to speak to someone directly. You can send a message to the email address below or directly on the website. There’s also a live chat option.
Email Support:
service@publicgoods.com
Bottom Line
You’re paying for the incredibly high-quality product line that Public Goods provides. It’s an elite service that is geared towards people who really care about their bodies and the environment. With a tagline of, “You don’t need to be a superhero to save the planet,” the mission statement is fairly obvious. Quality is top-notch, and Public Goods has free shipping once you reach the threshold.
