Between chemical fertilizers, peat-riddled compost, and the fact that two-thirds of all gardening tools contain one or more harmful substances like lead or PVC, gardening unearths a whole can of environmental problems.
But when done right, it’s a big win for nature and biodiversity.
These gardening brands help you put the GREEN in green-fingered with their range of non-toxic and high-quality gardening tools.
So grab your peat-free compost and let’s dig in.
Unearthing The Top Gardening Brands & Tools Helping You Dig Into Eco Gardening
Gardening is a force for good at Gardener’s Supply Company. Their durable tools are made for gardeners by gardeners and withstand the test of time.
Need more plant pots?
Say ‘ello to Elho, purveyors of recycled and recyclable plant pots for indoors and outdoors in every size and color.
Gardening gives you complete control of what you put into your plants. Or does it?
If you’re growing organic or an eco-friendly garden, it’s not just chemical fertilizers or pesticides you need to avoid.
Your gardening tools may still contain toxic chemicals, metals and harmful plastics contaminating the soil and leaching into your plants.
Luckily, these brands of gardening tools know the value of good tools for ceo-conscious cultivation.
Read our roundup of the best gardening tool brands (UK and USA-based) that put quality first and shoot down to the bottom to find out how we chose them.
Our Curated List Of The Best Garden Tool Brands
Best Gardening Brands USA
1. Garden Tower Project
Price Range | $3–$624 | Shop Garden Tower Project
Materials | 100% UV stable food-grade high-purity HDPE plastic which is non-toxic, BPA, & PVC free.
What We Love | Turn organic waste into organic food with the Garden Tower Project. They’ve created a clever composting tower that lets you grow your favourite salads and vegetables.
Garden Tower Project’s Gardening Equipment
One of the best gardening brands in the UK, Garden Tower Project helps you get on the garden path to becoming more self-sufficient and zero-waste with their pioneering garden towers.
The 50-plant vertical garden planter turns organic kitchen waste scraps into fertilizer.
It’s a natural ecosystem created from compost that lets you grow any herbs, salad, flowers, or vegetables—you choose—all 100% organically.
The planters rotate and feature raised beds for optimal nutrient and water absorption. They stand 43 inches tall and 24.5 inches wide so you can easily fit them into your garden or balcony.
Garden Tower Project’s Sustainability
Carbon | The tower has a net positive carbon impact by design as it’s able to sequester more than it produces. The brand is looking at sourcing recycled HDPE plastic to further reduce the impact.
Sourcing & Supply Chain | The tower planters are ethically manufactured at Burco Molding in Noblesville, Indiana from materials sourced from within the United States.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | The Garden Tower Project provides beginner-level learning resources so anyone can start growing organic food at home.
2. Gardener’s Supply Company
Price Range | $8–$399 | Shop Gardener’s Supply Company
Materials | A quick snapshot of some of the materials here include powder-coated flexible steel wire, durable polyethylene, steel with anodized finish and PVC coating, organic seeds
What We Love | Gardener’s Supply Company’s genuinely long-lasting gardening tools are made by gardeners for gardeners (of any level). Their mission is to help people see the benefits of gardening as a force for good whether it’s growing food or flowers.
Gardener’s Supply Company’s Gardening Equipment
Gardener’s Supply Company makes some of the best gardening tools for just about any gardening task under the sun from planting seeds to pest control.
They even have equipment for indoor gardens so anyone can try their hand at growing no matter the space they have.
All tools are sturdy, well-made, and long-lasting, and if you’re buying seeds from them, you’ll find most are organic and non-GMO.
A key way to cultivate an eco-friendly garden is to ditch harmful pesticides.
The brand’s Super Hoops, Set of 6 protects your plants from frost and pets without needing to spray anything. Put them over raised beds or fashion a DIY low tunnel.
Gardener’s Supply Company’s Sustainability
Sourcing & Supply Chain | Many of their signature products are made in Vermont. The company fosters a strong work-life balance by encouraging volunteering, professional development and wellness.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Gardener’s Supply Company is 100% employee-owned, which means all employees share in the company’s profits.
Pay It Forward | They donate 8% of their profits to programs and organizations using gardening as a force for good such as community gardening projects.
3. FELCO
Price Range | $23–$90 | Shop FELCO
Materials | 50% recycled aluminium, phthalate-free non-slip handle grips, blade and counter blade constructed of hardened steel.
What We Love | FELCO’s Swiss-made professional gardening tools are built to last. They sell spare parts for all their shears, loppers, and cable cutters so that you can keep your trusty pair forever.
FELCO’s Eco Gardening Tools
Sustainability has been a core part of FELCO since their inception some 75 years ago.
The Swiss company has built a close relationship with their customers who include generations of winegrowers and arboriculturists.
You don’t need to be a professional to appreciate this garden tools manufacturer though. Find trowels, weeding forks and pruning shears here which will see you through all your gardening jobs.
If you have shrubs or hedges, FELCO’s pruning loppers are ideal. Available in a variety of lengths, you can prune branches without getting too close.
They feature shock absorbers for the wrists and high-quality steel blades that won’t easily dull for a clean cut year after year.
FELCO’s Sustainability
Carbon | FELCO only uses electricity they generate themselves from solar panels on the roof of their factory. They pay for their employees to relocate closer to the factory to help them limit their carbon footprint in commuting.
Sourcing & Supply Chain | Their pruning shears are made in FELCO’s ethical factory in Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, Switzerland.
Pay It Forward | Felco donates to plant species preservation projects, including The Crop Trust and the Old Vine Project.
4. Water Right
Price Range | $11–$210 | Shop Water Right
Materials | PVC and BPA-free polyurethane hoses with lead-free brass fittings
What We Love | Water Right’s garden hoses are 100% toxin-free so there’s no danger of dodgy chemicals getting onto your plants, in the soil or your drinking water.
Water Right’s Eco Gardening Hoses
One of the best gardening tool brands for hoses, Water Right’s hoses are made from high-grade virgin polyurethane which meets both FDA and NSF safety standards.
Choose from ultralight coiled and straight hoses in a variety of lengths and with or without fittings. Each hose comes in a series and they’re sturdy enough to have in the garden, in an RV, on a boat or in the home.
The 300 Series Polyurethane Coil Garden Hose comes in 25, 50 and 75-foot length options. It’s coiled so there’s no chance of tangles and fits away neatly without needing to wind it up.
Water Right’s Sustainability
Sourcing & Supply Chain | Water Right’s hoses are made at their own factory in Oregon from materials sourced in the United States.
Best Gardening Brands UK
5. Burgon & Ball
Price Range | £8–£56 | Shop Burgon & Ball
Materials | Stainless steel, FSC-certified hardwood, galvanized steel storage containers, leather gloves, neoprene and EVA foam kneelers.
What We Love | Operating in Sheffield since 1730 and among the leading garden tool brands in the UK, Burgon & Ball has a long history of making eco-friendly garden tools out of high-quality steel.
Burgon & Ball’s Sustainable Garden Supplies
Burgon & Ball has got you covered for sustainable gardening tools and accessories ranging from spades to kneeling pads.
Adding another trust factor to their quality design, they’ve partnered with the Royal Horticultural Society. All the RHS-endorsed ranges come with either a lifetime guarantee or a ten-year guarantee.
What’s their secret to quality and longevity?
During manufacturing, they reinforce welded areas to increase their strength rather than being a weak point.
Every gardener needs a trusty trowel and Burgon & Ball’s RHS Endorsed Stainless Steel Hand Trowel is comfortable, sturdy and rust-resistant.
The wooden handle features an ergonomic design and the deep dish carries a maximum load with every scoop.
Burgon & Ball’s Sustainability
Certifications | FSC
Sourcing & Supply Chain | This garden tool brand’s UK factory in Sheffield is responsible for making all their steel tools, but we’re not certain about other items.
Pay It Forward | Burgon & Ball supports the National Garden Scheme, an organization which raises money for charity by helping gardeners open their gardens to the public.
6. Elho
Price Range | £1–£409 | Shop Elho
Materials | Designer pots are made from 80% recycled plastic. Some collections are 100% recycled or made with recycled coffee grounds.
What We Love | Certified B Corp Elho’s ambition is to build a greener and better future through planting both for people and the planet. Their ethos is if nature flourishes, so do we—and we agree!
Elho’s Best Gardening Tools
Elho creates plant pots made from recycled plastic using only green energy.
This also means all their sustainable garden products are recyclable.
More than 10 million kilograms of waste is recycled into these beautiful designer pots, made with long-lasting colours, UV protection and frost resistance, making them some of the best garden tools in the UK.
They have indoor and outdoor plant pots in just about every size with plenty of colors to choose from, in addition to accessories like self-watering planter inserts and grow tables for herbs.
Grow your own herbs or vegetables with their Green Basics Seed Tray.
The six-cell tray is ideal for sewing seeds indoors and it’s lightweight for indoor and outdoor use. Simply place it on a windowsill and watch your herbs grow no matter the time of year.
Elho’s Sustainability
Certifications | B Corp, Great Place To Work
Carbon | Elho’s pots are made in Holland using 100% renewable energy from a wind turbine in their garden.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | The brand is a certified Great Place To Work as voted by their employees. Their website features detailed resources to help you make the most of your plant.
7. Bulldog
Price Range | £5–£120 | Shop Bulldog
Materials | FSC-certified ash wood and solid forged stainless steel
What We Love | UK-based Bulldog makes professional-standard bulldog-tough tools for gardening, agriculture, and contractors with a lifetime guarantee.
Bulldog’s Eco Gardening Tools
One of the best gardening tool brands in the UK, Bulldog has provided essential eco-gardening tools for all the jobs around the yard, little and large since 1780.
Made out of one piece of steel, they’re tough, heavy-duty and come with a lifetime guarantee. Their sustainable sourced ash handles are hand-turned and covered in a protective coat to prevent weathering.
One of the durable essentials for any gardener or farmer is the Standard Digging Spade with a ‘D’ or ‘T’ shaped handle on the end depending on your grip preference
Bulldog’s Sustainability
Certifications | FSC
Carbon | Bulldog’s Wigan factory has been audited for energy efficiency. All lights and machinery are switched off at night and production flow is continuously evaluated to improve efficiency. They use hybrid or fully electric vehicles in transport.
Sourcing & Supply Chain | Most tools are made at their factory in Wigan. They source from suppliers in India and China that have an ISO14001 environmental management system certification.
Thoughtful Packaging | Bulldog is working on removing all virgin plastic in packaging by using paper or recycled plastic instead. They are redesigning their packaging to make it recyclable or reusable.
Our Considerations For Choosing The Best Gardening Equipment Brands
How do we know which brands of gardening tools are the best?
The gardening industry doesn’t have set guidelines for being ethical and sustainable, so we’ve created a set of criteria which helps us weed out greenwashing in gardening.
This criteria takes a look at all aspects of each brand’s business to see how they stack up.
Not every brand ticks each box, but we know there are many ways to grow a sustainable business.
Certifications:
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), B Corporation (B Corp), Great Place To Work
Carbon Goals & Achievements:
Brands should acknowledge their carbon footprint in manufacturing and take steps to reduce as well as mitigate it.
Overall, we’re pleased to see sustainable gardening brands adopt renewable energy sources, utilize carbon offset programs, and all-around create durable, long-lasting products that won’t need to be replaced every few seasons.
Sourcing & Supply Chain:
It isn’t always clear where gardening companies are sourcing their supplies from and ideally, we would still like more transparency.
Still, it’s good to see brands manufacture products in-house for better control of their supply chain. All the brands on our list value craftsmanship over cheap manufacture.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:
We always like to prioritize women-owned and minority-owned businesses.
Companies that help make gardening more accessible whether that’s educational resources or supporting community projects get a big green-fingered thumbs up from us too.
Thoughtful Packaging:
From plant pots to polystyrene casing, there’s a lot of plastic waste in gardening.
We like to see gardening brands work on cutting out plastic in their packaging or innovating with recyclable and recycled materials.
Pay It Forward:
Eco-friendly gardening brands don’t have to be charitable but it’s still nice to see them show an interest in biodiversity and plant conservation. They are reliant on plants, after all.
Closing Thoughts On Gardening Tools In The UK & US
Gardening connects us to the Earth and the relationship between soil, seeds, and insects. It’s a delicate balance which can easily be disrupted by pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
Even organic gardening methods could all be for nothing if we overlook the quality of our gardening tools.
Luckily, these gardening brands care about plants as much as gardeners do by offering high-quality gardening tools that last a lifetime—without the lifetime of toxic chemicals.
Now don’t forget to pass on this list of do-good garden tools manufacturers to your green-fingered friends.
