The sustainable city guide: 5 Places To Eat, Shop, And Explore In Milan

Milan is one of the italian cities that is aware of the need to become more sustainable. This is not only confirmed by the fact that Fridays for Future events where visited by thousand of youngsters. Also the born and raised Milanese start to realise the need to contribute to create a better world. Milan offers some great initiatives which we like to share with you in this sustainable city guide for Milan.

#1 Where to eat

Going out for a quick breakfast at the bar, lunch, aperitivo or dinner is the easiest thing to do. Unfortunately most of the time water is served in plastic bottles. Luckily the Municipality of Milan, together with the organisation Legambiente has launched a new project called Milano Plastic Free. The project promotes the commercial activities that have decided to reduce the use of packaging and plastic. An important theme that helps us to reduce the enormous amount of plastic that is wasted every day. Amongst the places that participate are Crosta and Le Polveri. 

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When you plan to eat your lunch or dinner in a bar or restaurant, we suggest you to find the places where they use ingredients from the season, preferably made locally and in respect for the planet. At Tipografia Alimentare they know their producers that supply the ingredients for their dishes. They only work with seasonal products. This means that for example they serve fresh orange juice only in certain months of the year.

Just as important are the places with a social impact. Go for example to Rob de Matt in Dergano, where people with a psychological or social discomfort work. They have demonstrated their interest and ability, and through a course of professional formation they are inserted in the the restaurant’. All is done to give them the opportunity to (re)insert themselves on the labour market. Also the bar RaB, a few steps away from the Naviglio Pavese, has a similar goal. They guarantee a job to people with an intellectual disability and promote the values of sociality, culture, exchange and relations.

#2 Where to shop

In general going for shopping is not a very sustainable activity. But buying products that are eco-sustainable or second hand, make this beloved activity a bit less problematic for our planet. If you search a new addition for your closet, we suggest to read our article in which we talk about the best vintage and second hand clothes stores in Milan (in Italian). The products on offer in these places are diverse and you can be sure to find clothes and accessories both beautiful as well as of a good quality.

We always continue to look for new places and share them with you, so please continue to follow us on Le Strade.

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In case you are looking for clothes with added value, you might want to go the the Sartoria Sanvittore. The project involves female prisoners and ex-prisoners in the production of clothes designed by the stylist Rosita Onofri. They have plenty of options to choose from, going from casual outfits to togas for lawyers all the way to wedding-dresses.

One of the other brands we like to suggest to you is Plentiness. The two founders of this company do not only offer a wide range of sustainable beauty-products, but can also help you to change or reinforce your conscious lifestyle.

#3 Where to shop – food

To buy the ingredients that you can transform in gastronomic dishes we suggest you to concentrate on the search for local and seasonal products. Visit for example one of the farmers’ markets in Milan. The first and last Saturday of the month the Mercato della Terra (or ‘Earth Market’) is organised by Slowfood. In front of the Fabbrica del Vapore (close to the Cimitero Monumentale) farmers and merchants sell almost only products grown or produced in the Milanese territories, amongst which also products you can find along the itinerary of Zigò, described earlier in the article by Erica and Pietro. 

Each Tuesday Cascina Cuccagna hosts the mercato di Cuccagna and twice a month on Saturdays’ they also host the market Cuccagna con gusto. 

Also in the southern part of the center, in Via Friuli, you find the covered market organised by the farmers organisation Campagna Amica. It is open on Wednesday, Friday in the afternoon and evening, and on Saturday and each first and third Sunday of the month.

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Or do like Martina did and order your groceries on the app l’Alveare che dice sì. This app allows you to buy seasonal products directly from local farmers. Once ordered you can pick them up at the Alveare (literally meaning beehive) most convenient for you.

In case you prefer a store over a market, you can go to one of the shops where they sell unpacked products. Go for example to Effecorta, Negozio Leggero , La Buona Bottega or Il Mercato verde: at least every neighborhood has one, so there is no reason not to do your shopping in a sustainable way.

#4 How to move around

How to move around in Milan is always a topic that leads to discussions. There are Milanese that only go by bike, we have the public transport addicts and people that can’t live without their car, even though it has lots of disadvantages. Luckily Milan offers lots of possibilities to move around with sustainable means. 

Before we start to talk about private of semi-private transport methods, we like to underline the fact that the metro system of Milan is a very important means of transport. Not just because it moves around thousands of people every day, but also because it has been the example for the development of metro systems in many cities in the world. You can read more about this in the article by Rosa Giulia and Pietro ‘M1 della metro di Milano‘ (in Italian).

In case you prefer to use private means of transport, you can choose between one of the many car sharing systems that are available in Milan. Or even better take one of the motorbikes, for example those of Mimoto. They are electric, fast and bring you exactly where you need to be without the need to find a parking place. 

By the way, in case you arrive in or leave from Milan by train, allow yourself a coffee break at Caffè Pascucci, literally two steps from Milan Central Station.

At Hug and at Cascina Cuccagna they regularly organise a corso ciclofficina, a bike-repair workshop where they help you to repair your bike or learn you how to do it yourself.

#5 What to do yourself

The first one who can help make Milan a better city to live in, is you. It doesn’t make sense to complain, it is better to change your daily behavior. To help you there are different projects that are very interesting and easy to participate in. You can download for example the application MyFoody. It indicates what products are on sale at a discounted price at your nearest supermarket because they are soon out of date. 

Another useful project is Recup, an association that at the end of certain markets looks for products that are destined to be thrown away but can actually still be used in the kitchen. The ‘harvest’ is divided amongst the participants and so they do create a community and intercultural and intergenerational contacts. 

An application similar to the first one is Too good to go. The app has millions of users and is active all over Europe. It allows you to buy at low prices and at the same time save food from the waste bin: each day the places that participate (bakeries, restaurants, supermarkets, etc.) offer a super discounted magic box (generally for 30% of the original price) that contains lots of products. This is perfect if you like surprises or if you don’t feel like thinking about what to eat. 

All images 2019©  Le strade di Milano