Be part of something inspiring, visible and ongoing. As we gear up for the 2025 Blue Mountains Sustainability Festival, we’re inviting local retailers to join the Sustainability Shopping Trail — a unique, community-powered initiative that brings together local shops championing ethical, sustainable, circular, and low-impact living.
This is more than just a map. It’s a celebration of local retail as part of the solution — and this year, it’s built to last.
Rebooting a Successful Pilot
The Sustainability Shopping Trail was first conceived in 2024 and enthusiastically embraced by 35 businesses across Katoomba and Leura and launched as a pilot during the inaugural Blue Mountains Sustainability Festival.
Now in 2025, we’re excited to relaunch the Trail at the 2025 Blue Mountains Sustainability Festival as a permanent, enduring fixture in the Blue Mountains — featuring a beautifully designed printed map, an interactive digital map, themed loops, and a growing network of like-minded, businesses that enable more sustainable living.
About the Sustainability Shopping Trail
The Blue Mountains Sustainability Shopping Trail will be a curated, slow shopping journey through the region’s most values-aligned retailers:
The trail aims to present a unique open-air sustainable, slow shopping mecca, with category branded, themed ‘loops’ where shoppers can explore by theme, mood or values. We anticipated themed loops may include:
- Pre-loved & vintage fashion
- Antiques & old wares
- Locally made, artisan, First Nations goods
- Homewares and repairs
- Books and records,
- Edibles & more
The trail aims to present a unique open-air sustainable, slow shopping mecca, with category branded, themed ‘loops’ where shoppers can explore by theme, mood or values.
Why Join
- Support a shared vision for a slower, better way to shop
- Join a growing local and tourist-facing movement
- Be recognised for making sustainability part of your story
- Build connections with aligned businesses and customers
- Strengthen the Blue Mountains’ identity as a hub for ethical living
How Does It Work?
-
✓ Be featured on a visually engaging, printed trail map and interactive digital Google My maps trail – both hosted on a dedicated Sustainability Shopping trail site, and supported by Instagram and Facebook pages
✓ Receive a listing with description, sustainability star rating, and direct links
✓ Printed map distributed across the Mountains and custom signage to identify your store as a Trail member
✓ Be searchable under themed categories across both digital and print
✓ Be part of a permanent sustainability retail initiative, running year-round co-operative social media promotion with other trail members
✓ Gain visibility during and beyond the 2025 Festival
What do I need to do?
To ensure your business meets the sustainable values of trail describe how one or more of the five sustainable criteria (1-5) below apply to your business. Based on your response, if eligible, you will receive a 3, 4 or 5 star rating.
- Sell pre-loved, vintage, antique, upcycle; promotes or enables reuse, repair; minimises packaging etc.
- Sell locally made goods, fair-trade items, or products made from sustainable materials; supports or enables home-made etc.
- Reduce energy or water use; composts waste; uses green power; avoids single-use plastics etc.
- Donates to charity; provides inclusive employment; supports local causes; operates as a charity, social enterprise or co-op. etc.
- Hosts workshops; shares knowledge; promotes sustainability through branding, storytelling or services.