About Us
RIVER+PARK: the sustainable lifestore is an independent lifestyle + gift shop with a focus on sustainable lifestyle + wellbeing products. We sell sustainable swaps for everyday lifestyle products. Think of it as a thoughtfully curated, diverse + ever-evolving mini department store covering home + lifestyle, cards + gifting, kids + baby, books, beauty + grooming, aromatherapy + well-being products that are accessible in price + responsibly sourced.
The home of RIVER+PARK: the sustainable lifestore is in Ham, an area in Richmond, London between the River Thames + Richmond Park. Hence the name RIVER+PARK (river and park)! Being surrounded by nature (+ heavily influenced by one of Richmond's most famous residents, Sir David Attenborough) it was inevitable that sustainability would be at the heart of what we do. RIVER+PARK: the sustainable lifestore was born out of a love of seeking best in class products + finding sustainable alternatives to everyday necessities. We will only bring a product on board, if it's been tried + tested + genuinely serves a purpose. We're not a zero-waste shop, but we are trying to help you make small changes to your buying habits that are a little more planet friendly. In the words of Anne-Marie Bonneau, The Zero Waste Chef, "We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly."
RIVER+PARK: the sustainable lifestore is owned + run by Alison (with 'a bit' of help from her husband Alan). They both have a background in retail, Alison with 20 odd years experience in Buying + Merchandising, most recently heading up Retail for London's biggest Yoga group, triyoga, and prior to that working in the beauty buying teams at Topshop, John Lewis and SpaceNK + Alan with his expertise in all things logistics + IT. Their daughter has been an unwitting product tester since birth. The shop is currently based on-line + takes physical form at a monthly pop-up at Ham Parade Market, where Alison + Alan are also volunteer Directors + Co-Founders. Alison's dream is to one day open a bricks + mortar shop on Ham Parade, where she can legitimately hang out with the locals on a daily basis + create a community of like-minded RIVER+PARK enthusiasts.
Have a browse, we think you'll love our brands + products as much as we do. If you can't find what you're looking for, it's either because it's not worth buying, or we haven't quite got around to sourcing it yet. If you think it's the latter, please send in your suggestions to info@riverandpark.co.uk and we'll do our best to get it for you.