Frequently Asked Questions
About the Store
Is Uvida Shop a pop-up?
Uvida Shop is our brick-and-mortar storefront, located in Boston's North End at 189 North Street, Boston, MA 02113. We have a zero waste products section, houseplant selection, refill station, and more!
We pop-up at markets, schools, businesses, events, and more throughout the year so check our Events Calendar to see where we'll be next. You can also book us to pop-up at your upcoming events.
Does your store have parking?
Limited, free 2 hour parking spots are available across the street from us (189 North Street) and on Hanover Street. Parking in visitor spots are free on
Sundays.
Do you sell gift cards?
We have both virtual and physical (plastic-free!) gift cards. Digital gift cards are available on our online store and will be sent directly to your email. Physical gift cards are only available in-store.
Do you accept donations?
As a zero waste store, we are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact by reusing existing items instead of buying new.
We will happily accept donations of any of the following items for daily use in our storefronts, or for use during the events we host. We also have a few items on this list that we're looking to buy at some point in the future, but are in no rush -- so if you have one and don't need it, we will happily take it!
- Reusable small paper bags
- Holiday gift wrapping materials (like holiday bags, ribbons, bows, tissue paper, holidays cards)
- Birthday gift bags
- Paper shredder machine (only one needed)
I'm unhappy with my order, can I exchange it or get a refund?
If you are unhappy with your order, please reach out to us via our contact form to see how we can help you.
We generally offer store credit for returns of any unused items. You can use store credit the same day you return the item, or you can use it on a subsequent visit to Uvida. Just let the team member working know that you have store credit with us and give them your name to look up the amount.
As a small business in this relatively new field, we really appreciate your patience, consideration, and open mindedness when trying new products and providing constructive feedback. We're always open to hearing what products did and didn't work for you so that we can curate the best collection of eco-friendly home essentials.
About Refilling
How do I use your refill station?
It's really easy! Bring in your own empty containers, or use one of our free second-hand jars, and we'll help you with the rest. Our associates will weigh and fill all containers for you, just let us know what products you want! You can check our refill menu ahead of time to see what's in stock, or browse our refills when you arrive.
Do I have to bring my own containers?
We highly encourage customers to bring their own containers, but it's not required. We have a collection of free second-hand jars for customers to use with the refill station. All jars are sanitized and have their labels removed so they're clean as can be for your refills!
Can I donate my empty jars?
Please note: We are not accepting jar donations at the moment. We occasionally pause donations when we have a backlog of containers to sanitize. Please check back in the future for when we will be accepting jar donations again.
We periodically accept jar donations from the community for the refill station. When donating jars, please make sure that you thoroughly wash them to remove any food
residue, remove all label residue, and check that you have the matching lids. We recommend using a mixture of baking soda and olive oil to remove sticky label residue from jars. Please note that we are no longer accepting jars with labels on them, as of January 2024.
For safety purposes, we only accept donations of clean plastic containers made from plastics #2, #4, and #5 for reuse. You can read more about chemical leaching from reused plastics here.
About Online Shopping
What is your shipping policy?
All orders will leave from our North End store located at 189 North St. within 1-3 business days. You can choose your shipping speed at checkout. We offer shipping all over the U.S., but do not currently ship internationally. You can also place an order for products or plants to be picked up in our North End location.
Do you offer delivery?
Yes, we offer delivery to anyone living in Boston or nearby neighborhoods. Just select the delivery option at checkout. There is a small delivery fee.
We offer free delivery to a few neighborhoods: Brookline, East Boston, and the North End. If you live in the Boston area and would like us to consider your neighborhood for free delivery, let us know via our contact form!
My order arrived damaged, will you replace it?
Please fill out our contact form if you have any issues with your order. You may be asked to provide pictures of the damaged item(s) via follow-up email so that we can file an insurance claim with USPS.
Depending on our current inventory stock, we will either replace the damaged item(s) or refund you once you provide photos of the damage.
About Our Events
When is your next clothing swap?
We host seasonal clothing swaps every year in January, April, July, & October. You can check our Events Calendar for specific dates, but the best way to get first notice about when we're hosting our next clothing swap is to join our monthly newsletter. Sign up in the footer!
Check out our Seasonal Clothing Swap page for more details about these events.
Still have questions?
Please feel free to fill out our Uvida Shop Contact Form with additional questions about the store or customer support.