About Us

Walking Lightly, LLC (TM) offers convenient options to help community members live more sustainably with our zero waste store and refillery in Ferndale, MI. We offer local delivery, and now shipping nationwide of solid sustainable products. We want to make it easy to skip the single-use plastic packaging, because we believe in caring for our planet. Walking Lightly is a resource and hub in the community offering terracycling programs, workshops, composting, and information sharing. We also believe that environmentalism is inextricably tied to environmental justice. As we grow this business we are committed to being a part of both micro and macro efforts to grow our communities in sustainability and equity. 

Walking Lightly’s founder, Tessa Benziger, is a social worker, yoga instructor, and mother of three who has lived in Royal Oak since 2007. As the impact of our consumerism on the environment has become more evident, she committed to switching to low-waste options. When she couldn’t find low waste home and body goods conveniently in her community, she decided to create the solution. A poster in Tessa’s childhood bedroom with a quote from Barbara Ward has served as inspiration for the name. And indeed, “We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the Earth as its other creatures do.”

In Walking Lightly, we hope you will find a partner in making the lower-waste choices that work best for you. We are committed to being a non-judgmental resource, and we think that any efforts to reduce waste are to be celebrated! So ask us questions, tell us what works for you, and let us know how we can help. We are so grateful to be a part of your sustainability journey!

Land Acknowledgement: Walking Lightly operates on land that was obtained in unconscionable ways, from indigenous peoples of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ tribe.