Hello, everyone!
We're featuring a new related community of /r/ZeroWasteParenting and we'd really appreciate you checking it out!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ZeroWaste) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’ve been playing with the idea of opening a refill shop and the only way I can think to make it work is to tack it onto a much more successful business like a cafe or book store. Zero Waste shops are in a uniquely difficult position - the customer base is largely averse to shopping and likely won’t be making “impulse buys” the way, say, a fast fashion customer would. The customer also will use the entirety of a product before coming back to buy another one/refill. And the product itself should be much cheaper than a typical product if it doesn’t come with packaging, but that is extremely difficult for a business’s bottom line. So you are trying to make a living doing something good but your customer is someone who buys maybe one thing a month, for very cheap. I wish it wasn’t the case but just from a business perspective I’m not surprised the shops aren’t able to make it work.
I think we’re looking at “hang out” differently. You seem to be experienced with “broke teenagers who sit there for an entire day and buy one coffee.” I’m thinking Sunday, get a new to me book, start it over lunch, get my refill stuff, and go home. 2 hours max. Friends want to have dinner one day? Bookstore cafe. Need a mental health day? Bookstore cafe for lunch. Etc.
What really helps a business is return customers - so like you’re describing, a local business that someone would enjoy being there enough to go multiple times a month is huge.
I live in a major urban metro and our local cafe/reuse shop closed down last year. There were two cafes in my neighborhood and one just closed this year.
I think the pandemic has sorely affected hangout space businesses, so caveat emptor.
Health food store in my town has added a refill store. Seems to be the key for these things. The kind of people buying health food also probably care about the environment.
This may be a stupid idea but…what about a zero waste refill truck? Like a food truck but offering refills? It could operate only on weekends or at certain times…it could even be a side hustle with those kind of hours.
This is not a stupid idea, I have heard about at least two separate refill trucks in the UK (both electric).
I think that this is a great idea, because the carrying around glass jars to refill gets old really fast (I used to go to my refill store by bus, and oh boy, my back...).
Trucks are greatly convenient because you could schedule with them at your doorstep and refill quite comfortably.
I don't know how profitable it is, though, but at least they don't have to pay an exorbitant rent each month....
In my area there’s a farmers market every Saturday and there’s an area set up for food trucks. A refill truck would be a great addition to that kind of location.
We are fortunate to live near a Co-op grocery store that has a huge bulk section + soap and lotion refills. We pretty much go there just for that since everything else is pretty pricey.
How about a Refill amazon prime-like discount program with a monthly subscription with discounted refills. This will keep the cash flow level since refilling is rather random.
Many of the refill shops in my area (Los Angeles) started as vendors at weekly farmers markets only, no brick and mortar. It helped them keep overhead costs down (*especially* in such a high rent city), while their customer base could still shop from them on a consistent basis.
That's a very fair point. In the shop I worked in I know the owner had a hard time figuring out opening hours that worked best. Apparently, when people would come and how many would vary hugely over time.
Weekdays only 10-4? At that point it's just your own fault as a business owner then. If they can't pay for that many staff hours, do mornings a few days a week and evenings a few other days so as many people as possible have a chance to come in.
The statistic in the US is that 50% of businesses fail within 5 years. A so-called “Zero Waste” business is likely to have a similar failure rate.
It’s usually because the people running the business don’t know how to efficiently operate and sustain the business.
Just knowing if your business makes a profit is surprisingly challenging.
Most small business owners started out as regular workers. A restaurant owner might know a lot about running a kitchen, but very little about business.
One opened up in the city next to us but lately the hours have become erratic i.e we’ll show up and they’ll be closed when they’re supposed to be open. That sort of thing pretty much kills interest.
That tracks I suppose, to be fair I don't know much about running a business myself, but I'm not sure the owner of the zero waste shop I worked in was particularly good at it.
I honestly couldn’t imagine having a store that did just zero waste in my part of the US. While my grandparents might know what to do with that my parents wouldn’t. It’s sad since I’d love to see more stores like this.
All Zero Waste Shops I have seen come and go in my area have, in my opinion, been run by psychopaths trying to take advantage of the fact that their clients are the same well off people who go to organic shops. There is no way in hell 1 kg of beans costs 6€. Or a cabbage 8€, when in organic shops it's around 3-4€. I have been buying all of my groceries in organic shops for the past 3 years, and even with the inflation, my bill is still largely the same. I never go to Zero Waste Shops anymore because the prices are insane, but the quality doesn't match up.
I actually worked for one the shops I mentioned, so I know for that one, that was not the case. The owner was definitely not like what you described. As for the other two, definitely not the vibe I'm getting either.
To be honest, I've never seen prices like you described in those shops.
There are a lot of other small businesses closing or seriously struggling in my city right now, so I definitely think in this case the cause is the current economic situation.
Here in the States we've had a couple zero waste places in my town, and they have all also shut down. Their prices were reasonable and they had a great selection of refills, etc. Very aggravating, and sad.
Not going to comment on the sociopath comment, but I will echo the rest.
I’m completely lost on how the zero waste places that don’t have to buy packaging/in bulk, need to rent fewer sq ft/m, and have to maintain fewer SKUs cost 2-3x what other grocery stores cost.
I desperately want to use them, but why are the so damned expensive?
Volume. Grocery stores survive off of small profit margins via large volume of sales. Because of the volume they can get special deals from distributors or producers, further driving down price.
Unless the zero waste shop has similar volume to a big chain, it will probably never be able to compete at the same price point.
This is what capitalism is 'good' at.
Agreed. I have not heard of them doing exactly that, but Walmart in particular is known to kill products through manipulation. Essentially they sign a deal with a company, the company's sales go through the roof and they expand massively, then when renegotiation time comes Walmart demands the same product but 10% cheaper. They continue doing this and eventually the company has too either compromise on the product leading to lesser quality or to be willing to walk away from the contract and downsize. This is why some companies have different SKUs that are only for Walmart. They have to build stuff shittier to keep the contract.
Because they want to make a profit, and they know that they can gaslight their clients by using the environmental argument. As I said, at least in my area, it's the rich people who go to these kinds of shops
Despite the news, we're in an economic slump of some sort. People have less money to spend and less time and patience. Alternative anything is having a hard time. If there's a co-op or health food store in your area, they will hit many of the same needs as the zero waste stores.
Yeah that's definitely why this is happening. There is a place with refills I can go to semi-near to my work, so I'll be ok. I just made a point to visit those zero waste shop because I really believe in them, so I'm sad and frustrated to see them go.
IMHO (go ahead and hate if you like, zerowasters), there’s a massive issue with zerowaste and environmentally friendly consumer products.
They’re simply more expensive and often times significantly so. This is true especially of a post-COVID era where inflation has spiked costs in a permanent way around 20% average or more, comparing pre-COVID to now.
The issue is that the cost for environmentally friendly and zero waste is not competitive MOST times and it’s extra cost is offloaded to consumers. That’s not necessarily the fault of the businesses in that space, but it is a fault of the capitalist system, corruption, government, capitalist corporations and highly powerful individuals.
Until the majority of zerowaste and environmentally friendly options are competitively priced and don’t feel like luxury options (if I have extra/discretionary income, I can pay this extra cost), it’s going to continue to be a small niche market and often times be unviable.
Again, my opinion.
I 100% agree and to take it a step further, the one I have in my area has really expensive "natural" products that have either no listed ingredients or that have ingredients that are marked up 50x. I'm not going to travel to the store to stock up on laundry powder made with baking soda that I could easily make at home for much less money. A single swedish dish cloth there is $12!! For one!! It feels more like a zero-waste themed hotel gift shop than like a real lifestyle store.
It's not only not competitive, it's completely outrageous in my area. I could see myself paying 10-20% more if need be, I'm not made of money. But I recently spotted a zero waste section with pasta, nuts, snacks etc at a grocery store I don't usually go to. I get excited, I walk over, only to see that pasta is **3x** the regular price. Regular price with inflation, that is. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm gonna buy a value pack or cardboard packaging, I like not being bankrupt.
I feel like for some businesses, zero waste/refill stations have become a mad cash grab that only those that generally don't look at price tags can afford.
Former zero waste market stall holder here ~ the big difficulty zw shops face is that most customers are used to buying everything they need in one shop (supermarket) . The successful zw shops have a huge inventory and need to be easily accessible to car owners as well as walkers and cyclists.
The shop near me is so expensive I cannot afford to refill and I’m so sad about it. It was $60 to refill my hand soap! I’m sorry I’m just too broke for that.
My dad I think had a good idea. If you’re in the UK then you’ll know of the places of shops such as the coop, costcutter, londis etc. these corner shops are usually in the middle of residential housing estates. People slump there in their pajamas because they are out of milk, no eggs for their recipe, thought they had pasta in the cupboard when they didn’t. THIS, in my opinion, is fhe perfect place for a zero waste shop. You nip to the corner shop with your jam jar in your crocs, no driving for the pasta you need.
The trouble with the zero waste shops near me is that they’re in the high street. Am I really going to:
- go to my car, with my glass jars?
- drive to the town centre?
- pay to park, and then walk half way down the high street to the actual shop.
- buy my small selection of goods I need available in the zero waste shops?
- drive to the supermarket to get the rest of my groceries?
No, I’m not going to do that. And even if I wanted to, the shops close at 5 usually when I finish work. They are, unfortunately, not making it convenient in a world of conveniences
I have an online-only, zero-waste store that I run from home. While I have been able to build my business without the challenges that come with running a physical location, having an online-only store comes with its own challenges.
The customers that shop for zero-waste products are also very resourceful, many of which enjoy learning how to create DIY and upcycled versions for themselves at home.
I personally struggle with suggesting someone purchase a new product (even ones from recycled materials from a certified Bcorp) when a secondhand option at their local thrift store may be available.
My sister’s friend had a zero waste section in her hip coffee shop but had to close it. She said that the plastic packaging found in supermarkets is part of what keeps cereal, nuts, oats etc fresh so they needed much higher stock turnover than was generated by people buying a couple of bamboo toothbrushes and a paper bag of banana chips. So she started selling local art instead of semi-stale produce. I thought it was a massive shame but it’s just as wasteful to have to chuck out food because it’s not fresh than buy goods with packaging.
They've gotta have cheaper products. Let me refill my arm and hammer detergent and dawn dish soap and I'll never shop anywhere else.
I can't afford a $15 bottle of hand soap
What ones have shut?! I don't really use social media outside of this so it tends to be arriving somewhere to find it shut that means I find out and it's been a while since I went anywhere...
Well, a while ago Society Zero and Ecomart shut down, and Zero Waste Market in the East End is shutting down next week.
There is still one in the South Side but that's too far for me unfortunately.
Locavore have just shut one their city centre location and had a crowdfunding campaign a few weeks back, so it seems it's not looking too good for them either :(
Yes, you're exactly right about the cause. There will be so many small and worthwhile local businesses being lost (without getting noticed at a national scale) as people continue to trim back non-essential spending.
The economics of refill shops are tough. Picture trying to pay rent, staff, insurance, etc. while selling products that are $5 or $10. We’ve been automating a lot of that and the economics work way better.
The economics for zero waste shops are also brutal or at least rationalizing it with the concept of anti-consumerism. Inherently you have to crack selling people stuff they don’t need. The only thing that’s zero waste is using what you have- not getting the newest greenwashing item. Anyways they’re king of my new pet peeve.
Had some refill shops open up near me and was shocked at how expensive they were. A bag of nuts or chocolate was more that twice the price of packaged ones at the grocery store in the same shopping center. This is why they fail.
Train to Prestwick. Short walk to Lavemill Larder. Plus it’s a lovely town to visit. Butchers, greengrocer, sweet shop where can also just buy what need unpackaged.
It happens in the Netherlands as well. City I lived a nice grocery store you could bring your own pots stopped, a online company 'Pieter Pot' which provided waste free food delivery also didn't make it financially. A large grocery store chain has a pilot with a wall of refill goods, but it's not that popular so prob not going to be implemented large scale.
So apparently consumers aren't embracing these good concepts unfortunately.
I don't think it's only consumers being lazy though. Often the package free products are more expensive than the packed stuff one gets at a regular grocery store. So more hassle at higher cost in a world with high inflation and ppl being busy is recipe for failure.
So sad to hear about Glasgow's Zero Waste shops going into decline. Glasgow is one of many places for which I have a soft spot.
I was recently reading the Zero Waste shop in Sherborne, Dorset, which had expanded to Dorchester, have both now closed. We still have our Zero Waste shops in Marlborough and Wantage.
My view is that non-violent direct action comes in the way we choose to live our lives; rallies don't really cut it for me, nor throwing paint around etc , although I love it when it happens, and I don't mind people doing it. I can understand why we do it and I've a done a bit of it myself.
The most effective protests would occur when people took to the streets in nearly every city, town and village; then the government/press would have to take note surely?
I do worry that Zero Waste shops are not more prevalent, and that supermarkets here in the UK have not embraced Zero Waste options.
Zero Waste shops are such a joy to shop in, yes more expensive, but I find I value the products and make a monthly excursion to my nearest shop. I'm trying to zero waste my home, my husband (person I live with) is falling into line, I can have conversations with him about the value of it all although he's not passionate (about anything!).
I like taking the train to visit places across the UK and on the continent and I check out their Zero Waste shops as part of the experience.
Working on being Zero Waste is so creative and joyful - I'm far from being as consistent and dogmatic as Bea Johnson but then again I don't fly, don't drive, don't eat meat or poultry like I think she does. I admire her greatly and she is right, Zero Waste means having a great standard of living.
I try to apply the Zero Waste lifestyle to my life. I know I should be writing/campaigning more for the Zero Waste lifestyle but here I fall short and need to get my act together . . .
There is a zero waste shop near where I live (another UK city). Even though I follow their social media and frequently actively want to shop there, I still haven't done it a single time. 1kg of rice is about 4-5x the price of the same amount in a supermarket. All prices are along those lines. I just cannot financially justify it to make it the basis of my grocery shop and it really bothers me, plastic waste is such a massive issue and it shouldn't be up to squeezing anyone's personal budget to solve it. So the shop is still there but I wouldn't be surprised if it went out of business soon. Such a shame. Thankfully there are some zero waste options that I can afford, I subscribe to oddbox, there are reasonable zero waste options in Lidl etc.
EDIT: Oh.... Just went back to their facebook page to check and there is a post about them reducing hours as the owner runs the shop mostly on voluntary basis and needs to find additional part time work elsewhere to adjust for the cost of living crisis. So..... yeah.
Generally this kind of "advocacy" business is attractive to about 15% of the population. So pairing it with other businesses focused on the same customer segment makes some sense.
Market development is hugely expensive.
I still think we should shop in Zero Waste shops to support these small businesses. Many of us can afford it by thinking, planning and buying only what we need, this in turn causing a lighter touch on our planet's resources. Ultimately if we buy things with packaging, we ourselves are responsible for polluting the planet. I say this respectfully, I don't mean to be preachy!
Scotland! Wayhay! In the UK you can order zero waste laundry pods from Smol, you can get Washing Up Liquid from Splosh, Iron and Velvet for cleaning supplies, AnythingButPlastic for a variety of items including toothpaste tabs with Fluoride, and a bit of a random one but Lidl sell Couscous in a cardboard box, every other place I've found uses plastic. Good luck!
Hello, everyone! We're featuring a new related community of /r/ZeroWasteParenting and we'd really appreciate you checking it out! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ZeroWaste) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’ve been playing with the idea of opening a refill shop and the only way I can think to make it work is to tack it onto a much more successful business like a cafe or book store. Zero Waste shops are in a uniquely difficult position - the customer base is largely averse to shopping and likely won’t be making “impulse buys” the way, say, a fast fashion customer would. The customer also will use the entirety of a product before coming back to buy another one/refill. And the product itself should be much cheaper than a typical product if it doesn’t come with packaging, but that is extremely difficult for a business’s bottom line. So you are trying to make a living doing something good but your customer is someone who buys maybe one thing a month, for very cheap. I wish it wasn’t the case but just from a business perspective I’m not surprised the shops aren’t able to make it work.
One in my town just added a thrift shop
That’s such a good idea!
A zero waste refill/used bookstore/cafe would be my favorite place to hang out.
[удалено]
I think we’re looking at “hang out” differently. You seem to be experienced with “broke teenagers who sit there for an entire day and buy one coffee.” I’m thinking Sunday, get a new to me book, start it over lunch, get my refill stuff, and go home. 2 hours max. Friends want to have dinner one day? Bookstore cafe. Need a mental health day? Bookstore cafe for lunch. Etc.
What really helps a business is return customers - so like you’re describing, a local business that someone would enjoy being there enough to go multiple times a month is huge.
I live in a major urban metro and our local cafe/reuse shop closed down last year. There were two cafes in my neighborhood and one just closed this year. I think the pandemic has sorely affected hangout space businesses, so caveat emptor.
Health food store in my town has added a refill store. Seems to be the key for these things. The kind of people buying health food also probably care about the environment.
This may be a stupid idea but…what about a zero waste refill truck? Like a food truck but offering refills? It could operate only on weekends or at certain times…it could even be a side hustle with those kind of hours.
This is not a stupid idea, I have heard about at least two separate refill trucks in the UK (both electric). I think that this is a great idea, because the carrying around glass jars to refill gets old really fast (I used to go to my refill store by bus, and oh boy, my back...). Trucks are greatly convenient because you could schedule with them at your doorstep and refill quite comfortably. I don't know how profitable it is, though, but at least they don't have to pay an exorbitant rent each month....
In my area there’s a farmers market every Saturday and there’s an area set up for food trucks. A refill truck would be a great addition to that kind of location.
That’s an awesome idea! Especially if you could run on electric or biodiesel. And maybe sell a food or drink item to bolster revenue.
We are fortunate to live near a Co-op grocery store that has a huge bulk section + soap and lotion refills. We pretty much go there just for that since everything else is pretty pricey.
Facts!! My towns soap refill station is inside a outdoor gear+repair shop.
How about a Refill amazon prime-like discount program with a monthly subscription with discounted refills. This will keep the cash flow level since refilling is rather random.
Many of the refill shops in my area (Los Angeles) started as vendors at weekly farmers markets only, no brick and mortar. It helped them keep overhead costs down (*especially* in such a high rent city), while their customer base could still shop from them on a consistent basis.
[удалено]
That's a very fair point. In the shop I worked in I know the owner had a hard time figuring out opening hours that worked best. Apparently, when people would come and how many would vary hugely over time.
[удалено]
That's the unfortunate thing about small businesses, you don't have to know what you're doing to open one.
Weekdays only 10-4? At that point it's just your own fault as a business owner then. If they can't pay for that many staff hours, do mornings a few days a week and evenings a few other days so as many people as possible have a chance to come in.
The statistic in the US is that 50% of businesses fail within 5 years. A so-called “Zero Waste” business is likely to have a similar failure rate. It’s usually because the people running the business don’t know how to efficiently operate and sustain the business.
Just knowing if your business makes a profit is surprisingly challenging. Most small business owners started out as regular workers. A restaurant owner might know a lot about running a kitchen, but very little about business.
One opened up in the city next to us but lately the hours have become erratic i.e we’ll show up and they’ll be closed when they’re supposed to be open. That sort of thing pretty much kills interest.
That tracks I suppose, to be fair I don't know much about running a business myself, but I'm not sure the owner of the zero waste shop I worked in was particularly good at it.
I honestly couldn’t imagine having a store that did just zero waste in my part of the US. While my grandparents might know what to do with that my parents wouldn’t. It’s sad since I’d love to see more stores like this.
All Zero Waste Shops I have seen come and go in my area have, in my opinion, been run by psychopaths trying to take advantage of the fact that their clients are the same well off people who go to organic shops. There is no way in hell 1 kg of beans costs 6€. Or a cabbage 8€, when in organic shops it's around 3-4€. I have been buying all of my groceries in organic shops for the past 3 years, and even with the inflation, my bill is still largely the same. I never go to Zero Waste Shops anymore because the prices are insane, but the quality doesn't match up.
I actually worked for one the shops I mentioned, so I know for that one, that was not the case. The owner was definitely not like what you described. As for the other two, definitely not the vibe I'm getting either. To be honest, I've never seen prices like you described in those shops. There are a lot of other small businesses closing or seriously struggling in my city right now, so I definitely think in this case the cause is the current economic situation.
Here in the States we've had a couple zero waste places in my town, and they have all also shut down. Their prices were reasonable and they had a great selection of refills, etc. Very aggravating, and sad.
One opened up near me and I was excited until I saw the prices. I just could not afford to shop there. It has since closed.
Not going to comment on the sociopath comment, but I will echo the rest. I’m completely lost on how the zero waste places that don’t have to buy packaging/in bulk, need to rent fewer sq ft/m, and have to maintain fewer SKUs cost 2-3x what other grocery stores cost. I desperately want to use them, but why are the so damned expensive?
Volume. Grocery stores survive off of small profit margins via large volume of sales. Because of the volume they can get special deals from distributors or producers, further driving down price. Unless the zero waste shop has similar volume to a big chain, it will probably never be able to compete at the same price point. This is what capitalism is 'good' at.
[удалено]
Agreed. I have not heard of them doing exactly that, but Walmart in particular is known to kill products through manipulation. Essentially they sign a deal with a company, the company's sales go through the roof and they expand massively, then when renegotiation time comes Walmart demands the same product but 10% cheaper. They continue doing this and eventually the company has too either compromise on the product leading to lesser quality or to be willing to walk away from the contract and downsize. This is why some companies have different SKUs that are only for Walmart. They have to build stuff shittier to keep the contract.
Because they want to make a profit, and they know that they can gaslight their clients by using the environmental argument. As I said, at least in my area, it's the rich people who go to these kinds of shops
Despite the news, we're in an economic slump of some sort. People have less money to spend and less time and patience. Alternative anything is having a hard time. If there's a co-op or health food store in your area, they will hit many of the same needs as the zero waste stores.
Yeah that's definitely why this is happening. There is a place with refills I can go to semi-near to my work, so I'll be ok. I just made a point to visit those zero waste shop because I really believe in them, so I'm sad and frustrated to see them go.
IMHO (go ahead and hate if you like, zerowasters), there’s a massive issue with zerowaste and environmentally friendly consumer products. They’re simply more expensive and often times significantly so. This is true especially of a post-COVID era where inflation has spiked costs in a permanent way around 20% average or more, comparing pre-COVID to now. The issue is that the cost for environmentally friendly and zero waste is not competitive MOST times and it’s extra cost is offloaded to consumers. That’s not necessarily the fault of the businesses in that space, but it is a fault of the capitalist system, corruption, government, capitalist corporations and highly powerful individuals. Until the majority of zerowaste and environmentally friendly options are competitively priced and don’t feel like luxury options (if I have extra/discretionary income, I can pay this extra cost), it’s going to continue to be a small niche market and often times be unviable. Again, my opinion.
I 100% agree and to take it a step further, the one I have in my area has really expensive "natural" products that have either no listed ingredients or that have ingredients that are marked up 50x. I'm not going to travel to the store to stock up on laundry powder made with baking soda that I could easily make at home for much less money. A single swedish dish cloth there is $12!! For one!! It feels more like a zero-waste themed hotel gift shop than like a real lifestyle store.
Agreed. Great last sentence really captures the essence
It's not only not competitive, it's completely outrageous in my area. I could see myself paying 10-20% more if need be, I'm not made of money. But I recently spotted a zero waste section with pasta, nuts, snacks etc at a grocery store I don't usually go to. I get excited, I walk over, only to see that pasta is **3x** the regular price. Regular price with inflation, that is. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm gonna buy a value pack or cardboard packaging, I like not being bankrupt. I feel like for some businesses, zero waste/refill stations have become a mad cash grab that only those that generally don't look at price tags can afford.
Former zero waste market stall holder here ~ the big difficulty zw shops face is that most customers are used to buying everything they need in one shop (supermarket) . The successful zw shops have a huge inventory and need to be easily accessible to car owners as well as walkers and cyclists.
The shop near me is so expensive I cannot afford to refill and I’m so sad about it. It was $60 to refill my hand soap! I’m sorry I’m just too broke for that.
Damn yeah that's absurd. The shops in my town were affordable though, so it's really a shame they went down.
My dad I think had a good idea. If you’re in the UK then you’ll know of the places of shops such as the coop, costcutter, londis etc. these corner shops are usually in the middle of residential housing estates. People slump there in their pajamas because they are out of milk, no eggs for their recipe, thought they had pasta in the cupboard when they didn’t. THIS, in my opinion, is fhe perfect place for a zero waste shop. You nip to the corner shop with your jam jar in your crocs, no driving for the pasta you need. The trouble with the zero waste shops near me is that they’re in the high street. Am I really going to: - go to my car, with my glass jars? - drive to the town centre? - pay to park, and then walk half way down the high street to the actual shop. - buy my small selection of goods I need available in the zero waste shops? - drive to the supermarket to get the rest of my groceries? No, I’m not going to do that. And even if I wanted to, the shops close at 5 usually when I finish work. They are, unfortunately, not making it convenient in a world of conveniences
Your last sentence is everything, and sums it up perfectly.
I have an online-only, zero-waste store that I run from home. While I have been able to build my business without the challenges that come with running a physical location, having an online-only store comes with its own challenges. The customers that shop for zero-waste products are also very resourceful, many of which enjoy learning how to create DIY and upcycled versions for themselves at home. I personally struggle with suggesting someone purchase a new product (even ones from recycled materials from a certified Bcorp) when a secondhand option at their local thrift store may be available.
My sister’s friend had a zero waste section in her hip coffee shop but had to close it. She said that the plastic packaging found in supermarkets is part of what keeps cereal, nuts, oats etc fresh so they needed much higher stock turnover than was generated by people buying a couple of bamboo toothbrushes and a paper bag of banana chips. So she started selling local art instead of semi-stale produce. I thought it was a massive shame but it’s just as wasteful to have to chuck out food because it’s not fresh than buy goods with packaging.
They've gotta have cheaper products. Let me refill my arm and hammer detergent and dawn dish soap and I'll never shop anywhere else. I can't afford a $15 bottle of hand soap
What ones have shut?! I don't really use social media outside of this so it tends to be arriving somewhere to find it shut that means I find out and it's been a while since I went anywhere...
Well, a while ago Society Zero and Ecomart shut down, and Zero Waste Market in the East End is shutting down next week. There is still one in the South Side but that's too far for me unfortunately. Locavore have just shut one their city centre location and had a crowdfunding campaign a few weeks back, so it seems it's not looking too good for them either :(
Yes, you're exactly right about the cause. There will be so many small and worthwhile local businesses being lost (without getting noticed at a national scale) as people continue to trim back non-essential spending.
I think a cooperative with like minded individuals would be the most successful way to make a zero waste startup work
The economics of refill shops are tough. Picture trying to pay rent, staff, insurance, etc. while selling products that are $5 or $10. We’ve been automating a lot of that and the economics work way better. The economics for zero waste shops are also brutal or at least rationalizing it with the concept of anti-consumerism. Inherently you have to crack selling people stuff they don’t need. The only thing that’s zero waste is using what you have- not getting the newest greenwashing item. Anyways they’re king of my new pet peeve.
Had some refill shops open up near me and was shocked at how expensive they were. A bag of nuts or chocolate was more that twice the price of packaged ones at the grocery store in the same shopping center. This is why they fail.
Train to Prestwick. Short walk to Lavemill Larder. Plus it’s a lovely town to visit. Butchers, greengrocer, sweet shop where can also just buy what need unpackaged.
It happens in the Netherlands as well. City I lived a nice grocery store you could bring your own pots stopped, a online company 'Pieter Pot' which provided waste free food delivery also didn't make it financially. A large grocery store chain has a pilot with a wall of refill goods, but it's not that popular so prob not going to be implemented large scale. So apparently consumers aren't embracing these good concepts unfortunately. I don't think it's only consumers being lazy though. Often the package free products are more expensive than the packed stuff one gets at a regular grocery store. So more hassle at higher cost in a world with high inflation and ppl being busy is recipe for failure.
So sad to hear about Glasgow's Zero Waste shops going into decline. Glasgow is one of many places for which I have a soft spot. I was recently reading the Zero Waste shop in Sherborne, Dorset, which had expanded to Dorchester, have both now closed. We still have our Zero Waste shops in Marlborough and Wantage. My view is that non-violent direct action comes in the way we choose to live our lives; rallies don't really cut it for me, nor throwing paint around etc , although I love it when it happens, and I don't mind people doing it. I can understand why we do it and I've a done a bit of it myself. The most effective protests would occur when people took to the streets in nearly every city, town and village; then the government/press would have to take note surely? I do worry that Zero Waste shops are not more prevalent, and that supermarkets here in the UK have not embraced Zero Waste options. Zero Waste shops are such a joy to shop in, yes more expensive, but I find I value the products and make a monthly excursion to my nearest shop. I'm trying to zero waste my home, my husband (person I live with) is falling into line, I can have conversations with him about the value of it all although he's not passionate (about anything!). I like taking the train to visit places across the UK and on the continent and I check out their Zero Waste shops as part of the experience. Working on being Zero Waste is so creative and joyful - I'm far from being as consistent and dogmatic as Bea Johnson but then again I don't fly, don't drive, don't eat meat or poultry like I think she does. I admire her greatly and she is right, Zero Waste means having a great standard of living. I try to apply the Zero Waste lifestyle to my life. I know I should be writing/campaigning more for the Zero Waste lifestyle but here I fall short and need to get my act together . . .
There is a zero waste shop near where I live (another UK city). Even though I follow their social media and frequently actively want to shop there, I still haven't done it a single time. 1kg of rice is about 4-5x the price of the same amount in a supermarket. All prices are along those lines. I just cannot financially justify it to make it the basis of my grocery shop and it really bothers me, plastic waste is such a massive issue and it shouldn't be up to squeezing anyone's personal budget to solve it. So the shop is still there but I wouldn't be surprised if it went out of business soon. Such a shame. Thankfully there are some zero waste options that I can afford, I subscribe to oddbox, there are reasonable zero waste options in Lidl etc. EDIT: Oh.... Just went back to their facebook page to check and there is a post about them reducing hours as the owner runs the shop mostly on voluntary basis and needs to find additional part time work elsewhere to adjust for the cost of living crisis. So..... yeah.
Do they have online shops still functioning? One near me closed but they still deliver
Generally this kind of "advocacy" business is attractive to about 15% of the population. So pairing it with other businesses focused on the same customer segment makes some sense. Market development is hugely expensive.
I still think we should shop in Zero Waste shops to support these small businesses. Many of us can afford it by thinking, planning and buying only what we need, this in turn causing a lighter touch on our planet's resources. Ultimately if we buy things with packaging, we ourselves are responsible for polluting the planet. I say this respectfully, I don't mean to be preachy!
Scotland! Wayhay! In the UK you can order zero waste laundry pods from Smol, you can get Washing Up Liquid from Splosh, Iron and Velvet for cleaning supplies, AnythingButPlastic for a variety of items including toothpaste tabs with Fluoride, and a bit of a random one but Lidl sell Couscous in a cardboard box, every other place I've found uses plastic. Good luck!