However lovely it might be, we can’t always buy our food direct from a local organic farmer. So how can you make the best choices from what’s available?
How to buy sustainably at the zero waste shop
What does a typical zero waste shop stock?
A typical zero waste shop will stock:
- Dry goods (flour, muesli, pasta & spices)
- Washing and cleaning products (dispense-it-yourself clothes washing liquid, washing up liquid, vinegar, soap bars & laundry sheets)
- Personal hygiene products (razors, sanitary towels, menstrual cups, shampoo bars, toothbrushes & tooth tablets)
- Tins (vegan soup, beans, tofu & seitan)
- Treats (sustainably sourced chocolate, vegan chocolate nibs, dried fruit & coated peanuts)
- Household products (compostable bags & scrubbing brushes)
- Sustainable gifts and cards
- Plant based milks and nut butters, often made from scratch in the shop
What’s it like shopping at a zero waste shop?
Zero waste shops are usually run by passionately green people. They’re likely to be very knowledgeable about environmental issues and keen to encourage you, so it’s a great place to feel part of a “tribe”. You’ll be able to get advice on all sorts of green issues, from how to clean the interior workings of your washing machine, to which vegan chocolate is best.
You might be surprised to find that many items are cheaper at the zero waste shop, compared to the supermarket. That’s because you’re not paying for the packaging and branding. Spices and dried goods are likely to be very good value compared to what you’re used to.
How does shopping in a zero waste shop actually work?
- Zero waste shops usually stock their dry goods in hygienic gravity-fed hoppers (so there’s no fear that someone else has sneezed on the food or rummaged around with dirty fingers).
- On your first visit, you can either take your own containers or buy them from the store. Then you can re-use those containers on subsequent visits.
- You buy your dry goods produce by weight, but they will deduct the weight of the container from the total so you don’t pay for that as well.
- You’ll need to weigh your container before you fill it. There will be a set of scales in the shop or on the counter. You’ll probably need to write the weight on the bottom of your container with a Sharpie, and they should have one for you to use.
- If you’re bringing your own containers, check out the size of the dispensing holes on the hoppers first, and bring a container with a suitably wide mouth (to avoid spilling food on the floor).
- If you’re buying a large amount of dry goods (e.g. flour), use a paper bag to keep the weight down. The shop will probably have clean paper bags for that purpose.
- The shop staff will be happy to show you how to dispense the produce.
- They will also have towels to mop up when you inevitably dispense washing-up liquid onto the floor.
- Go there last on your shopping trip, because washing liquid, muesli and flour get heavy really quickly.
- Take several reusable bags so you can spread the weight across your shoulders and hands.
- If you are lucky, they might even offer an online delivery service.
How to buy sustainably at the supermarket
You can buy a lot from a zero waste shop, but there will inevitably be things you need from a conventional shop too. If you go to the supermarket and fill your own trolley, you have an advantage over online shoppers because you can see exactly what you’re buying.
- Write a shopping list and stick to it, to avoid impulse buys or buying duplicates of things you already have.
- Bring your reusable bags with you. Their critics say you have to use them hundreds of times before they’ve covered the cost of the water and energy used in their manufacture, but if you’re going to use them weekly for years, you’ve got that covered, no problem.
- As you leave the house, put your shopping list inside your reusable bag. This makes it much harder to accidentally leave your reusable bags in the car.
- If you’re buying food that you’re going to eat soon, or freeze, choose short-dated produce. This reduces the amount of food the shop throws away.
- You can bring your own produce bags for loose fruit and vegetables (they don’t have to be fancy – a net bag or a reused clear plastic bag is fine).
- If you eat cheese or meat, buy them from the deli counter to avoid unnecessary packaging.
- If you can’t buy it loose, choose produce that’s packed in compostable or paper wrappers, cardboard trays instead of plastic trays, or glass jars instead of plastic containers.
How to buy sustainably online
If you buy your shopping online, you’ll have to rely on the descriptions on the website and learn as you go. But, it’s much easier to check the ingredients and see reviews from other shoppers.
- Use an ethical online superstore to find products that tick all the sustainability boxes, but aren’t available in mainstream stores. Ethical Superstore has a great range of household goods, cleaning products and beauty products.
- If buying online from a mainstream supermarket, choose one that delivers direct from your local store (e.g. Waitrose, Sainsburys or Tesco), or one that uses a local delivery driver who plans their route (like Riverford). That means your groceries aren’t being delivered from a central warehouse that could be hundreds of miles away (like Ocado) – an unforgivable waste of fuel and tyre wear.
- If you’re buying an unfamiliar product, check the product description to see what it’s packaged in, and choose one that can be recycled. The photos can be misleading. Where possible, avoid plastic packaging, which can be recycled but often isn’t.
- You can filter your search results so you only see vegan or vegetarian items.
- Buying online from a list of favourites makes it easy to avoid impulse buys.
- Choose a “green” delivery slot to minimise delivery mileage. (A green delivery slot means someone else who lives nearby has already booked a delivery in the same time window.)
Image credits:
Loose fruit and vegetables: photo by Jacopo Maia on Unsplash
Dry goods hoppers in a zero waste shop: photo by Benjamin Brunner on Unsplash
Vegetables on supermarket shelves: photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash
Delivery person holding a crate of food: photo by Liuba Bilyk on Unsplash