One of the biggest challenges we’ve come up against in our bid to rid the office of single-use plastics, is packaging - it’s everywhere! We’ve just about mastered the art of getting fresh fruits and veggies without the layers of plastic, thanks to a local greengrocer and services like fruitful office – but when it comes to pantry essentials, it’s another ballgame entirely.

So, when we heard about a new zero waste shop opening up down the road from us in Chiswick, we hot-footed our way down there to check it out. The Source Bulk Foods have set their sights on a zero waste revolution, joining a small number of shops around the UK who have made their entire store free from single use plastics. 

The idea of zero waste shopping isn’t new – far from it. As with all these solutions to living a more conscious lifestyle, the answers tend to lie in reverting back to a much simpler time (the good ol’ days, if you will).

It is estimated that since plastic was popularised in the 1950s, the world has tossed out a whopping 8,300,000,000 tonnes globally, with only 9% being recycled. And if our current purchasing habits continue, we’ll have 12,000,000,000 tonnes of plastic on our hands – pretty scary, right!?

For the minimalists amongst you, the clean lines and orderly fashion in which the store is organised will be an absolute JOY to shop in. The shelves are filled with everything from glass bottles of natural raw honey and refillable olive oil, to bath and beauty products and eco-friendly bamboo toothbrushes, metal straws, and copper scouring pads. Along with big tubs of loose seeds, grains, cereals and spices – allowing you to take as much or as little as you need. 

They even offer some super quirky and exciting ingredients like baobab, nutritional yeast, cocoa butter, kombucha (on tap!) and freshly milled nut butter. With our #bigplasticclearout in mind, we brought along our almost empty communal oat jar ready to fill up. Can you believe a full jar only came to only £2.00...for organic jumbo oats! Pretty, pretty good.

 

It’s inspired us to make our own matcha and coconut granola with maple syrup and dried blueberries this week - look out for the recipe coming soon!

Interested in more ways to avoid plastic?  

BACK TO BLOG