Bring Sustainable shopping to Swadlincote

Aim

I want to make packaging free and sustainable shopping available to shoppers around the South Derbyshire area.

Where it all began....

I have always loved recycling and tried hard to split my waste down into recyclable and non recyclable - so in October 2018, when I had my third daughter, the amount of disposable nappies that we were creating began to weigh very heavily on my conscience. I had wanted to use cloth nappies with my first and second daughters, but didn't feel confident enough to try them. 

This time I knew a few people who were using them, so I got some advice and took the plunge. Knowing that my local council offered £25 cashback when you spent £50 on nappies was a real bonus, but there was nowhere locally that I could see and touch the nappies to get a feel for what I liked and what might work for us. 

As I read up more on reusable nappies, I decided what to buy and also decided to get some reusable wipes. I was really hooked into the mentality and wanted to make big changes to the amount of single use plastic that we consumed as a family. I'm sure that if you've read this far then you have had similar thoughts!

So, what's the problem?

Although there are lots of online platforms where you can buy reusable versions of lots of these items, there was nowhere close to me that I could go and see all these items. Likewise with food shopping, the supermarkets are making tremendous changes but I wanted to make sustainable shopping a real viable option for my local community so that we can all do our bit to help give the environment the boost that it so desperately needs at the moment.

And where do I fit into this?

I spoke to some friends about my feelings and found that quite a few of us were in the same position - we would love to have somewhere available locally to buy these products, but the nearest shop was over an hour away! So I began to wonder whether I could make this happen? I went on a business starter programme over in Matlock - an hour drive! Lydia was a few months old and I was the first person to have ever taken a baby along, but another lady on the course got confidence from me doing that and bought her baby too!

I started following lots of inspirational people on Instagram and Facebook, I went along to Day Zero in Buxton, Sue's Sustainables in Belper, Nada in Leicester, The Clean Kilo in Birmingham. I saw what they all did and immersed myself in learning about the processes, the aims and the ethos whilst also thinking about what my own values were. I got a lovely reception and loads of helpful advice in every shop - there really is a fantastic camaraderie in the zero waste community!

A friend made me aware of a local event which was looking for plastic free stalls - it was the perfect opportunity to test the local market. I went along and the reception was fabulous, so I set plans in motion to make it a reality. I bought some products and the stall went well and people wanted to know where they could find me, so I set this page up and arranged a launch event!

Initially, there will be a range of reusable coffee cups, water bottles, cotton face wipes, reusable nappies and wet bags, bamboo toothbrushes, shampoo and soap bars. There will be beeswax and soy wraps as well as other options to replace single use cling film and foil.

Once I can secure some premises to trade from which meet the criteria for the storage and sale of food goods I can also stock base of store cupboard staples like pasta, rice, flour, sugar, herbs and spices. People can come along with their own containers - so long as it's clean, anything will do! Lunchboxes, old takeaway containers, washed out milk bottles, canisters, old bread bags or even fancy jars if that's what you prefer. (I will also stock jars for people to buy and some paper bags, but reusing is the best option over buying new). 

I've had people say that this isn't a new idea - that's how things used to be done before convenience took over. I know that I'm not unique in having these aims, but to me, that makes it even more important to bring this into reality!

Of course I will also need to invest in lots of jars and storage for the products that I am going to sell, along with a till system and card processing services.

I would LOVE to be able to stretch to a permanent store that I could fill with the fancy gravity dispensers but I daren't dream that crowdfunding alone will allow me to do that yet as it would take around £25,000.

Once I have established a permanent shop I want to be able to run workshops around sustainable living. These would hopefully include inviting the local nappy library to provide demonstrations, and running workshops to make items such as beeswax wraps and reusable wipes. I want to enable people to gain the knowledge that they need to make the world a better place for our children. 

The Social Impact

I want to work with local social enterprises and charities to promote growth in our community and to encourage a network based around circular economy. 

I want to offer volunteering opportunities for people who have hit roadblocks in life - parenting responsibities, illnesses, domestic violence situations or anything that has lowered their confidence in themselves and their ability to work. I want to provide an environment where they can grow and build themselves back up. 

Even if they can only spare an hour - that would allow me to have a lunch break or place a stock order! That would help me, and hopefully in return I can help them!

This project successfully funded on 12th August 2019