Planet B is coming to Cirencester - Help us open!

Aim

Our aim is to provide the local community of Cirencester with a refill and plastic free shop.

Planet B opened in Lancashire in February 2020 in order to create an alternative shopping experince to supermarkets, to allow the people of Rawtenstall and further afield to fill their baskets with plastic free dried foods, cleaning products, household/personal essentials and more..

Planet B, March 2020

It has featured on Radio and local newspapers, and despite having to deal with a pandemic, flooding, and changing to home deliveries instead of in store shopping, the first year has been a great success. The range of products has doubled already and we are always looking for ways to add shelving for more stock!

We are so delighted that in our first year of opening, we have saved hundreds of pieces of plastic from being used unnecessarily, and we have had the privilege to meet lots of lovely customers too, all wanting to reduce their waste or taking their first steps in to living a more earth friendly lifestyle. We have made friends, made mistakes, but most importantly made a difference to a small town.

It's been challenging and incredible. But it is time to expand to support another local community close to me.

Planet B, April 2021

Hometown

Having lived in Cirencester between 1997 to 2013, I attended Deer Park School and Cirencester College, the Princes Trust Volunteers, worked in Dobbies, the Friar Tuck, Seventeen Black and I have also DJ'ed in ReVa on several occasions as my alias, LilRockit.

It was due to my younger sister, Lyndsey, having a brain tumour and needing treatment that I left Cirencester and moved to the North to care for her until she died in 2014, where afterwards we as a family set up the charity Purple Heart Wishes based in Cirencester in her memory to grant wishes for terminally ill adults over 18.

I miss the community spirit and friends that I made in Cirencester and I consider it my hometown.  Thankfully I have family there still and can visit during normal times. This is why I would love to set up my second shop here.

Why Cirencester?

There is a big community in Cirencester that are crying out for a zero waste, plastic free, refill shop in the centre of town. It is the ideal location to inspire others, including tourists to the area, to make plastic free and earth conscious choices. The ethos of the shop is to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

What will you be providing in the shop?

Based on the Survey that I shared on the Cirencester Facebook group, we will be providing the community with:

• Dried loose Foods
• Jarred and Tinned produce
• Liquid Refills
• On the Go Essentials
• Feminine Hygiene Care
• Male Grooming Products
• Kitchen and Bathroom Essentials
• Books & Childrens Toys
• Planet D(og)

These will come as Plastic Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Organic, Ethically and as Locally sourced as possible - Phew!

From our survey results, you have also requested:
- Dried fruit and Nuts (This was supposed to have been an option on the survey sorry!)
- Loose Teas
- Cloth Nappies
- Container Varieties
- Sweets
- Spices & Herbs
- Friendly, helpful staff
- Childrens Toys

(I like to source local stock at Planet B, so I would be interested to hear from anyone that makes homemade and handmade products such as soaps and makeup wipes that would fit with the shops ethos.  If you think your brand will fit in to our shop or know someone that is a maker, please get in touch and send us a wholesale price list - we want to support the community!)

How will you be spending the funding?

We don't expect our wonderful new customers to foot the whole bill for a new shop. We have been saving all year as we knew the time would come to open in Cirencester! However we do need some help in order to take the shop to the next level to the current standard that Planet B in Lancashire is now, ensuring a smooth fit out and to buy a few large exciting purchases to make this work.  The shop we have sourced in Cirencester is also twice the size!

Planet B will be purchasing all new stock, and paying for all the legal bits such as insurance and deposits.  However, without your support the shop will not be able to open - and we really want to!

Here's what the crowdfunder is for:

- Shop fit out (all shelving for new products, displays, signage, counter, attachments for the dispensers, storage, joiners etc.) - £3400

- Electronic Scales: When it gets busy, these scales will be able to help assist with weighing and pricing quickly - £2630

- Scoop bins, gravity dispensers and Jars for ease of filling - £2600

A message from Leigh (and Wickie the dog!)

We are really looking forward to helping the community of Cirencester make a difference with the way they shop. If it is one small change or lots of big changes, every step matters.

This project successfully funded on 24th May 2021