The Little Green Weigh

Hi there, I’m Cat and I live with my lovely little family in York. I’m passionate about helping people and communities to reduce everyday household waste, whether that’s food waste, single use plastic or even money! I strongly believe being more environmentally friendly should be accessible to everyone and that’s why I’m launching The Little Green Weigh. 

What is The Little Green Weigh? 

The Little Green Weigh is an eco-friendly food and household goods delivery service, enabling us to bring zero waste shopping to you in York. 

What is our purpose?

For many people, zero waste shops are inaccessible due to location or not having the time to shop in store.  Our aim is to remove these barriers by building an online shopping experience via our website and mobile app alongside click and collect, home delivery and courier services. 

This will allow us to reach those in areas where local zero waste shops don’t currently exist. But we need your help to do this! 

In partnership with other small local businesses, we also hope to offer workshops and talks about reduced waste living and improving mental and physical well-being.

What goods will The Little Green Weigh offer?

The main focus of our shop is to reduce single use plastic and non-recyclable waste. We’ll stock a wide range of products, including lots of local independent brands and makers. We plan to open with the below ranges and will look to grow this, as customers request other items;

• Dry foods – including pasta, rice, oats, herbs and spices, nuts and seeds, and baking goods such as flour
• Reusable items – including make-up wipes, unpaper towels, food/drink storage etc.
• Household and cleaning – plastic free cleaning products, washing powders, dishwasher tablets, antibacterial sprays, toilet cleaners, loo roll etc. 
• Beauty and toiletries – ethical make-up, soaps, shampoos, deodorants, pamper products for men and women
• Gifts and treats – a range of local and UK made goods to spoil yourself and the ones you love, from beauty, books and keepsakes to chocolates and sweets

Longer term, our aim is to offer local fresh produce by partnering with local greengrocers and butchers. 

How will loose food items be packaged? 

Initially we’ll be using recyclable paper or home compostable cellulous packaging to ensure your loose goods get to you safely. You can either keep them in these or refill your containers at home and recycle or compost the packaging yourself, or we will collect it on your next delivery.   Going forwards, as we build up our customer base, we plan to reuse your donated jars, bottles and containers to create a circular system with no waste. 

How will The Little Green Weigh work?

Ordering will be done from our website, or free to download app.

You can then either collect your order from our warehouse in Poppleton Business Park (York), we can deliver (postcode restrictions apply) or we can deliver by courier. 

Keep your bags/packaging and return them to us when you next shop or recycle/compost them yourself. 

How will the money raised be used?

We’ve been working really hard as a family to save up the money to secure our warehouse premises and pay for the fitting and initial food orders. I’m pleased to say we’ve now secured a premise at Poppleton Business Park in York and hope to launch the business in June 2020.

Our initial crowdfunding target of £5,000 will be used to purchase a van so we can complete our deliveries in the York area.  We will be offsetting the carbon emissions of the van by planting trees across Yorkshire & The Humber areas.

Any additional funds raised will be used to offer more products and services to the community. 

Why Crowdfund? 

Due to the economic challenges the country is facing with Covid-19, our original additional funding sources are not available. Therefore, we would love your help to make this dream come to life. 

Why is reducing waste important?

Our planet and resources are increasingly under strain due to the amount of items we buy, use and throw away. Many of you will have seen Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet and the horrifying effect we are having on our seas and wildlife. This has inspired us to create a better world for us and future generations. 

We also want to help protect our local areas from rubbish and create a wonderful environment for local wildlife which we can all enjoy. 

We have been on a long journey as a family to reduce our household waste and therefore want to take this stress away from others. Our aim is to make reducing waste simple, affordable and enjoyable without compromising on quality.  

More than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year, choosing products from our shop will be a simple way to cut down on our contribution to that statistic. 

What's in it for you?

With your donation you can choose to receive various rewards such as free delivery or shopping discounts. Alongside this, you’ll get that warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing that you’re helping to reduce waste and support a family’s dream of running their own business. 

Don’t forget it’s not just us you’re supporting, but also all the other small businesses whose products we’ll be stocking. On behalf of our families and theirs, we thank you so much for your help. 

Please follow our progress on our social media pages and hopefully celebrate with us when we reach our target! (Facebook) (Instagram)

Thank you

Cat

The Little Green Weigh