{Private collection} Unpackaged

At the end of each day, I am shocked at the amount of waste we produce as a family of 4. It’s mostly all food packaging: wrappers, containers, packets and useless plastic. On saturday I went to my friend A's new Kickashna Gym Club (more to come on that when I can get some decent photographs together). Across the road from her place, near Hackney's London Fields, I came across Unpackaged. 

Unpackaged, is a zero packaging grocery store, hipster style. It used to be in Islington and has now moved to a more spacious home, complete with a café and bar.

The concept is simple: you reduce your waste and only buy what you use. Bring your own containers and get refills for everything: liquids (olive oil, wine, juices), cupboard essentials (flour, rice, pasta...), pulses,  household products (washing up liquid, soaps), home made jams, cheese, toiletries... 

I couldn't help but think that it is a modern version of the traditional "hanout" from my native Morocco. Imagine a man standing in a 4 square metres space, and somehow he has anything you might need to cook from scratch. You can swap your own containers or get his for a deposit.

Although it is difficult for Unpackaged to compete on price with larger distributors, it is cheaper than buying packaged products in your standard corner shop. Next time I go to the gym I will take 5 containers for refills, and maybe grab a coffee. I must remember to get a travel mug. Although I could just have a nice coffee at a table! All by myself...

♥♥                  ♥

Tweet

Share