Zero-waste Totnes supermarket to expand to London and Birmingham
A zero-waste shop in Totnes in the UK has been so successful that its owners are contemplating opening new shops in Birmingham and London. Earth.Food.Love sells up to 200 pesticide-free, ethical products, as well as sustainable sanitary products, shavers and toothbrushes, and requires customers to bring their own bags and containers for produce. Compostable paper bags are available for first-time visitors. Nicola and Richard Eckersley set up their shop after visiting Unperfekthaus, an anti-waste outlet in Berlin. The couple have now produced a guide to “setting up your own zero waste shop”.
An eco-friendly-couple say they have launched zero-waste supermarket where all packaging is completely banned.

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28-year-old Richard Eckersley and his wife Nicola, 27, sell a range of up to 200 pesticide-free products in their store, Earth.Food.Love.

You don’t have to worry about 5p carrier bags – as customers are expected to take their own pots, jars and sandwich bags in order to carry anything home.

The shop opened earlier this year in Totnes, Devon, and has been so successful that the green-thinking couple are now planning to open stores in both London and Birmingham to encourage more people to think of the economy.

The couple came up with the idea after they discovered Unperfekthaus – a German anti-waste outlet – while enjoying a trip to Berlin.

Richard said: ‘We walked in and immediately thought, why doesn’t this exist in the UK?

‘We came back to the UK and decided to open our own sustainable store. We wanted to go somewhere that we felt would make a difference to the local community – that’s why we moved to Devon.’

The motto of the shop – which stocks grains, pastas, and even maple syrup – is to deliver goods that are ‘ethical, wholesome and organic’, meaning products such as alcohol and milk are completely off the menu.

Everyday supermarket items such as packets of crisps are also on a strict banned list, as they can have up to seven layers of packaging.

But this doesn’t seem to deter customers – as the shop stocks products that people are absolutely loving.

‘By far our most popular attraction of the shop is the ‘grind-your-own’ nut butter machines,’ explained Richard.

‘Filled with both almonds and peanuts, you can re-use your nut butter jar again and again and again, each time filling it with delicious, sticky goodness that’s been ground right in front of you.’

Alongside nut butter, Earth.Food.Love stocks items that are locally sourced and biked over by local farmers, such as regionally-grown oats.

The store’s Zero Waste Lifestyle collection also includes sanitary products, metal shavers that you just need to swap the blade on, and bamboo toothbrushes that have bristles you can replace.

Shoppers have to take their own containers which they then fill, weigh and label and pay for what they are buying by the gram – though the store keeps a supply of compostable paper bags for first-time customers and people who have turned up without their own containers.

Despite the sales, Richard and Nicola say they didn’t set up the shop to make money.

Richard said: ‘It’s not about price for us. We don’t want to stock items just for the sake of it, it has to be ethical.

‘At the same time, we don’t want to compete with local farms – there are many around here that sell fresh produce already.

‘We’re adding products all of time, but the supplier has to be right for us.’

He continued: ‘We want to live in a world where consuming doesn’t have to cost the earth.

‘We believe returning to these simple ways will benefit not only our health, but the planets too.’

Alongside selling organic, packaging-free products, the shop is also aiding the economy by featuring ethical energy supplied by Gloucestershire-based Ecotricity, who produce clean, renewable gas and electricity.

This as a whole has encouraged more and more customers to enter the shop, not just to search for products, but to experience something wholesome.

Richard said: ‘This week we’ve had an influx of tourists popping in to see what the shop is all about – they’re fascinated.

‘But we have a lot of local residents too – they come in with their own boxes and bags and stock up on what they need.’

Since opening, Richard says the store has inspired many shoppers – and upon realising this, he and Nicola have produced their very own guide to ‘setting up your own zero waste shop’, which covers location, budget, suppliers, how to find dispensers and even advice on what to stock.

‘In setting up a zero waste shop, you are creating such a huge shift in the way people shop that you are directly influencing positive change, and for that, you should be proud,’ said Richard.

‘Remember that it only takes one person to make one change, and the ripple will be felt through the entire ocean.’

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