The 28th April is Stop Food Waste Day, a necessary positive drive to raise awareness about fighting food waste. As vital as the single day is, its message is for everybody to act upon it every day of every year.
As consumers, we can each take individual responsibility towards a more sustainable lifestyle by buying eco-friendly, waste-free produce. In York there are some great people running ethical stores to help us all do this on our way to a collectively better environment.
The Bishy Weigh
On the vibrant community street of Bishopthorpe Road is a lovely little store making a big environmental impact. The Bishy Weigh sells ingredients by weight and without plastic packaging, ensuring no unnecessary landfill and encouraging no avoidable food waste. The friendly vibe and quality products means that shopping here is an easily achievable action that is beneficial to both yourself and the world.
The Little Green Weigh
Open on weekends at York Business Park, The Little Green Weigh are on a mission towards zero waste. Their eco gifts and homeware use sustainable materials and their food is locally sourced and weighed to order. A healthy, happy and waste-free way to shop!
The Shop of Small Changes
Another welcome arrival of recent years, The Shop of Small Changes is appropriately named as that which we all need to do for a collective global impact. Stocking plastic-free everyday items such as refillable liquids, plus plenty more, shopping here is as useful as it is ethical.
Alongside The Giftery, who sell sustainable artisan local goodies, this duo are making small changes a desirable thing for the people of Clifton.
Scoops
The rise of zero waste independent shops has travelled outside of cities and into towns and villages too. One great example is in a fitting location, ‘the food capital of Yorkshire’ Malton, where they champion local produce and sustainable practice. Scoops is an ingredient store that stocks an array of dried food for all cuisines to weigh and take home in your own containers. A true waste-less experience.
Alligator Wholefoods
Ahead of the trend, Alligator Wholefoods have been providing York with low waste products since 1972. Unpackaged and organic foodstuffs plus cleaning refills, you can pick up your groceries, fruit and veg here, as well as your shampoos, washing powders and more.
Tullivers
Having evolved since opening in 1983, Tullivers stays true to its original ethos whilst progressing with modern ethics. Wholefoods, herbs and spices, dried fruit and nuts, as much or as little as you’d like, this is quality produce for a sustainable lifestyle.
Heima
As well as raising awareness of the necessity to reduce food waste, it is also of importance to shop more ethically for all items. Heima makes this task an appealing one by providing products that are beautiful and useful at their design-led homeware and hardware store. With a consciousness and responsibility for low-waste culture, Heima’s biodegradable, odour-free and recyclable goods are eco-friendly without compromising on style.
St. Nicks
St. Nicks is York’s centre for nature and green living. Within its several eco strands, they work with shops including many of those above and in partnership with TerraCycle to make it easy for people to recycle extra plastic materials that are not normally recycled in York. Things like pens, toothbrushes and other materials are collected at drop off points and recycled on a city’s journey to zero waste.
Images: Tullivers, The Bishy Weigh, The Giftery & The Shop of Small Changes
