A new Richmond shop is helping customers reduce their reliance on plastics,
Out of the Box was opened recently in the town’s King Street by Swaledale couple Roger and Janet Nutting.
The shop sells a large range of cereals, pulses, dried fruits, nuts, flours, rice, pasta, oats, herbs, spices, grains and sugars.
They also stock eco and ethically-sourced toiletries and personal hygiene products which come in fully bio-degradable wrapping.
All the items are stocked in gravity dispensers, scoop bins and glass jars.
The shop offers a bulk refill station for laundry essentials, household cleaning essentials, hand sanitizers, shampoos and conditioners.
Roger said: “We are striving to cut down on pointless plastics and single use packaging wherever possible in order to offer our customers a packaging and plastic free shopping experience.
“We always encourage our customers to bring their own reusable containers to fill and refill using our user-friendly weigh and pay system. They can buy as much, or as little, as they need which, in turn, also helps reduce unnecessary food waste.”
He added: “Our suppliers are UK based. If we can get British, we certainly will.
“We also support our small local producers who supply us with delicious honey, jams, pickles, confectionery, bread dippers, sauces, cake and pastry mixes and wonderful crisps in compostable packets.”
The couple have been trading from the former opticians’ shop for around a month.
Roger added: “It was never going to be an easy win converting a long established shop into a more modern, eco-friendly store but we fervently believe in what we are trying to achieve and are really pleased to see there is already a positive buzz around the area about the new shop with many folk expressing their willingness to help try and eliminate excess packaging and waste.
“We are finding more and more, that folk are tired of the large supermarkets and the way that even the smallest item is wrapped in endless plastic, all for no good reason.
“We have been trading for little under a month but already the shop is evolving with more and more of our customers bringing their own reusable containers in to fill and refill.”
For more details on the shop click here.
