'Supporting' a change of narrative: opting in or opting out of local businesses

It seems multinationals are often the default way to shop, with local or independent businesses the ones to opt in to on occasion, offering a feelgood factor for doing so. We suggest that is the wrong way round: instead, when we don’t shop with independents, we are in fact actively opting out of doing so - we are opting IN to supporting a multinational business with no connection to our communities.

How did the narrative, as well as our hard earned cash, get diverted in this way? How did the the passive experience become the one where we support multinationals instead of those we know and meet daily, who know us and respect us and ask us how our dog’s operation went?

We’ve heard a lot these last few months about supporting local businesses. So how about we consider local, independent businesses as our default? The local businesses are the ones who could create livelihoods in our localities, offering caring, personalised, professional services in the communities they also live and work in.

Currently, we opt in to local businesses, with the default being multinationals. Let’s instead consider how we are opting out of local when we shop with a multinational. When we change the narrative this way, saying we are opting out of local and into Amazon, the feel good factor disappears. So let’s change our thinking, from one driven by those multinationals, to one driven by our communities and the businesses and enterprises within them instead.

Thoughts on the back of a postcard to us here at Re!

And here’s a random picture of Mr Wonderful Flower Man - the ultimate shop local florist on Dal Lake, Kashmir, as he’s heading to work at dawn.

Genuine effort over greenwash

Yesterday’s fantastic news that Northamptonshire brand Farrington’s had achieved net zero on both plastics and carbon was very welcome. We sell ‘loose’ Mellow Yellow oil here at Re, and it’s incredibly popular. When we’d first spoken to Farringtons in Spring 2019 we’d asked lots of questions about their production - just because they were local didn’t mean they were going to be the automatic choice if they didn’t stack up on caring for their land and the broader environment. They were incredibly open and helpful. As such we’ve been happy customers of theirs since we opened. The ethos of the whole company is one of care and responsible stewardship.

The same day, news of Unilever’s project was also in the press. They apparently plan to provide door to door refillables through their new brand, Loop. Of course, this got much more press than Farringtons - massive PR and advertising budgets can have this effect. But we have to ask whether it’s greenwash to Farrington’s authentic approach.

Today’s news brings us an article again reviewing the true costs of our delivery habits. Surely the Loop project will have to work very hard to avoid the same pitfalls. But when the business (for that’s what it is, not altruism, let’s not forget) is backed by multinationals with questions to answer on human rights, emissions, business ethics and environmental standards can it be anything other than greenwash? We think not.

The solution? Shop local where you can. Give the little guys a try. Support ventures in your own communities. And also consider that if something’s that cheap, then if you’re not paying for that, who is, and why?

Basically? Come to Re!!

Tare-ing up the old ways of shopping!

These fantastic scales are pretty much the heart of our shop. They’re fun, easy to use and let you do your own weighing! Basically, you weigh, fill, weigh and pay. That’s it.

If you want to know more, this is how it goes!

1. Weigh your empty container and print your label

2. Fill your container

3. Bring it back to the scales, touch ‘I have a filled container to weigh’

4. Scan the label you printed for your container and select the item you’ve filled with - this takes off the weight of your container.

5. Head to the tills or weigh another container

Bikes, ferries and trains...

The orange building is my old house on Lantau Island, Hong Kong - part of the reason we do what we do, here at Re

It was only three days ago that I realised just how long I’ve been mindful of the environment. This tiny little house (it was about 30ft long, 22ft high and 11ft wide, was on the edge of fields where vegetables were grown and which appeared at the local market - where we bought them, loose, even the leafy greens . We always always had our own bags with us. Even eggs were bought loose! My friend and flatmate, Sam, was much further ahead on the environmental stakes and taught me a lot. As well as cooking amazing vegetarian food at home when I worked in the city - which I got to by bike then ferry then walking. There were no roads at this end of Lantau, and at that point just one road that travelled along and across the island. It’s remarkable how much you can fit on a bike when you’re practiced at it!

This isn’t to say there wasn’t waste - there was, of course. But when everything arrives either by bike or by trolley, it’s automatically reduced. Ferry coffee and noodles were always in polystyrene cups for example. But we always made sure we cut up any rings that held beer cans together, fearful for birds. It’s remarkable that more than 20 years later we still haven’t solved this particular problem across the board.

India was a similar story - for 13 years I took trains or roads rather than fly. Partly because I loved the 9 hour train to Delhi from Amritsar!

So when I was asked what was behind this shop, I think the answer lies somewhere in the stunning places I’ve been fortunate enough to visit, the long long train journeys, and the endless cups of tea in little clay cups!

What's your recipe?

Did you know that you can make your own recipe in a jar at Re? Because you buy loose produce, you can simply get what you want. We’ve done Christmas cakes, flapjacks, muesli and granolas among others!

If you’re coming along to Towcester Farmer’s Market OR the shop you can leave your containers with us for filling.

And if you have specific things for a recipe, it can all go in one jar - spices, sugar, flour, seeds, nuts and fruit! So bring along your favourite all in one recipe and fill to order :)