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?
Quite a few of you know that here at Re we are interested in the bigger sustainability picture. Whilst we love buying local where we can, and delighting in it, there’s plenty of things that come from further afield. We’re slightly fixated on how larger organisations measure and act on sustainability. Our current pet subject seems is how localised targets are: one company or government gets ‘net zero’ whilst failing to mention the impact on communities elsewhere. This article touches on that. We recommend a read.
John Elkington, who coined the Triple Bottom Line concept originally says also, ‘To truly shift the needle, however, we need a new wave of TBL innovation and deployment. But even though my company, Volans, consults with companies on TBL implementation, frankly, I’m not sure it’s going to be enough. Indeed, none of these sustainability frameworks will be enough, as long as they lack the suitable pace and scale — the necessary radical intent — needed to stop us all overshooting our planetary boundaries.’
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!
Weigh your empty container and print your label
Fill your container
Bring it back to the scales, touch ‘I have a filled container to weigh’
Scan the label you printed for your container and select the item you’ve filled with - this takes off the weight of your container.
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 :)
Thought it was a good time to explain how the scales actually work - and why we weigh household cleaners and shampoo too!
Basically, by weighing your container first, it means you don’t pay for it! Just like when you’re baking and zero the scales, that’s what our scales do too.
The biggest benefit of this? It means you can shop when you want and don’t have to decant what’s in your washing up liquid bottle (or any other container for that matter!) so you can refill. We realised that way you can fill when convenient, rather than having to wait for your bottles to be totally empty - which isn’t always the best time for going to refills.
