Original Unverpackt: Germany's First Zero-Waste Supermarket to Open this Summer

Published in inhabitat.com by Beverley Mitchell, 06/02/14
Germany is set to unveil the country’s very first zero-waste supermarket. Berlin’s Original Unverpackt is the brainchild of friends Sara Wolf and Milena Glimbovski.

Frustrated by the overpackaging and wastefulness they saw in the retail food industry, the young women decided to take action and launched a crowdfunding campaign in early May that has succeeded beyond all expectations. They now have the funds to open their first outlet this summer, with a second to follow soon after.

Read more: Original Unverpackt: Germany's First Zero-Waste Supermarket to Open this Summer | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

The concept of the store is simple: all food is provided in bulk and customers bring their own containers. If you forget your containers, you can borrow multi-use ones from the store, or make use of recycled paper bags.

While the concept is familiar to food co-ops, Original Unverpackt will be on a larger scale and will provide absolutely no single use packaging or pre-packaged goods.

The team have been carefully sourcing stock as they prepare to open and their philosophy remains simple too. As they say, “You won’t find countless brands for each product because one, the right one, is enough.”

Where possible, produce will be sourced locally to reduce food miles, and both organic and less-expensive conventional products will be on offer as well “Everyone should be able to afford to help the environment in the way they can,” the duo adds.

Related: Fruta Feia Saves a Whopping 21 Tons of ‘Ugly’ Produce from Going to Waste in Portugal
Dry goods will be dispensed from gravity bins, allowing shoppers to customize their purchase and avoid wasting food at home caused by buying more than they really need.

The women aim to provide a real alternative to Germany’s larger supermarket chains and plan to expand the number of outlets as finances allow.

With a crowdsourcing campaign that has already more than doubled their €45,000 goal, they are well on their way to making a difference to the 16 million tons of packaging waste produced each year in Germany alone.

While the biggest battle now will be getting customers to remember their containers, similar concepts elsewhere show it can be done.

+ Original Unverpackt
Via takepart and Startnext.de

Photos by Original Unverpakt

Read more: Original Unverpackt: Germany's First Zero-Waste Supermarket to Open this Summer | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

The first zero-waste, package-free grocery store in the US

Zero-Packaging Grocery Store to Open in Austin, Texas

posted June 24, 2011 in Good
Austin, Texas is already home to Whole Foods, but that won't stop a group of entrepreneurs from founding a new grocery store right in the natural food behemoth's backyard. While the new store In.gredients will also specialize in local and organic ingredients, there's one major difference between this venture and its hometown competion: In.gredients promises to be the country's first ever "package-free, zero waste grocery store."

The idea is so simple, it's surprising that no one in the United States has implemented it yet. (The United Kingdom, on the other hand, got the bulk food-only Unpackaged in London last year). Just like many people bring tote bags to the grocery store, shoppers at In.gredients will be encouraged to bring their own containers to pack up items like grains, oils, and dairy.

If a shopper doesn't have his own containers, the store will provide compostable ones. It's as if the specialty bulk food section rebelled and took over the rest of a traditional grocery store. In.gredients will replace unhealthy, overpackaged junk with local, organic, and natural foods, and moonlight as a community center with cooking classes, gardening workshops, and art shows on the side.

“Truth be told, what’s normal in the grocery business isn’t healthy for consumers or the  environment," In.gredients co-founder Christian Lane said in a press release. Americans add 570 million pounds of food packaging to their landfills each day, while pre-packaged foods force consumers to buy more than they need, stuffing their bellies and their trash bins: 27 percent of food brought into U.S. kitchens ends up getting tossed out.

In.gredients's founders hope to open the grocery store's doors in East Austin this fall, provided that the funding goes through.