A coastal town has become the latest to welcome a plastic-free refillable shop – as more independent businesses choose to wage the war on our “crazy throwaway society”.
Kayleigh Seal, 34, and her mum Zoe Tipple, 57, have opened Clacton's first ever zero waste refill shop called Unsealed - after the pair were made redundant earlier this year.
The idea for the shop, which opened its doors on Saturday, November 23 in The Grove, came after Kayleigh noticed how hard it was to avoid buying single-use plastics, so decided to try and find a way around the problem.
Kayleigh, who previously worked in admin for the NHS, said: "It's crazy the throwaway society we all live in.
"I became really passionate about the environmental impact and started to cut out as many single-use plastics from my life as possible. I also began to realise just how much waste I was throwing away."
Unsealed will offer shoppers the chance to bring reusable containers to fill up their household items - such as laundry detergent, washing up liquid, shampoos and conditioner, home ware, plastic-free gift wrap, loose teas, cereals, grains, dry food and more.
All of the refillable products operate on a loop system, so there is absolutely no waste.
Shoppers can also 'try before they buy' in store and can choose from a wide range of environmentally-friendly local produce such as honey and pasta - which is all weighed in store.
"We have done so much research into the shop and the products we stock," added Kayleigh.
"We started the whole thing in May after both being made redundant from our roles at Anglia Community Enterprises. We wanted to make the most of our time and took the opportunity when the shop came up."
Kayleigh says that since the store opened at the weekend, the reaction has been "surprisingly positive" and people have been popping in to ask questions and show a genuine interest.
She added: "I'm a bit overwhelmed by it all to be honest, but there really is a great community feel already and everyone is coming together to share their knowledge."
The shop will be open from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Saturday.
Unsealed joins other zero waste shops which have opened in 2019 - such as Clear to Sea in Bury St Edmunds.
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