2. A zero-waste grocery store is a store, in which the merchandise does not
come in any packaging whether that is plastic or cardboard packaging.
3. โUnpackagedโ
2007 | London
โin.gredientsโ
2010 | Austin, TX
โOriginal Unverpacktโ
2012 | Berlin
โthrowaway livingโ
1955 | Life magazine article
our world transforming into a global
throwaway culture.
The article was guided toward the
modern housewife of the time,
convincing her of the convenience
of tossing away trash. Disposing of
trash was to be seen as a โsign of
modernityโs relentless ascendancy
over the drudgery of the pastโ
(โThrowaway livingโ: When Tossing
Out Everything Was All The Rage)
โIn.gredientsโ was developed in
2010 and they opened their doors
to customers in August 2012. They
have since been a successful business
that received many awards and
recognition such as the Austin Green
Business Leader Platinum Award
that they received from the office of
sustainability from the city of Austin
The idea to the โOriginal Unverpacktโ
store in Berlin originated in 2012 and
the store was opened in September
2014. They just won the Creative
Business Cup Food Innovation Prize.
โUnpackagedโ was started in 2007 in Islington, a district of London. In
2012, they moved to Hackney, an area in London, where they combined
the store with a restaurant. Unfortunately, this business venture did
not work out too well for them and they had to close in 2013. However,
they are working on reopening the store still this year.
4. eliminating the trash accumulated
by plastic food packaging
strictly selling fresh and nutritious
organic produce, thereby increasing
food safety and security in a bio
diverse and resilient environment
cherishing the local farmer and
protecting the consumer
5. Unfortunately, we are way past the
point where our oceans could have been
cleaned up completely from plastic.
The only way to reduce the amount of
plastic that ends up in oceans is to reduce
the usage of plastic on land.
Too much plastic is being used
not all of it can be recycled
plastic ends up in landfills or the ocean
dangerous for sea life
In the United States, there are over
two million plastic bottles consumed
and discarded every five minutes.
(Moore, Charles. Seas of Plastic. 2009)
Recycling facilities canโt keep up
with the amount of plastic that is
being accumulated.
Samples taken from the oceanโs
water often contain more plastic
fragments than plankton.
The plastic in the water is threatening the lives of numerous species of fish,
turtles, seals, and birds. Namely, many of these animals mistakenly feed on
plastic particles that are swimming around in the water, because they think
it is food. โThese fragments concentrate pollutants up to a million times
ambient levels in the sea water itself. They become poison pillsโ
(Moore, Charles. Seas of Plastic. 2009).
6. people profit
โข supportslocalagriculturebusinesses
to grow in profit
โข raises awareness about overfilling
landfills and plastic in the oceans
โข teaches recycling
โข healthy food options - healthier
lifestyle
โข eliminates food packaging
โข helps reduce usage of plastic on
land so that it does not fill up our
oceans and our landfills
โข community focused business
โข helps the City of Minneapolis to
create a community in which โall
residents live within a quarter (1/4)
mile of a healthy food choiceโ
(โSustainability Indicators: Local
Foodโ. 2013)
publicplanet
โAmericans add 570 million pounds of food
packaging to their landfills each dayโ
(Stone Zak, Zero Packaging Grocery Store in Austin, 2011)
Creating a zero-waste grocery store is not only going to raise awareness about sustainability issues with plastic
waste, but most importantly it will actively help to reduce the use of plastic on land.
7. Barriers
โข existing competition in the
area
โข health restrictions that
limit the variety of
merchandise that the store
can carry
โข wonโt be able to offer any
meat, because meat is
required to be sealed in
plastic
Development
โข crowd funding -
Kickstarter
โข Homegrown Business
Development Center -
provides financing and
technical assistance
for Minneapolis-based
businesses that process
and manufacture local
food products
โข establish strong
connection with the
sustainable community in
Minneapolis
โข get name and idea out to
the public
โข gain support from locals
for the development
process
โข brand development
The Purchasing of
Merchandise
โข merchandise from organic
farmers in the area
โข cooperate with local
bakeries for the bakery
items that are sold
The Staff
โข wears organic cotton
aprons and reusable
cotton gloves
โข responsible for refilling
the dispenser regularly
โข abide by health standards
that are required for
a food business in
Minnesota
The Shopping
Experience
โข glass containers used
โข no plastic baskets available
โข check-in to weigh
containers
โข fruits, vegetables, and
bakery items such as bread
and muffins, dairy prod-
ucts and dry goods are
sold
โข Dry goods and grains in
bulk glass dispensers
โข Fruits and vegetables in
wicker baskets
โข Cheese wheel or cut to the
customerโs desire
โข Milk, juices and yogurt
sold in reusable glass
bottles and containers
โข glass bottles return system
โข no plastic bags available
โข encourage customer to
8. โข young and middle-aged adults seeking to
live sustainably
โข appreciate high quality organic food and
wants to contribute to the sustainability
challenge by actively changing their
lifestyle to a waste-free one
โข differentiate our store from others in the
area - the only waste-free store in the
state
โข unique store idea will set ourselves apart
from our competitors
โข communicate how we value service and
the idea of establishing long lasting
relationships with our customers
โข delivering high quality service through
customer service and quality of
merchandise
โข generate a loyal customer base and
referrals to build revenue
9. The Vitalis Store
... giving life to a better grocery shopping experience
... giving life to a healthy life-style
... giving life to a sustainable concept
10. โBusiness Development and Financingโ. Homegrown Minneapolis. City of Minneapolis, n.d. Web 14 Dec. 2014.
โHow it worksโ. in.gredients. in.gredients, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
โLocal Foodโ. Sustainability Indicators. City of Minneapolis, n.d. Web 14 Dec. 2014.
Moore, Charles. โSeas of Plasticโ. TED. Feb. 2009. Lecture.
Singer, Lauren. โAboutโ. Trash Is For Tossers, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
Stone, Zak. Zero Packaging Grocery Store in Austin. Good Magazine, 25 Jun. 2011 Web 30 Nov. 2014.
โโThrowaway Livingโ: When Tossing Out Everything Was All the Rageโ. Life Magazine. Life Magazine, n.d. Web 14 Dec. 2014.
โรber OUโ. Original Unverpackt. Original Unverpackt, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
โUnpackaged is shutting down after just 12 months in Hackneyโ. Dalstonist. Dalstonist, 30 Dec. 2013 Web 30 Nov. 2014.
Jana Baecker
Intro to Sustainable Design
MCAD SD
12-14-2014