The document discusses zero-waste grocery stores, highlighting successful examples such as 'in.gredients' in Austin and 'original unverpackt' in Berlin, while outlining the environmental crisis caused by plastic waste. It emphasizes the need to reduce plastic consumption to protect marine life and promote local agriculture, while addressing barriers to starting such a store. The proposal includes unique shopping experiences, community engagement, and a focus on sustainable practices to differentiate from competitors.

1. Jana Baecker
Intro to Sustainable Design
MCAD SD
12-14-2014

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. “Unpackaged”
2007 | London
“in.gredients”
2010 | Austin, TX
“Original Unverpackt”
2012 | Berlin
“throwaway living”
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 “sign of
modernity’s relentless ascendancy
over the drudgery of the past”
(“Throwaway living”: When Tossing
Out Everything Was All The Rage)
“In.gredients” 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 “Original Unverpackt”
store in Berlin originated in 2012 and
the store was opened in September
2014. They just won the Creative
Business Cup Food Innovation Prize.
“Unpackaged” 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 can’t keep up
with the amount of plastic that is
being accumulated.
Samples taken from the ocean’s
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. “These fragments concentrate pollutants up to a million times
ambient levels in the sea water itself. They become poison pills”
(Moore, Charles. Seas of Plastic. 2009).

6. people profit
• supportslocalagriculturebusinesses
to grow in profit
• raises awareness about overfilling
landfills and plastic in the oceans
• teaches recycling
• healthy food options - healthier
lifestyle
• eliminates food packaging
• helps reduce usage of plastic on
land so that it does not fill up our
oceans and our landfills
• community focused business
• helps the City of Minneapolis to
create a community in which “all
residents live within a quarter (1/4)
mile of a healthy food choice”
(“Sustainability Indicators: Local
Food”. 2013)
publicplanet
“Americans add 570 million pounds of food
packaging to their landfills each day”
(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
• existing competition in the
area
• health restrictions that
limit the variety of
merchandise that the store
can carry
• won’t be able to offer any
meat, because meat is
required to be sealed in
plastic
Development
• crowd funding -
Kickstarter
• Homegrown Business
Development Center -
provides financing and
technical assistance
for Minneapolis-based
businesses that process
and manufacture local
food products
• establish strong
connection with the
sustainable community in
Minneapolis
• get name and idea out to
the public
• gain support from locals
for the development
process
• brand development
The Purchasing of
Merchandise
• merchandise from organic
farmers in the area
• cooperate with local
bakeries for the bakery
items that are sold
The Staff
• wears organic cotton
aprons and reusable
cotton gloves
• responsible for refilling
the dispenser regularly
• abide by health standards
that are required for
a food business in
Minnesota
The Shopping
Experience
• glass containers used
• no plastic baskets available
• check-in to weigh
containers
• fruits, vegetables, and
bakery items such as bread
and muffins, dairy prod-
ucts and dry goods are
sold
• Dry goods and grains in
bulk glass dispensers
• Fruits and vegetables in
wicker baskets
• Cheese wheel or cut to the
customer’s desire
• Milk, juices and yogurt
sold in reusable glass
bottles and containers
• glass bottles return system
• no plastic bags available
• encourage customer to

8. • young and middle-aged adults seeking to
live sustainably
• appreciate high quality organic food and
wants to contribute to the sustainability
challenge by actively changing their
lifestyle to a waste-free one
• differentiate our store from others in the
area - the only waste-free store in the
state
• unique store idea will set ourselves apart
from our competitors
• communicate how we value service and
the idea of establishing long lasting
relationships with our customers
• delivering high quality service through
customer service and quality of
merchandise
• 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. “Business Development and Financing”. Homegrown Minneapolis. City of Minneapolis, n.d. Web 14 Dec. 2014.
“How it works”. in.gredients. in.gredients, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
“Local Food”. Sustainability Indicators. City of Minneapolis, n.d. Web 14 Dec. 2014.
Moore, Charles. “Seas of Plastic”. TED. Feb. 2009. Lecture.
Singer, Lauren. “About”. 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.
“‘Throwaway Living’: When Tossing Out Everything Was All the Rage”. Life Magazine. Life Magazine, n.d. Web 14 Dec. 2014.
“Über OU”. Original Unverpackt. Original Unverpackt, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
“Unpackaged is shutting down after just 12 months in Hackney”. Dalstonist. Dalstonist, 30 Dec. 2013 Web 30 Nov. 2014.
Jana Baecker
Intro to Sustainable Design
MCAD SD
12-14-2014