Uncontained delight

Goods without wrappers catch on with shoppers

A shop in Islington is changing the way we look at packaging. For self-evident reasons, it’s called ‘Unpackaged’. It’s the brainchild of Catherine Conway and the concept is simple: do away with packaging altogether. Conway started with a market stall, but she soon outgrew those small surroundings and relocated to her new
larger premises – where she now runs a thriving shop stocking organic wholefoods and other green products, all free of the unnecessary packaging that often ends up in landfill.

Customers are encouraged to bring along their own containers and fill up from the range of products, from dried fruit, nuts and seeds to tea, coffee and olive oil. If you forget to bring a container, Unpackaged will sell you a one-off reusable one. As well as eliminating the need for packaging, Unpackaged does not stock any air freighted products. It’s all certified organic (with the exception of teas) and Conway sources fair trade produce where possible.

Now she aims to expand the business into further retail outlets: “The idea is positive on so many levels,” she says. “It supports local shops and producers, educates customers about their environmental impact and provides good quality affordable products.”

While supermarket aisles free from packaging may still be some way off, the UK’s major retailers are all pledging to cut back on the amount of packaging they use without sacrificing the quality and freshness we all take for granted. Waitrose has a stated aim to “eliminate packaging wherever possible, and to switch to more environmentally sustainable materials, including using recycled and recyclable packaging”. Sainsbury’s is now the single largest user of compostable packaging in Europe. – Tom Bamford

24 June 2008

Tom Bamford