Package Free

Zero waste and package free stores are popping up all over the place and they're making it easier for people to reduce the amount of waste they take home each time they shop. Buying products without any packaging is still a pretty new alternative, so we're meeting up with Anna from Bear Market in Toronto to get a full tour of a package free grocery store and to see how it all works. So you can shop with us for body care, home care, dry goods, frozen foods, produce, DIY ingredients and when you're done you can get a drink at the cafe. It can be a little different if you've never shopped at a package free store before, so customers can bring their own containers or borrow some of ours to fill up on all their favorite products. So first you would maybe grab a cart or a basket and then head on over to our tear station. If you choose to bring your own containers we want to weigh them first before you put any product in, that way once you do fill them up we can subtract the weight of the empty jar and you're only paying for the product that's actually inside. So now that all your jars are weighed we can go start shopping. So we're in our low waste section here. These products you can purchase for your home or body and the great t So the replacement head is made out of wood and corn fibers so it can decompose at end of life. We sell toothpaste in refillable glass jars here and we have six different flavors you can choose from. So here we have some refillable body care. We have conditioner, body lotion, shampoo and body wash and shower gel. So these containers are refillable by the supplier and also refillable in your own jars. Other things in this section would be We have a lot of soap. In the back corner over here we have our home care and body care in bulk. So along the wall there you can see all the car boys laid out. We have an aerator mac We have a lot of different laundry options, dish soap, toilet bowl cleaner and other cleaning products And today I'm grabbing some lavender laundry. So t We have various oils and vinegars on tap here so you can fill them right into your own containers. T Be You'll find lots of different pastas, flowers and other baking needs, dried fruit and nuts. And this is the y We have potato chips in bulk as well as g We sell produce both refrigerated and non-refrigerated and we're passionate about sourcing local options as much as possible and mostly organic produce. Something we're passionate about here is keeping produce on the shelves even if it doesn't look perfect but is still great to eat just They have some imperfections but they're still perfectly good. We reuse these green pints in store so I'm going to transfer them into my bag here and leave t I'm also going to grab a couple cuc These items are unnecessarily wrapped in plastic in my opinion so I love that these come package-free. We are so excited to have d They're made locally here in Toronto, handmade and they're absolutely delicious so I'm going to get some veggie d We have lots of other frozen items as well. We sell package-free frozen fruit here. We also have meat alternatives and dairy-free ice cream and more. So we're passionate about reducing waste in all aspects of our supply chain so one awesome example of t We teamed up with a local chocolatier who before working with used ice cream containers that would eventually be recycled or thrown out but we asked them if they could switch to returnable and refillable deposit jars w So you can enjoy some delicious dairy-free ice cream without the waste. T So here we have some fresh bread delivered every day and when we have some leftover surplus bread we turn it into crostinis or croutons so that helps us close the loop on our food waste. Here you can also get bulk deli items like many different types of cheeses, dips like h You can either bring your own mug for us to pour it right in or if you forget or you weren't planning to get a coffee we have donated reusable mugs that you are welcome to use. We have So t Staying true to our mission of being a one-stop shop we've brought in more packaged goods in plastic alternatives because we know sometimes you don't have time to do a whole bulk shop so you can just take what you need and go. So we just did our full shop at the store. My cart is full of goodies, most of them package free and if not in glass or tin or paper w T I found everyt We're just one small business in one city but more and more stores W My dream would be to see large conventional grocery stores adopt some of these lower waste practices because us little small guys here are proving that it is possible. We steer away from using terms Instead, we love to use terms It's really about the masses making small choices versus a few people doing it 100% Another reason we avoid terms My own personal journey with low waste lifestyle started about three years ago. I was living out in Banff National Park. W I realized that there was an industry and a place I could work and not have to sacrifice any of my own values, w That's when I found Bear Market here in Toronto and I get to educate and share the celebration of lowering waste and shopping package free with everyone else who comes in to shop here.