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All products sold in both of their brick and mortar locations have less packaging and less waste so consumers leave a much smaller environmental footprint. The concept is simple – bring your own containers (or purchase the reusable ones they offer in-store) and keep your mostly dry-goods and household item shopping as minimal as possible.<\/p>\n
Each year, 8 tons of plastic end up in our oceans. That\u2019s the equivalent of one truckload of plastic garbage per minute. Making a deliberate effort to cut back on waste has obvious environmental benefits, but for Ria Sch\u00e4fli, Marketing Manager at OU, zero waste shopping is a gateway to other benefits as well.<\/p>\n
Transparent bins line the walls of the Wiener Stra\u00dfe store. They\u2019re filled with most of the ingredients you\u2019d need to make a hearty winter soup: lentils, pasta, chickpeas and an assortment of dried spices. But OU also sells teas, oils and a plethora of household items – all of which are displayed in bulk so you can take only what you need.<\/p>\n
The concept of reducing waste can seem overwhelming. If you\u2019re just getting started, you may look around your home and see red flags everywhere – cardboard cereal boxes, an endless row of plastic spice jars, and clear plastic wrapping on fruits and vegetables. But Sch\u00e4fli suggests to simply start one step at a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart in your kitchen and look at your shopping [habits], so maybe start with buying fruits and vegetables without plastic. And…when you feel like your kitchen is more or less plastic-free, go to your bathroom. Check your cosmetics. Step by step and not everything at once,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
To build a grocery list, simply create one as you normally would – jot down the items you need, making a note of what can be bought with zero waste. If you\u2019re like most Berliners, you\u2019ll need to make more than one stop anyway, so you can grab your organic produce from the traditional supermarket and pick up everything else from the zero waste shop.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s impossible to go plastic-free overnight so it might require several shopping trips, likely over the course of a few months, but with each step, you\u2019ll get closer to reducing your footprint. If that\u2019s still too much, just go into an OU store with an open mind. Explore the shelves and see the options without making any purchases so when you\u2019re back at home, you can start to plan how you\u2019ll begin the shopping phase.<\/p>\n
\nOU founder Milena Glimbovski opened the first store in 2015 after raising capital through a crowdfunding effort. Since then, her team has been zero waste trailblazers, both locally and internationally with coverage from major publications like the New York Times. There are now two locations of the store, and they continuously stock new organic items.<\/p>\n
While you might step into an OU store prepared to walk away with edible goods, you\u2019ll likely be amazed at the variety of offerings, including reusable produce bags, eco-friendly toothbrushes and Schafli\u2019s favorite product, the fully natural hard shampoo. It\u2019s an easy product to start with and is completely organic without the foaming chemical surfactants that we\u2019ve been tricked into thinking equate to cleanliness.<\/p>\n
You might also notice the store\u2019s layout. It\u2019s one that flows effortlessly and is easy to navigate with designated sections for each type of product. This was no accident for Glimbovski, who designed the shop. The second store, opened in October 2019, is a culmination of what the team picked up from the first shop. \u201cWe always try to take care that there’s room for the containers. The UO team thinks through the shopping experience to ensure the layout is as easy as possible for the customers.\u201d Extra consideration was also taken for the kind of shopping. More space, for example, accommodates for any containers someone might be carrying with them.<\/p>\n
OU hopes to continue to expand so that their stores are easy for everyone to reach. \u201c…when we opened our shop 5 years ago, nobody knew the concept. Now it’s just normal. In Germany, there are more than 100 zero-waste stores, and that’s quite a good development.\u201d<\/p>\n