Plastic Free July may have just whizzed by, but we wanted to publish this now because this fabulous month-long initiative is designed to inspire a passion for plastic free living all year round and every day many of our traders offer lots of great plastic free options.
Introducing Sarah from Y.O.U Oxford
We spoke to founder and owner of Y.O.U Underwear award winning B-Core market trader Sarah Jordan, about her motivation and how it feels to run her high scoring B-Corp award winning shop and what drives her…
“Ever since I started Y.O.U, I’ve always been incredibly aware of not only the ethical and social impact it could have – but also the environmental one.
As much as I can make an impact on my own life through reducing single-use plastic – I am fortunate enough to also have a platform through Y.O.U to reach more people, encouraging them also to reduce single-use and raise awareness of the issues. It is impossible to cut plastic out completely, but anywhere we can cut back on single use will make a difference.
In terms of providing a full list it would be huge – it’s literally hundreds of items as that’s really the principle of the shop. We also regularly publish blogs all about great ways to live more sustainably. Here’s two for starters “Say no to single-use plastics” and “Sustainable summer holiday essentials”.
Meet OxUnboxed
Another trader particularly big on plastic free living is OxUnboxed. We’ve been itching to have a zero-waste shop in the market so were so excited when OxUnboxed approached us last year. “We believe eco-friendly products should be available to everyone, and it shouldn’t cost a fortune to live a sustainable lifestyle. That’s why we operate as a non-profit and make our goods as affordable as possible.”
Right now they’re keenly looking for volunteers to join their team so they can open more regularly. Read all about them via this link, and if you’d like to join them there’s further info here.
The Alpha Bar a sustainability legend
The Alpha Bar – for nearly 20 years now founder Will Pouget has matched environmentally sustainable business practices with exceptionally tasty, filling and brilliantly healthy meals.
Will has been a true trailblazer in this area from carefully selecting his suppliers right through to banning plastic tools and Teflon cookware from their kitchens and right through to the takeaway packaging.
Being healthy has never been so delicious. You can read more by clicking this link about Alpha Bar started.
More quick ref plastic free suggestions…
Paper flower wrapping – A few years ago The Garden of Oxford changed all their flower wrapping to paper. Jemini Flowers are also selling a lot of their flowers using paper and we think the bouquets look all the more stylish.
Reusable take away bowls – Sushi Bowl is one of the newest businesses in the market, Sushi Bowl are not on proud to sell their sushi using cardboard holders you can also buy these superb reusable bowls.
Plastic free soap, shampoos and more – At Oxford Soap Company there’s no plastic in sight in both their products as well as their packaging. We love their minimal and yet super stylish tissue paper wrapped soaps, plus for something a bit special you can buy your soaps in an extra stylish cardboard presentation box, and you can even learn to make your own.
Fruit and Veg the old way – We treasure the fact that at with Bonners Fruit and Veg you don’t get forced to buy produce in packages. You can select everything you’d like individually. They also pride themselves on buying in as much local produce as they can, and where possible their deliveries are made on foot.
Paper bags and tissue paper – There’s no plastic involved in Crystal Spirit Emporium‘s packaging. Everything is sold in paper bags and tissue paper. Click on this link to find out what other traders use paper packaging.
All paper takeaway food containers – Sofi de France, Alpha Bar, Hamblin Snack Bar, and many more make sure all their takeaway food uses paper and cardboard packaging. Their plastic juice and iced coffee cups are compostable cups.
This is by no means a full list of all the plastic-free options the market traders offer, there’s many more where these came from!
Thinking of the details…
…and one last word. We took extra care to source the 250th Anniversary bunting. We’re proud to say it’s printed on a biodegradable synthetic waterproof paper and 100% natural cotton webbing.
As well as our bunting The Covered Market tote bags have also been produced with extra care taken to maximise their sustainability and encourage our traders to do away with plastic bags and keep them affordable.
