There are more reasons than ever to think about ethical and environmentally conscious shopping as the impacts of climate change give us pause to think about the food we buy.
Under capitalism, every dollar spent is a vote for the kind of world you want to live in so it’s good to think long and hard about who those votes are supporting. With this reasoning, it becomes preferable to put your money into the small businesses owned and run by people in your community. We chatted to one of these people, Georgia Gilsenan-Fitzgerald of Nook in Whitianga, to get her advice on how to make your shopping more climate conscious.
Outsource making good choices
A zero-waste store with an ethos like Nook is generally going to have someone doing the buying who is looking at the ethics of the products they are selling. To be aligned with the zero-waste movement, they are likely to be someone who has carefully thought about the environmental background of these products and wherever possible will be buying locally produced goods with low food miles. If you are someone who thinks carefully about where their kai comes from, why not outsource all that peering at labels to someone who does it for a living? Plus if you have any really tricky questions, a zero-waster store person can probably answer them.
Minimise food waste
One of the best things about a zero-waste shop is you can buy exactly as much of something as you need, minimising any wastage. Georgia suggests “If you are at your bach for the weekend and you want to bake a cake, you can come in and get exactly as much of everything you need and not waste anything.” The same goes for any recipe and makes for a weevil-less pantry with no leftover flour!
Think about ALL your waste
Many of us in the Coromandel Hauraki region have septic tanks or other ‘non-conventional’ plumbing, so we should think about what we are flushing away. Look for septic-tank friendly and eco cleaning products and use natural soaps in the bathroom. Sunscreen can be harmful to the ocean, so Georgia sells the Sol range which is made locally in Kūaotunu and is reef-friendly and plastic free – a surfer’s best friend!
Zero-waste stores can give you great advice
Tetra Paks can be the bane of any environmentalist’s existence – you’re winning by drinking plant milk only to lose with the non-recyclable container it comes in. Luckily there are now more options for reusing Tetra Paks. Georgia collects the ones she uses from making coffee in the store and drops them off to The Seagull Centre in Thames, who pass them on to Save Board in Hamilton where they are turned into building products. A top tip though: wash the container out as soon as you’ve finished your milk if you don’t want to be dealing with a stink later. Oat cheese isn’t a thing for a reason!
Go vegan
One of the best things you can do for the planet is to eat a plant-based diet. Meat and dairy leave a painfully heavy footprint behind on Papatūānuku but if giving them up makes you feel panicked, try starting off slowly with Vegan Monday, or even by changing your coffee order. There are only plant milks available with the coffee at Nook, but Georgia says the feedback has been generally positive. “Oat milk is the norm here,” she laughs, explaining that some of her regulars have now become converts to the stuff.
Don’t be scared!
If you are used to shopping at the supermarket, don’t be afraid to try a bulk bin store. Not only are you likely to have a more personal experience, but also Georgia has done price comparisons for many of the products in Nook and most come out cheaper than the supermarket so it’s also kinder on your wallet. If you’d rather keep the social interaction to a minimum or are pressed for time, most zero waste stores will have an online store where you can place an order and have all your goods weighed and ready to go for you. Just like click and collect at the supermarket, only so much better!
Find out more about zero-waste shopping at Nook’s Instagram page here.
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