It's quite likely that your weekly food shop is one of the most plastic heavy parts of your life, with the majority of food coming in excessive and unnecessary packaging. Whilst most supermarkets are working to improve this there's no doubt that the best way to cut down on packaging, and ultimately shop in the most sustainable way, is to hit up your local zero waste store.
Zero waste stores are fortunately becoming more and more popular, and most of us are now usually no more than a few miles from one. With Manchester being the home of Phloem, we are lucky to be surrounded by some amazing long-standing stores, as well as some fantastic new start-ups. We've put together this list to highlight some of our favourites.
Whether you are looking for refills, package free food, plastic free lifestyle products and more, you're sure to find everything you might need and more in the shops below.
Lentils and Lather
Withington/West Didsbury
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Opening just a few years ago, Lentils and Lather are located just down from Withington baths. Offering a wide range of refills covering food, cleaning products, personal hygiene and more, alongside lots of sustainable and plastic free extras including soaps, deodorant, skin care, Lentils and Lather are one of our go-to stops. |
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Unicorn
Chorlton
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Chorlton's Unicorn is one of Manchester's longest-running zero waste shops. The award-winning co-op started in 1996 and has grown to become nationally recognised, and a key part of the local community. The size of a conventional supermarket, Unicorn is packed full of organic, fair trade and local produce, offering a full alternative to standard supermarkets. |
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Plentiful
Ramsbottom/Bury
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Ramsbottom based Plentiful is a stylish shop packed full of food and plastic-free essentials. With a mix of dried and fresh food, and plenty of sustainable extras, Plentiful can be your one-stop sustainable shop. The shop started out as Fulfilled, before quickly up-scaling to their current high-street store and re-naming as Plentiful. We definitely recommend a visit! |
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Utopia
Sale
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Starting out as a market stall, Louise Booth's Utopia has grown into its own premises in Sale. The refill and holistic store is a great place to not only get your plastic-free and refill essentials, but also learn about eco-friendly living. |
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The Good Life
Heaton Mersey
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The Good Life focus on bringing an offering of locally produced goods and food. Based in Heaton Mersey, you can expect to find dried foods, beauty essentials all the way through to beer. Offering weekly veg boxes as well as online shopping, The Good Life are a fantastic versatile shop. |
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McCall's Organics
Northern Quarter
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McCall's Organics are based on Church Street in the city centre, and they are quite possibly one of the longest running zero waste stores in Manchester. First started in 1926, the shop has been run by three generations of the McCall family. Expect to find plenty of loose fruit and veg alongside essential environmentally friendly household products. |
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The Sustainable Shed
Levenshulme
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Refill store, The Sustainable Shed, is our local here at Phloem. Quite literally based in a shed, it's a great go-to for all your refills and eco-friendly essentials. With a recently launched website offering click and collect, we definitely recommend paying the friendly store a visit. |
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Now as we mentioned, there are more and more zero wastes popping up across Manchester, so this list is by no means definitive. Fortunately, Reddit user dalphee put together the below map, featuring most of the zero waste stores across the city.
Pay your local store a visit to help cut down on plastic, live more sustainably and support local businesses.