Packaging-Free Shopping on the Rise in Europe

 Green, eco-friendly shops are the future, and in Europe, it has already started. Package-Free Shops are becoming more popular among Europeans. 

What is Package Free Shops? 

These shops sell a product without packaging them.  

In case packing is required, the shop uses solely post-consumer packing materials instead of plastic bags. These stores are also called as a zero-waste store. 

A statics shows, “every year, more than 172 kg of packaging waste are produced by every European.” So, to control this problem, the waste prevention measures like packaging free and reusable systems are introduced in Europe. To study and understand the packaging-free world, Zero Waste Europe has collaborated with Reseau Vrac. Reuse, waste prevention, and disposable packaging are the clear objectives outlined by the European Commission. 

Commented Larissa Copello, Consumption and Production Campaigner, Zero Waste Europe says, “Efforts to move away from disposable products and reduce packaging waste generation will only happen if the biggest barriers for waste prevention and reuse are addressed.” “ Making packaging-free products and reusable systems mainstream will require the creation of a level playing field with disposable packaging, while today the latter fails to fully internalize the costs,” he continued. 

Packaging-free shopping is not a new trend; it is an old one. What makes it new is the strategies followed by most of the modern shops. In Berlin, a social, non-profit organic shop named Biosphare started offering a cleaning product without packaging in 2013. In April 2014, it started selling bulk food products without packaging. The products sold by Biosphare are of high quality and are organic. The most notable aspect about this shop is that it gives priority to the small producers in the region. 

The goods sold in this store also have two prices; for customers with low incomes and for customers with average or high income. Biosphare also generates sustainable jobs inside and outside. Most of the products sold by the shop are not delivered long distances, so it has a low ecological footprint. This shop also makes sure to provide local and healthy food without having to pay more, unlike any other shops. Germany’s the  Unverpackt-einkaufen (shop unpackaged) has developed the concept for Biosphare’s packaging-free food section. The main concept is to integrate packaging-free alternatives with existing groceries.