Environmental Shop of the Year 2021
An independent family run business in Fife has been named Environmental Shop of the Year by the Scotland Prestige Awards 2021. Grain & Sustain has already won several awards since it opened its doors just 18 months ago. The judges said that they had noticed a huge increase in eco-friendly businesses opening up in the last year, and so the competition had been tough. The brainchild of former lawyer, Louise Humpington, Grain & Sustain has one of the largest eco-friendly and packaging free ranges in the UK with over 500 products available on refill. “The concept is simple really”, said Louise. “You just bring along your own containers and take as much or as little as you need. That way you can reduce the amount of packaging you use, avoid food waste and help to prevent plastic pollution. This way of shopping isn’t new. It’s been around for generations. We have just given it a little update with specialist technology to help make the process more efficient. This has helped our customers save over 20,000 pieces of plastic.” Louise was inspired to open her Zero Waste Emporium after working in Papua New Guinea as the Country Director for Oxfam and seeing the impact that deforestation, climate change and marine plastic pollution was having on communities there. “I think that it’s often difficult for us in the West to really understand and appreciate what a catastrophic impact our spending decisions are having on the planet, because we don’t see or experience the immediate impact of them. Making small changes towards a more sustainable lifestyle can have a huge cumulative impact. We wanted our business to support and empower people on their journey towards zero waste in an inclusive and non-judgmental way. None of us will do everything perfectly. But every small step should be celebrated.” With two shops now open in Burntisland and at The Bowhouse in the East Neuk, as well as weekly deliveries Fife-wide Louise hopes that this way of shopping will become the new normal, whatever ‘normal’ means these days!
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Louise Humpington
grainandsustain@outlook.com
07824705807