If you don't grow your own food in the garden, but go to the supermarket instead, you'll find that packaging is everywhere. However, more and more consumers want to be able to do without it. Retailers see a niche here, but the big suppliers are also getting started on the topic of "unpackaged".
If you don't grow your own food in the garden, but go to the supermarket instead, you will notice that packaging is everywhere. More and more consumers, however, want to be able to do without. Retailers see a niche here, but the big suppliers are also getting started on the topic of "unpackaged".
The cherry tomatoes in the small cardboard box and the organic cucumber in the plastic cover. Actually practical, because they are protected from dirt and those consumers who like to touch everything and then don't buy it. However, the plastic foils and small baskets consume valuable resources and have to be recycled. Now, Swiss grocers are taking up the topic of "unpackaged" more and more.
What does a packaging-free shop look like?
In shops that dispense with packaging completely or to a large extent, it looks like the general shop of fifty years ago. Everywhere there are large containers for dry goods, barrels for liquid products and displays for fresh goods such as vegetables or fruit. The containers are also designed with sustainability in mind, so most of them are made of wood, glass or metal. In some shops, customers can use reusable containers for a deposit - or bring their own containers. Whether it's a cloth bag or a jar, the container is first weighed empty and then filled - so you only pay for the quantity you actually buy.
Do you know of any great shops that are packaging-free or take an innovative approach to the topic? Share it with us in the comments below!
Who is taking part in packaging-free shopping in Switzerland?
Migros is one of the first wholesalers to set a good example with its "Zero Waste" campaign. Consumers can buy organic products at filling stations in selected shops and refill cleaning products in containers they have brought with them. This pays off - Migros saves thousands of tonnes of plastic waste from its own products.
Other packaging-free grocery shops are smaller or regionally based:
- In Aarau, there is the Unverpackt cooperative.
- oba aba enables packaging-free shopping in Chur.
- The unpackaged shop with bistro in Thun also convinces with its design.
- In French-speaking Switzerland, Atout Vracis located in Fribourg.
- And a whole series of shops all over Switzerland have Chez Mami.
Not entirely without packaging, but at least without plastic Natürlich unverpackt in Basel. Other providers that whet the appetite for this new way of sustainable shopping are Bare Ware, Ohne.ch and "Pfünderli". By the way, the unpacked shops sell not only food, but also cleaning products, other household needs and drinks. If you don't have a bottle for the latter yet, check out our new TreeBottles Glass !
Another exciting article on the topic of packaging can be foundhere: .
