Meet Ingrid Caldironi, an entrepreneur who launched a zero-waste outlet.
Hackney has its first zero-waste shop where people can buy food without packaging that is harmful to the environment. The Bulk Market opened last December in a railway arch in Bohemia Place, right next to Hackney Central station, and is a part of a growing trend of eco initiatives in the borough.
The shop, which is the first 100% waste-free retailer in London, was founded by the Italian-born entrepreneur Ingrid Caldironi. “I’m not a tree-hugger, but we cannot ask consumers to tackle plastic pollution on their own,” Ingrid says.
All products are free from packages or use just recyclable ones.
The shop offers a range of products like fruit, vegetables, grains, and nuts. Also, products for the house and for personal hygiene. Customers can bring their own empty jars and reusable boxes and bags to buy free-from-package items. The Bulk Market also offers a jar bank scheme to collect jars donated by customers and shops to provide them for free to customers.
After reading the story of Lauren Singer, an environmental activist who kept four years of trash in a jar, Ingrid decided it was time to do more to reduce her ecological footprint and decided to go waste-free. However, she soon realised that it was harder than expected to even buy food that is not wrapped in layers of plastic. That’s when she came
The Bulk Market opened first in 2017 as a pop-up shop in the east-London neighbourhood of Dalston. Thanks to the momentum given to the plastic-free debate by BBC’s documentary Blue Planet, the Bulk Market soon became a reference for eco-savvy consumers.
For this reason, Ingrid launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to support the opening of a new, permanent shop in Hackney, which raised over £20,000. The Bulk Market has been making a name for itself and was noticed by the supermarket chain Morrisons, who contacted Ingrid to discuss her ideas on how to reduce waste.
She speaks humbly: “I know I’m not going to solve the problem of plastic pollution, but I want to send a message – we all can make a change.”
Check out more about the most trendy places in Hackney in Hackney Post Lifestyle section.
