Bring-your-own container shop in Halifax sees overwhelmingly positive response
The Tare Shop was founded in 2018 as a package-free coffee shop and bulk store.
Imagine a store where you could bring in any container you want as long as it's clean, and fill it up with whatever you need, pay for it, and leave.
Sustainable stores that offer bring-your-own containers are becoming increasingly common as businesses strive to lower pollution. The Tare Shop, Halifax’s first package-free shop, opened in Halifax in October 2018 and has seen an overwhelmingly positive response from the community. It's been so successful that owner Kate Pepler just opened her second location in Dartmouth, during a pandemic.
"It's been a huge success so far, " says Pepler. "The public response has been incredible and we see new customers every day. All folks who are hoping to reduce their plastic or are tired of throwing out laundry containers come in with their old ones and just refill those."
The Tare Shop strives to keep all of it's prices affordable and accessible, as well as putting a big focus on community engagement with many products made locally.
"All of our laundry and dish soap is made locally by downeast. We have local tofu in bulk, local maple syrup and honey, and we're working on getting some local cheeses as well," says Pepler. She’s done her research and says that reusables are safe as long as they are consistently well cleaned.
"Using reusable is safe as long as you're cleaning them regularly which you should be doing anyways. So folks throughout the pandemic have been really grateful to continue to be able to buy items package-free, especially where in a lot of areas we've all increased our waste, so it's been really great to still be able to provide folks with low waste options," says Pepler.
Watch the video above for a look at this sustainable, package-free shop in Halifax.
