Shops promoting sustainability and ‘zero waste’ shopping have appeared with increasing regularity in Dublin in recent years – many of which we have covered on Dublin Live, including The Source in Rathmines, Reuzi in Foxrock and s.l.o.w s.t.r.e.e.t in Blackrock.
Now a mother-and-daughter team in Bray have got in on the act with Planet A, bringing the environmental message to their home town.
“We were both talking loads about how we'd love if there was a zero-waste shop in Bray,” says Nicola Horner, who opened Planet A in Castle Street Shopping Centre with her mother Barbara last September. “Eventually we were like, why don't we open one?”
The shop sells a range of food and household products, as well as toiletries, stationery and items for children and babies. Throughout their product range, the aim is to supply “the most environmentally friendly version of things”, as Nicola puts it. That means using local suppliers where possible, as well as stocking organic and sustainable produce.
“For us, [zero waste is] not so much about having no waste at all, but trying to reduce it as much as possible,” Nicola adds.
To that end, most of their food items and cleaning products are sold by weight or volume – staples like rice and pasta are big sellers, as well as tea and coffee, herbs and spices, detergents and so on.
You just bring your own container or borrow one of theirs and buy as much or as little as you need, which eliminates unnecessary packaging and minimises waste.
“People think of it as possibly being more expensive, but when you only have to buy exactly what you need, it actually does work out,” says Nicola. “You don't end up throwing as much stuff in the bin and you don't forget about stuff in your cupboards as much.
“We've noticed that there's definitely a pipeline that starts with snacks,” she adds. “People come in and they buy things like honey chilli cashews that are probably still the most popular thing.
“Then the next time maybe they come back for rice, and it goes from there.”
Nicola doesn't believe that it should just be down to individuals to make the changes we need to see in the world. But she views her business and others like it as an important component in showing big retailers and governments that the public is ready for change. After all, there is no Planet B.
“The climate anxiety is definitely real, but feeling like you're doing something is very helpful, she says. “We don't want people to feel like they have to do this in order to help the planet, or that they're terrible people or anything.
“But when enough people do it, it forces the hand of bigger businesses and government, because they see that this is what people want.”
The shop is still in its infancy, and Nicola says that the biggest challenge so far has been to build Planet A’s customer base – the stop-start nature of trading in a pandemic not having helped, of course.
But things are on track and she is able to look to the future with some positivity, and with her eye on giving Planet A the platform to really make its mark in Bray and – potentially – beyond.
“It would be great to have another shop or two, because I think the future for shopping should be that it's all very local,” she says. “It'd be great to have more shops around the place, so that everyone has one close to their house.”
