Zero-waste markets are coming to the U.S. While very popular in Europe, this trend in grocery shopping isn't as well known in North America.
The Fillery, brainchild of Sarah Metz, is "a place where one fills empty containers with goods, such as grains, nuts, seeds, coffee, tea, spices, oils and the like," according to the shop's KickStarter page. Customers can bring their own reusable containers to the shop or purchase compostable ones to place their products in.
"We aim to improve the health of our community in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and the environment by offering alternatives to the plastic entombed, chemical laden options which are ubiquitous in both pantries and landfills worldwide," reads the KickStarter page.
Metz's motivation for The Fillery came after a self-realization, she wrote in her KickStarter bio:
After lots of experimenting with recipes from my extensive library of cookbooks (thanks, mom!), I've acquired a cabinet full of ingredients that will likely go bad before I finish them. A few days ago, I counted 10 types of flour in my cupboard. I see at least four problems with this: 1. food waste is a huge problem. 2. packaging waste is a huge problem 3. it is expensive, and 4. it takes up too much space in my tiny Brooklyn kitchen. Combine this with my frustration in trying to find conscientiously sourced, responsibly packaged, healthy groceries nearby, and you have my motivation for The Fillery.
"It's hard not to notice how much waste is generated here," Metz told the Huffington Post. "You walk past piles of trash that are higher than you are."
The Fillery won't just sell grocery items, Metz said. It will also be a community supported agriculture (CSA) pick up spot and a learning center. Customers will be able to take classes in how to hand-make common households necessities such as toothpaste.
Metz raised $17,075 with a goal of $15,000 on KickStarter. The campaign is closed now and she is looking for a storefront, according to the Huffington Post.
In Denver, Lyndsey Manderson, co-founder of the store Zero Market, is also concerned with the amount of plastic used and wasted today, said the Huffington Post. She's planning on installing a tracker to show her customers how much packaging they've kept out of landfills, and even the ocean, by shopping zero-waste.
Roughly 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in the world's oceans each year. Plastics are becoming an increasingly common cause of death and injury for marine animals. A 2015 study Valuing Plastic by the Plastic Disclosure Project and Trucost estimated plastic caused $13 billion in damages to marine ecosystems every year, EcoWatch reported.
Several entrepreneurs are dabbling in ways to clean plastics out of the oceans. One company,Plastic Whale, is fishing plastics out of the water. Boyan Slat and his Ocean Cleanup Foundation are testing a clean-up boom that would help remove plastics from the oceans.
Metz hopes to open her store sometime this year.
Eye-Catching Designs Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles
The company sells a range of eco-friendly items like leggings, rash guards, and board shorts that are made using recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. There are currently 16 causes represented by distinct marine-life patterns, from whale shark research and invasive lionfish removal to sockeye salmon monitoring and abalone restoration.
One such organization is Get Inspired, a nonprofit that specializes in ocean restoration and environmental education. Get Inspired founder, marine biologist Nancy Caruso, says supporting on-the-ground efforts is one thing that sets Waterlust apart, like their apparel line that supports Get Inspired abalone restoration programs.
"All of us [conservation partners] are doing something," Caruso said. "We're not putting up exhibits and talking about it — although that is important — we're in the field."
Waterlust not only helps its conservation partners financially so they can continue their important work. It also helps them get the word out about what they're doing, whether that's through social media spotlights, photo and video projects, or the informative note card that comes with each piece of apparel.
"They're doing their part for sure, pushing the information out across all of their channels, and I think that's what makes them so interesting," Caruso said.
And then there are the clothes, which speak for themselves.
Advocate Apparel to Start Conversations About Conservation
Waterlust's concept of "advocate apparel" encourages people to see getting dressed every day as an opportunity to not only express their individuality and style, but also to advance the conversation around marine science. By infusing science into clothing, people can visually represent species and ecosystems in need of advocacy — something that, more often than not, leads to a teaching moment.
"When people wear Waterlust gear, it's just a matter of time before somebody asks them about the bright, funky designs," said Waterlust's CEO, Patrick Rynne. "That moment is incredibly special, because it creates an intimate opportunity for the wearer to share what they've learned with another."
The idea for the company came to Rynne when he was a Ph.D. student in marine science.
"I was surrounded by incredible people that were discovering fascinating things but noticed that often their work wasn't reaching the general public in creative and engaging ways," he said. "That seemed like a missed opportunity with big implications."
Waterlust initially focused on conventional media, like film and photography, to promote ocean science, but the team quickly realized engagement on social media didn't translate to action or even knowledge sharing offscreen.
Rynne also saw the "in one ear, out the other" issue in the classroom — if students didn't repeatedly engage with the topics they learned, they'd quickly forget them.
"We decided that if we truly wanted to achieve our goal of bringing science into people's lives and have it stick, it would need to be through a process that is frequently repeated, fun, and functional," Rynne said. "That's when we thought about clothing."
Support Marine Research and Sustainability in Style
To date, Waterlust has sold tens of thousands of pieces of apparel in over 100 countries, and the interactions its products have sparked have had clear implications for furthering science communication.
For Caruso alone, it's led to opportunities to share her abalone restoration methods with communities far and wide.
"It moves my small little world of what I'm doing here in Orange County, California, across the entire globe," she said. "That's one of the beautiful things about our partnership."
Check out all of the different eco-conscious apparel options available from Waterlust to help promote ocean conservation.
Melissa Smith is an avid writer, scuba diver, backpacker, and all-around outdoor enthusiast. She graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in journalism and sustainable studies. Before joining EcoWatch, Melissa worked as the managing editor of Scuba Diving magazine and the communications manager of The Ocean Agency, a non-profit that's featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Coral.