Earthical, a new eco-refill food and home store in Northfields, who are hoping to make environmental living easier for people in Ealing. 

Earthical opened on 29th October 2021 and sell a myriad of normal day-to-day items from pasta to shampoo, but with one key difference, there is no packaging involved. 

Instead, shoppers bring their own containers and you fill them up each time, helping to cut down on single use packaging and also food waste as you buy what you need. 

Owners Michael Moody and Chloe Jeatt said: "We first visited a refill shop a few years ago and absolutely loved the experience, it was eye-opening to see so many products on offer with such little packaging and it's stayed front of mind ever since. 

"Any time we've wanted to shop this way, we've had to travel quite far away and we always thought a refill shop could do so well in Northfields. 

"I grew up in Northfields and have seen the high-street change a lot in that time but the community feel has always stayed the same. 

"It's such a family-friendly area and the collection of small businesses and supportive neighbourhood groups just make it the perfect place for us to start. 

"We've had such great feedback since opening the shop, a lot of curious shoppers giving it a go for the first time and an overwhelming number of shoppers who have previously travelled much further to shop in refill shops now very thankful there's one closer to home. 

"We want it to be a real community staple so if we're not stocking what you're looking for, let us know and we'll do our best to source it." 

Earthical is for all intents and purposes a normal food shop, but they are looking to help people make choices that help the planet without any inconvenience. 

Moody and Jeatt said: "At the moment, the impact that we're having on our planet is really overwhelming and it can be hard to know where to start when you want to make a difference. 

"If we can encourage people to live in a more sustainable way, we're all going to benefit from it. 

"We want to make eco-living as easy and accessible as possible for our local community and it only takes a few small changes each to start making a big difference. 

"There are a number of environmental benefits to shopping in a refill shop – from reducing your plastic intake, to buying more eco-friendly products such as biodegradable kitchen sponges or plastic-free chewing gum, it all adds up. 

"And it's not just packaging waste that we're helping to cut down on, it's food waste too. When you shop with us, there's no minimum quantities – you can buy as much or as little as you'd like. 

"You won't have to buy as much as you might from the big supermarkets, meaning that a half-used packet of lentils doesn't sit in your cupboard until it goes out of date. If you only needed 100g, you could buy just that much. 

"We not only want to encourage others to adopt more eco-friendly habits but we're committed to running our business as eco-friendly as possible – so far it's been more work, takes much more time and research and has been more expensive, but we have to believe it's worth that extra effort. 

"And, the more effort we put into that now, the easier it will become and the bigger the impact on not only our community but the planet. 

"There are not really hard and fast criteria for what 'eco-friendly' means, but for us, it means sourcing products as locally as possible with as little waste as possible. 

"From the packaging we buy our bulk foods in to the effects of our products on the earth in a hundred years' time – we want to leave as little behind as possible. 

"For example, we stock a small range of fresh produce but are making sure that it's seasonal, British produce. 

"This way we can make sure it's not flown in from the other side of the world and will encourage us to get more in tune with the amazing things we produce right here on our doorstep."