Winchester Green Week - Earthian Zero Waste Shop
Winchester Green Week
An interview with Katie Campling, founder of Earthian Zero Waste Shop on Parchment Street.
Earthian Zero Waste Shop is brand new to Parchment Street; the beautiful store opened at the end of September. Earthian Zero Waste Shop specialises in plastic-free, organic and low waste products, and you can bring your own containers to the store to stock up on food staples, such as grains, beans, pasta and cereals. Hannah went to the amazing new shop to talk to Katie Campling, founder and creator of Earthian.
HC: Tell me about you and your mission for Earthian.
KC: It started a couple of years ago. I started reading articles and watching documentaries about plastic pollution. It really shocked me how much there is that has not been dealt with. Piles of it in landfill, islands of it floating in the ocean. I was really saddened by it and wanted to do something. I’ve always been that way inclined anyway; when I was younger I had this dream that wanted to build an eco home, and I loved earthship homes. They’re space age type homes that are completely self-sufficient, they take in rain water and you grow your own food in greenhouses. They’re very cool. I guess it spoke to me, the idea that there is something I could actually do, which is how the shop started. I guess that’s why I also started changing my lifestyle at home. I try as much as possible to live low waste. I don’t know if I can say I’m zero waste yet, I think it takes a long time to get there and it’s a really gradual process, but I’m working in that direction. I’m hoping that the shop will help others make a start or further what they’re doing already, and just provide a one stop shop for those kinds of things.
HC: Absolutely. Are you from Winchester originally?
KC: I come from Chichester. I moved here with my husband. I love Winchester, it feels like a home from home. It’s become the place that I want to stay and settle.
HC: So, we’re standing in your shop right now, and it’s amazing. Can you talk me through the shop, and tell me about your products?
KC: One of my favourite areas is the herbs, spices and coffee. I’ve tried to get as much of a range as possible. The coffee is roasted in the New Forest by a lovely lady called Robyn. She uses a solar powered roaster, and she brings the beans to the shop in tubs that I then send back to her for refilling, so we have coffee on a completely closed-loop system, which is very ethically and sustainably sourced. For me, that ticks so many boxes. It’s a small local company and she’s just such a lovely lady to work with, she’s been really supportive.
I’m hoping to expand to working with more local businesses.. We have plenty of space in the shop for more products, so if there is anyone locally who works with sustainable eco things, I would be interested in hearing from them.
HC: How do you find Winchester to be in terms of supporting a sustainable space?
KC: I feel like customers in Winchester are very switched on, which makes it an amazing city to be opening something like this in. There are a couple of other businesses in town that are doing sustainable things; the support that I’ve had from them has been incredible. You always worry when you’re doing something like this how you’re going to be received. Is it going to be received as a worry or competition? But I’ve been really welcomed, and I can’t thank them enough for how much they’ve done. It feels like joining a community.
HC: I think you’re right, Winchester has a real market for things like this now, which is brilliant. Do you sell jars and packaging as well, or are you only encouraging people to bring in whatever packaging they have?
KC: I’m not fussy about what packaging people bring in! I’ve already seen some interesting things. A couple brought in some big sweet tubs they had picked up from The Sweet Treat that had been left outside for people to collect. That was really cool to see. I am also going to be getting some jars in for people if it’s their first shop.
HC: Tell me a little bit about this section over here!
KC: I’m really proud to have the liquids here [washing up liquid, conditioners, body wash]. They are two companies that are on a completely closed loop system, so I send the tubs back for sanitising for refilling. They’re also vegan and cruelty free. They’re companies that are passionate about sustainability and the ingredients they use. There is nothing in their background that you need to worry about - you might think ‘okay so I’m swapping my multiples of 500ml for one bigger tub but it’s still plastic’ - but actually that goes back and gets refilled.
HC: And what are these amazing colourful fabrics over here?
KC: These lovely colourful bits and pieces are all handmade by a lady in Eastleigh. We have cloth sanitary pads that are washable, reusable and mostly made of cotton, some organic cotton. We have breast pads for nursing, and we have a range of different sizes of packs of five wipes, which can be for beauty or for home. I’ve had a couple of people asking about sanitary pads; honestly, I am not shy about talking about these so if anyone has any questions come and talk to me because I’m very open to discussing it!
HC: To be able to come into the shop with questions like ‘does this work’, or ‘have you used this’, and for you to be able to answer from personal experience with all of the items you stock is really valuable and useful.
KC: Even with things I don’t use - for example, the beard oils and the hair wax - I have tested them on friends and my husband to make sure that they’re good and they work. I think that it’s important that I know that it works and that it’s going to last. There are a lot of companies that are coming up on the back of this new exciting change, but they don’t care about it as much as they should, so I’ve tried as much as possible to avoid them and only go with people that I have met or at least can talk to on the phone. We’re a small shop and we’re trying to do something really positive, so I can’t just get anything in.
HC: Everything seems to be exceptionally good value, I guess because you’re not paying for packaging and plastic.
KC: I’ve really thought about the price of everything. I really want this to be affordable. A lot of people have the impression of sustainable or zero waste products as having to be expensive, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. It’s really nice that it gives that impression that it can be affordable as well. Perhaps if you’re living on your own, you don’t need a huge tub of fabric conditioner, but the big ones you get from the supermarket are often the cheapest. So if you come in and you’ve got a little bottle and that’s all you need, you can get it cheaper. I’ve tried the best I can to make it accessible as well as sustainable.
HC: What has been the biggest learning curve in this endeavour?
KC: There has been a lot to learn; this is my first business so a lot has been behind the scenes, learning how a retail business works, how to set it up, business rates - all of that sort of stuff! Because I’ve been trying to live sustainably at home for a couple of years, the products in a way were kind of the easy part! I’m starting with a lot of stuff I have already.
HC: You know what works. What a brilliant business to add to the Winchester community. And the store looks so aesthetically pleasing! It’s really lovely to just be in the shop. The colours are so beautiful. Do you find that you enjoy working because it’s so calm and soothing?
KC: Yes, I love that. Building the shop, I worked with a friend of mine - Dan Bee - who is a local Winchester graphic designer. He has a fantastic eye for this sort of thing, and he completely shaped the brand. The idea of being sustainable comes from me
and what I’m passionate about, but if I was left to my own devices I don’t know if it would look like this! This is his eye for detail and colours, and the mirroring of the green with the plants. All of that comes from him, and I’m really grateful to him for everything he’s done.
HC: I think that for someone who might not be familiar with a zero waste shop, it’s lovely that you can come in here and it’s not overwhelming or confusing. Have you had anything come in and ask lots of questions about sustainable living and choices?
KC: I’ve had a few people. It tends to be if they’ve walked past the window and it’s not a concept they’ve heard of before but it’s interesting and a bit different so they’ve come in. I love that because I get the chance to talk about how it works, and why it’s important.
HC: What do you say when someone asks why this is important?
KC: We’ve started to forget we are part of nature. The effect we are having is eventually going to start affecting us. It’s not just going to go away. I don’t think that anyone has to do everything, but each of us lessening our impact a little bit, collectively that can make a huge difference. So if someone only comes in for toothbrushes and washing up brushes, but they’re not so interested in anything else, that’s absolutely fine. I’m not expecting everyone that walks through the door to be completely sustainable or zero waste, or even know anything about it. To just change one thing makes a huge difference.