Travelling for more than 40 minutes to stock up on groceries was a weekly routine for Kavya Singhal when she was pursuing a Bachelors degree in Ecology, Conservation and Environment at Sussex University, UK. Persistent in her pursuit of a no-waste lifestyle—she had been practising it for more than four years before moving to London—Singhal would make it a point to shop only from zero-waste stores irrespective of the time she spent on travel.
Inspired by such stores that help combat food waste and influence people to adopt sustainable living, Singhal decided to replicate a similar store format when she moved to Delhi in 2020. After toying with the idea for about two years, she launched Eco Friend, a zero-waste store based in Noida, in April 2021. “Every day we use so much single-use plastic. The idea behind this store was to make it convenient for people to get rid of plastic in everyday life. At the store we provide people with eco-friendly alternatives to groceries, stationery, toiletries, etc.,” shares Singhal.
Promoting zero-waste living
The concept of zero-waste store is not particularly new in India. Remember the time when your grandparents would visit the local kirana store with jute bags and containers in hand, ready to stock up on essentials for the month? The modern zero-waste store is almost identical to a kirana store.
When you walk into Eco Friend, you will notice daily-use items stored in reusable glass containers, which are neatly stacked on wooden shelves. Singhal ensures that the essentials, which include groceries, toiletries, stationery items among others, are packaged using biodegradable materials such as paper, glass bottles, and cardboard containers to pack and deliver their products. Customers are encouraged to bring their own bags.
A highlight of this store is that it aims to cut the use of plastic right from the source. The groceries sold at Eco Friend are organically produced—stationery items such as pens and pencils are made with recycled paper, toiletries are created from bamboo, household cleaning products do not contain harmful chemicals, and scrunchies and bags available are crafted from fabric scraps. This store thus enables consumers to take a step forward towards an organic way of living.
Driving long-term change
Despite making sustainable products easily available through the store, Singhal admits that buyers are still reluctant to make a switch. “People are very new to this idea, and are very resistant to making the switch to eco-friendly items. They are still new to understanding how their actions can make a difference. I’d say the response has been okay towards the physical store but it has been great online [through their website],” she shares.
Singhal, who uses exhibitions as a platform to connect the eco-friendly consumer with their store’s model, mentions that it is also where they get a lot of traction. “The people visiting exhibitions are of the mindset that they want something sustainable. This is yet to happen at local markets,” she concludes.