HELPING TO CLEAN UP OUR COAST AND COUNTRYSIDE
I'm back! But actually, I never went away and have quietly been continuing my beach cleans and litter picks in various areas. Unfortunately, I was dealing with mental health issues but I found my beach cleans were the best distraction and were the main thing that got me out of bed early each day. In the autumn as the days got shorter, I had to think about what else I could do to help myself. It was on a morning beach clean when I was finding lots of everyday plastic along the shore that I came up with the answer. There wasn't a shop in Minehead dedicated to everyday plastic free shopping. My daily beach walks were my best times to think about how I would set-up my business to make it different to other shops. I didn't just want to be a plastic-free shop, I wanted to create awareness of how waste has affected our environment using sustainable and recycled items as shop fittings. Once I found suitable premises in the town, I drew up my business plan and searched for suppliers which cared passionately about the environment and didn't just want to make money but also give something back to the planet. Once I had signed the lease and had a date to move in, I started designing the layout of my shop. I looked up the best eco-friendly paint companies and chose Little Greene who had a stockist in Minehead (The Colour Centre). For the flooring, initially I hoped to use carpet manufactured using plastic bottles or fishing nets but the order would take a few weeks to order which I was disappointing as I didn't have that long. I was recommended Seagrass flooring but as I was about to order it, I spotted an article about how it was becoming a threat to marine life. Eventually, I opted for Sisal which looks natural and is sustainable. For the underlay, I used a product using recycled vehicle tyres. For displaying the stock, I have used 60+ used wooden fruit crates which I have fixed together to keep them stable. I have also used some upcycled wood and scaffold boards which a friend no longer needed. Along with some used hessian coffee bean sacks and some fishing net, rope etc., that I have collected from the beach, I had everything to fit out the shop ready for the stock My shop sells a wide selection of everyday household goods, toiletries and gift ideas which include bags made from coffee sacks and bicycle inner tubes, jewellery made using recycled bicycle chain, skateboards and electrical wire plus litter pickers and sunglasses made by WATERHAUL made from 100% recycled fishing nets. Even my business cards are printed using natural inks on wild seeded card. The shop opened on 11th February and people are quite excited about it and I get wonderful comments about the stock and how the shop looks. Please call in for a browse and say hello if you're in Minehead. In the meantime, I'll still be out doing my beach cleans and countryside litter picks.
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AuthorBorn in West Somerset, I have always been proud of where I live and want everyone else to enjoy it too! Archives
September 2022
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