At a time when we all know how much damage superfluous packaging causes, somehow most producers still insist on it. Although huge steps have been made, rumors about the first packaging-free grocery store in town made me really excited. In addition to being packaging-free, organic, fair trade, and whenever possible locally-sourced, it is also a cooperative and socially-oriented business initiative.
The store opened back in February 2017 with vast press coverage, which included yours truly:
http://www.citysavvyluxembourg.com/discover-luxembourg/ouni-the-first-packaging-free-shop-in-luxembourg/ Since then, I have visited it a couple of times but somehow never got the chance to drag there my family as it is located quite out of our daily routes. However, on this snowy April!!! morning with no other obligations to fulfill. we finally embarked on a packaging-free journey. First, we collected our glass jars and cotton bags we had lying around the house, then opted for the bus instead of the car.
Upon entering, Jakob spotted the play area, where he pledged to stay for as long as possible, Meanwhile, Mia and I went on an adventure of discovery; first combing through the cleaning products and having a look at the wax wraps, wooden scrubbing brushes and different cleaning products, choosing in the end some lavender-smelling dish soap.
The food section was our next stop. Truth be told, we didn’t need anything much so we mostly went for treats and in the process bumped into free veggies! Not in top shape but still perfectly usable. The fact that a shop gives away items they know will most probably not sell instead of throwing them away, is an incredible act of kindness and good faith; highly appreciated!
Jakob joined us eventually, offering his help in ˝packaging˝ and weighing our selected goodies. We admired the colourful pasta and the children had fun uncovering the huge metal container guessing their content beforehand. What caught my attention, though, was what looked like an apothecary cabinet. Upon closer inspection, it turned out the tiny drawers contained herbs and spices to your heart’s delight.
It is an interesting experience seeing all the goods stored in big containers from which they are to be transferred into smaller ones you had brought with you. It seems a bit overwhelming at first, as any new shop whose layout you are not familiar with, but after a few minutes and a couple of deep breaths, everything gets under control again! Also, the choice of such a shopping style means a fair amount of preparation beforehand, which is not always feasible. However, we all thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the shop; the children got a lecture on the bad aspects of plastic and reusing items as many times as possible, in addition to some dried fruits, biscuit, and tea. I, on the other hand, hopefully contributed to a brighter future for them.
We ended our visit with some complimentary lemon-infused water and an Äddi, schéine weekend! before heading back into the snow with our basket full of exciting goodies.