Mum of two and self-proclaimed ‘waste-hater’, Beth Lambert, was inspired to set up her own reduced waste shop in Market Harborough after finding it difficult to incorporate sustainable shopping with a busy family life. Although she is clear to point out she is not entirely waste-free, Beth aims to help as many customers as possible take their first steps to a more eco-friendly lifestyle in a non-judgemental and friendly way.
I‘d known for some time that as a family there was much more we could, and should, be doing to reduce food and packaging waste, especially single-use plastics. Being on maternity leave with my second child gave me the headspace to really think about what we could do, and to implement some big changes – or so I thought! Fairly quickly, I realised it really wasn’t as simple as it seemed. I became extremely aware of everything I was putting into the bin and increasingly disheartened and frustrated when I realised that busy lives, supermarket shopping and reducing waste didn’t go hand in hand. I then came across the amazing work of places like the Zero Waste Shop (thezerowasteshop.co.uk) in Totnes and thought this was exactly what my family, and Market Harborough needed. A few months of serious research later, and I launched Refill Revolution as a pop-up shop. Five months after, we’d set up as permanent traders at the wonderful Harborough Indoor Market.