Zero-waste, packaging-free Hong Kong food store takes on supermarkets with eco-friendly goods
Live Zero in Sai Ying Pun is encouraging shoppers to change their consumption habits. Founder Tamsin Thornburrow talks about the challenges in ditching packaging and why she is optimistic about winning over Hongkongers
Avoiding wastage is not easy in Hong Kong, where you will be handed a milk tea in a takeaway cup inside a plastic bag containing a stirrer, napkin and sugar packet before you can fumble through your bag for your reusable canteen. Almost immediately discarded, these items add to the more than 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste dumped in Hong Kong’s landfills every day.
Frequent photos of litter-strewn beaches are a grim reminder of the city’s impulsive, throwaway tendencies. But they are also a call to arms for local consumers and business owners who want to turn the tide on waste, with single-use plastic – such as straws, coffee cups and umbrella sleeves – high on the agenda.
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Shop owner Tamsin Thornburrow is among a growing number of Hong Kong activists and entrepreneurs meeting the plastic problem head on, aiming to change people’s consumption habits by making eco-living both achievable and desirable. A 25-year-old interior designer and founder of Thorn and Burrow, a homeware shop in Sai Ying Pun, she is now venturing into packaging-free retailing with her new business, Live Zero.
The small grocery shop, located around the corner from Thorn and Burrow on High Street, sells essential foodstuffs, including flour, spices, grains, sugar, oil, baking powder, coffee and tea, as well as toiletries and utensils. Products such as flour and quinoa are kept in large self-serve bins, minimising packaging and encouraging customers to use their own containers.
With just under a week to go before Live Zero’s “soft opening” last Thursday, Thornburrow was busy putting the finishing touches to the space. Its pastel-painted, upcycled wooden dressers, shelves of colourful, eco-friendly household items, and large plastic bins that will contain dried foodstuffs, were primed to welcome customers with its attractive spin on bulk-buying.