Budgens retailer and sustainability champion Andrew Thornton has started selling milk, orange juice and peanut butter on tap in a bid to further reduce plastic pollution.
Shoppers visiting his award-winning store can now buy reusable glass jars to fill with the everyday essentials.
The move comes as Thornton’s Budgens launches its new plastic-free Unpackaged range of 200 products in collaboration with environmental campaign group A Plastic Planet.
Items on sale include loose pulses, beans, grains and seeds, alongside an extended range of vegan and gluten-free foods packed in plastic-free materials.
Ethical Fairtrade coffee served in plastic-free cups is also on offer, as are plastic-free personal care products including loose soaps, shampoos and shower gels.
Last year Thornton’s Budgens worked with A Plastic Planet to introduce plastic-free zones, which saw some 1,800 products traditionally packaged in plastic replaced with alternatives including beechwood netting and coconut bowls.
This March the business reported a 4% weekly sales increase on the back of the introduction of the zones.
Andrew Thornton said: “This is just the beginning. There is no end to our plastic-free ambition. I passionately believe the future of supermarket shopping in the 2020s will be without the toxic material that has done such damage to our planet and ourselves.”
In a bid to make a further positive impact on the lives of its customers, Thornton’s Budgens recently launched a pop-up instore switching service in partnership with vaping brand JUUL to offer adult smokers an alternative to tobacco.
Picture credit: Isabel Infantes
