Sustainable Shopping

Hey everyone!

This is Camille here, and I have recently started college at Loyola University Chicago! Chicago has made lots of efforts towards becoming a more sustainable city, and I have really enjoyed seeing all the new ways to become eco-friendly. Earlier this week I visited Eco and the Flamingo, Chicago’s first zero-waste general store!

According to their website, they “prioritize the reduction of packaging waste by offering bulk refillable products”. I was out of conditioner, so I brought my bottle to the store. The refill process was surprisingly simple, first I weighed my bottle, scanned a tag, and tied that around the bottle. After stocking up on conditioner, the cashier just had to scan the tag at checkout. I enjoyed seeing all of the sustainable products they had, such as cleaning supplies, housewares, toiletries, cosmetics, and dry goods.

Eco and the Flamingo aims to ensure the refilling process is as simple as possible, so they even have a system in which you can drop off your containers in advance and pick up the filled ones later.

I really enjoyed seeing how small businesses are doing their part in the greater environmental movement, and I hope more stores will begin offering this style of shopping in the future!