It all started with blogging
In December last year (2017) I decided to retire from Transport for London. I loved my work as Chief Planning & Reporting Accountant but after 24 years at TfL I decided it was the right time to make a change.
I retired with no firm plans of what I wanted to do next apart from spending more time with our grandsons and travelling more with Mr J.
I did know that I didn’t want another 9 to 5 job, but I still needed to be kept busy, so I decided to start blogging. When I started blogging it was mainly blogs about family and travel. But then I started writing a few blogs about the problems with plastic pollution and the small changes we could all make towards helping to solve it.
And, that’s when Rachelle Strauss asked if I would like to be an Ambassador Blogger for this year’s Zero Waste Week. Rachelle had read a couple of my Blogs and was looking for more Ambassadors to support the campaign. I didn’t hesitate, and happily took on the role as an Ambassador for Zero Waste Week 2018.
Who is Rachelle Strauss and What is Zero Waste Week
Rachelle Strauss launched the first ‘Zero Waste Week’ campaign in September 2008. She and the campaign now has several million followers in seventy-three countries. This year Rachelle was awarded a ‘Points of Light’ award by the Prime Minister Theresa May in recognition of this long standing and successful campaign.
Zero Waste Week is a grassroots campaign raising awareness of the environmental impact of waste and empowering participants to reduce waste. This is largely through an online campaign via the Zero waste Week website, e-newsletters and social media.
Whilst Zero Waste Week formally runs for one week in September, regular newsletters and fresh blog content is sent out throughout the year. The friendly online community share practical experiences and suggestions about waste avoidance via social media to keep the discussion and learning process going. You can join the active Facebook Group called Zero Waste Heroes
But Why Did I Decide To Set Up My Own Online Zero Waste Shop?
So, I still haven’t answered the question of why I decided to set up my own Online Zero Waste Shop.
Well, as part of my Ambassador role for Zero Waste Week I decided to run a pop-up shop at our village Fete which happened to coincide with Zero Waste Week.
Whilst I was sourcing products to stock the pop-up shop with, I came across so many passionate people making wonderful handmade products in the UK that I never knew existed.
There are so many small Businesses and Individuals out there making great products that can help us to reduce our reliance on single use plastics and disposables. And, I wanted to be able to showcase them all.
The pop up Zero Waste Shop went really well at the village Fete and I loved talking to the customers about the products and where they were made. Around 80% of my stock was handmade in the UK.
So, that’s why I decided to set up my Online Zero Waste Shop. I fell in love with all the products and wanted to be able to share them and help to make them available to more people who are trying to do their bit to change and reduce unnecessary waste.
I can’t stock everything I fall in love with but I’m having great fun sourcing new products and meeting new people.
Not everything in the shop will be plastic free or handmade in the UK but every item will be a step towards helping us reduce unnecessary waste.
I also decided to keep my shop name the same as my Blog name which is Thoroughly Modern Grandma (TMG). Because for me the Zero Waste ethos is very much about combining the things my Nan taught me to do like not waste food and use up leftovers from Sunday to make bubble and squeak on a Monday. To use natural products to clean with such as vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and to mend things when they get broken.
But I wouldn’t be without the wonders of modern technology so for me it’s all about being a more conscious consumer and just taking a step back and being a bit more thoughtful in our day to day choices.
I hope you’ll pop over and take a look at TMG Zero Waste Shop . And, let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to try and source that you haven’t been able to find elsewhere. I love a challenge.
