Interview with Monica Coles (owner of Salt of the Earth, Broadstairs)

What’s your advice for someone who has never tried zero-waste shopping before?

Start with refill cleaning products, they’re a really easy swap to make. For example you can bring your own old washing up liquid bottle and refill it in store.

We research the companies we stock very carefully, like the UK based company ‘Fill Refill’. All their products are eco-friendly, non-toxic, do not contain dyes, and are water safe. They also have a range of beautiful glass bottles which can be purchased to refill in store.

How expensive is zero-waste compared to supermarkets?

Some products we stock are cheaper than the supermarkets like some of our herbs and spices. A large range of our products, about 60%, are price matched to the supermarkets but it can be difficult as supermarkets have large buying power; they can get reduced prices by buying in bulk which isn't available to small companies like us. For example, our laundry liquid and laundry softener are super concentrated and work out at the same price as the supermarkets, however it might not seem it at first glance - you get more for your money this way!

What is a new product to the zero-waste market that people might not know about?

Oat milk refill - our customers get very excited about this, they love it!

Thanet District Council stopped recycling Tetra Pak (the cartons alternative milk usually come in) so we decided to get an oat milk dispenser machine in store to reduce waste. In our experience Minor Figures deliver the best oat milk, they grow their oats in the UK and are a B corporation (see more detail in links below). They deliver their milk in a 10L box to us which we can then recycle, any other caps they collect when they next deliver to us so there is no waste. The milk is delivered with some of our other stock so we are even saving on our carbon footprint. Customers can bring their own bottle or buy a glass bottle in store to refill. When oat milk is not on offer the oat refill works out to be about 15p more expensive than the supermarkets, but we hope to match supermarket prices soon.

Another popular product people may not know about is the micellar water refill we have in store.

What is your favourite product at the moment?

The oat milk is my current favourite but my long term favourite is the masala chai tea blend from Debonair Tea Company- a company owned by a female master tea blender based in Hythe. The loose leaf tea is supplied to us in reusable tubs, the masala chai blend is perfect in the evening, boiled in a pan with oat milk- I have been to India and this tastes just like the popular blend the locals serve on the streets there!

Links:

Salt of the Earth, Broadstairs https://saltoftheearthbroadstairs.co.uk/

Products mentioned in this interview and supplied by Salt of the Earth, Broadstairs online or in store:

Fill Refill Company: https://www.fillrefill.co/

Minor Figures Oat Milk Refill: https://minorfigures.com/pages/oat-m-lk-refill-stations-where-to-find

Debonair Tea Company: https://www.debonairtea.co.uk/

Other useful links:

https://bcorporation.uk/

Interview and notes taken by Sherece Thompson (Marine Conservation Officer, Kent Wildlife Trust).