Eco-friendly store Refillosophy launches in Aberdeen

An environmentally friendly “reuse and refill” shop in Aberdeen is to open its doors for the first time today.

Gina Adie has launched the store in Aberdeen’s Albyn Grove. Picture: Rory Raitt.

Refillosophy is based in the premises of a former dairy dispensary and greengrocer on the city’s Albyn Grove, and the 1,000 square foot zero-waste store is billed as the biggest of its kind in the city. There will be suitable hygiene and distancing measures in place.

Owner Gina Adie is hoping to foster a community spirit with fresh local produce, products, billboards promoting local events and decorations “celebrating the North-East’s natural beauty”.

The former nurse said: “I’m excited to be opening a store that offers plastics-free shopping and also eliminate the use of other types of environmentally unfriendly packaging. For many years I’ve been trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle and do my best to change my habits to cut down on waste.

Gina Adie (right) with daughter Rhiannon outside the eco-friendly store. Picture: Rory Raitt.

“We all live busy lives, but making conscious choices when it comes to the cleaning products that we use, or the amount of waste created from grocery packaging can make a huge difference.

“The idea for Refillosophy has grown from there. It’s all about making it easier for busy people to reuse and refill, rather than simply recycling. I also think that the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted a need to shop local and I hope to make it easy for people to make healthy choices when they drop by and pick up food on their way home from work."

She also pointed out that in Scotland, consumers buy more than 300,000 tonnes of single-use packaging for their groceries every year.

The shop logo, which shows the globe sitting inside a mason jar, was drawn by Gina’s teenage daughter Rhiannon. Gina has also been supported by her husband Gordon, MD of networks and communications company Arrowdawn, and their son Ewan.

The aprons worn by staff are made from old pairs of jeans. Old scaffolding boards have been repurposed as shelves stocking items including eggs from Katie’s Eggs in Torphins, dairy from Invercamey Dairy in Turriff, and household items from Taylor Made Refills in Kintore.

SCOTSMAN.COM

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director