New zero waste shop has opened its doors in Brighouse

By The Gram is located at Kershaw’s Garden Centre and the idea is that customers take along their own containers to fill up with the amount of product they need.

It all started last summer when Sarah Holmes from Brighouse tried to find a way of reducing plastic usage in her family.

Read: 37 photos that will take you back to a night out in Halifax in early 2000sShe said: "It was difficult to be plastic free as a family of seven.

"It was expensive to go to health food shops to get the amount I needed and it was in my mind that something needed to be done."

After a friend told her about a business course in Huddersfield, Sarah decided to sign up.

At the end of the course she set about creating a business to sell products which people could fill up in their own containers, instead of buying it in new packaging.

"I started working on a pop-up business in October and then started to sell in January," said Sarah. "But realised I needed more stock and to expand as I did not have the room in the van.

"This place came up at the right time."

By The Gram sells a variety of produce including dried food such as pasta, rice and pulses, flour, herbs, oils, dried fruit, tea, coffee, household products including brushes, washing up liquid as well as shampoo, conditioner, washing up liquid, dental products, eco coffee cups and straws.

Read: Relive the Tour de Yorkshire in Halifax with these 25 fantastic photosThe idea is that customers take along their own containers to fill up with what they need.

Explaining the concept, Sarah said: “People bring their container - it can be tupperware or an old ice cream tub.

“They then weigh the container and write on the top how much it weighs.

“Customers will then fill up the container with the produce they want and will only pay for the weight they need.

“Everything will be priced per 100g and 100ml.

“I use ice cream tubs and the whole point is not discarding and reusing things until it’s broken.

"It's not about being perfect it's about everybody trying a little bit."

For more information on the zero waste shop, visit the By The Gram page on Facebook.

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