How This Twin Cities Store is Paving the Way in Reducing Waste
A zero-waste store in the Twin Cities is repackaging the way we buy food.
Amber Haukedahl and Kate Marnach opened Tare Market on Earth Day in 2019. Inspired by shops in Europe and Canada, its mission is to help people reduce food and packaging waste. Shoppers arrive at the Minneapolis biz with their own vessels (Mason jars, muslin bags, reusable containers like yogurt tubs), weigh them, then fill them up with bulk staples like flour, pasta, spices, olive oil, honey, dish soap, dog biscuits, even makeup. Tare also loans containers to customers and sells planet-friendly gear, such as natural sponges and washable produce bags.
“We kept waiting for someone else to open this store that we wanted to be available. So we said, ‘Why not us?’” Marnach explains. “We make it easy for customers to do good for the Earth and their bodies.” thetaremarket.com
Reduce your impact
Clean green
In place of paper towels and wipes, cut up old T-shirts or towels to use for household cleaning, and fill a spray bottle with a DIY cleaner (recipes abound online).
Stash silverware
Keep a handful of thrift-store utensils at work, so you can skip the single- use plastics when you take out lunch or forget to pack a spoon for your yogurt.
BYOPB
Bring your own produce bags, that is. Specially designed light, drawstring mesh bags won’t add to your weight, and checkers can see produce numbers through them.