New research has revealed Brits buy over 19 billion single-use plastic packets of groceries every year, with our pasta passion alone accounting for almost 2 billion.
A shocking 54,000 tonnes of plastic end up in landfill every year – more than enough to cover the land area of Mongolia2 solely with the packaging of our dried pantry essentials. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
If we all simply swapped out one packet a year for a refillable alternative, we could cut an incredible 49 million packets from the system. So sustainable online grocer, Abel & Cole is calling for the nation to rise up and make 2023 the ‘Year of the Refill’ and slash their penchant for single-use plastics once and for all.
In partnership with professional declutterer, Dilly Carter, and to get the nation to make 2023 the year they embrace conscientious consumerism, Abel & Cole has launched the inaugural ‘Britain’s Best Pantries’ competition – celebrating their expanded refillable delivery service, Club Zero, and inspiring people to stock their kitchens sustainably.
Pantries have recently soared in popularity with celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Rochelle Humes inspiring followers with their beautifully organised kitchen spaces. What’s more, half (50%) of the nation already have one in their home, showing how Brits are already enjoying embracing the benefits of the pantry life. Underlining the ‘power of the pantry’, seven in ten (68%) say their dream home would feature a pantry and 57% would be more likely to buy or rent a new home if it had one.
Beyond reducing plastic, other pantry positives include making it easier to make the most of storage space (63%), helping to save money (as a well-planned pantry helps make it easy to see what to restock) (37%), reducing food waste (29%) and encouraging more creativity in the kitchen (28%).
With pantries clearly having such wide appeal, Dilly is sharing her top tips and advice to help launch the search for Britain’s Best Pantries, to show that anyone can create a perfect sustainable pantry in their home working with any space or budget. The tips outline how different types of spaces in your kitchen can be re-purposed, how to order and organise your groceries for maximum efficiency, and how to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
Discussing the campaign, Dilly commented: “My pantry is probably one of my favourite parts of my home and it’s lovely to see from the research that so many others share my pantry passion! Plastic pollution is such a huge issue, so I repurpose old jars and containers into a ‘refill station’ which helps me to clearly see what I’ve got left over. This means I don’t over-buy – saving both money and plastic – and also encourages me to cook from scratch which means I eat more healthily.
“Regardless of budget, there’s no reason why you can’t have a pantry in your home. I’ve created some easy-to-follow tips to show people how they can transform any space into a lovely larder and embrace the refill revolution!
“Big or small, minimalist or eclectic, colour-coordinated or an upcycled treasure-trove – I can’t wait to see all the wonderful entries.”
Despite the rising popularity of pantries, and although eight in ten (86%) agree that refillable services can be a great way to reduce plastic waste, six in ten (59%) don’t currently use one. Seven in ten (69%) don’t know of any retailers that offer refillables and four in ten (44%) admit they store everything in its original packet at home making it difficult to know what to buy until it’s run out, risking either wasteful over buying or the cupboard running empty.
Hugo Lynch, sustainability project manager at Abel & Cole, said: “The research demonstrates the sheer scale of our problem with single-use plastic, and it has such a detrimental impact on the planet. But by switching out just one packet purchase a year for a refillable option, we can make a huge difference.
“Our expanded refillable Club Zero service aims to make shopping for refills as easy as possible. With a growing range to choose from, your sustainable essentials can be dropped straight to your door, in zero waste, returnable and refillable packaging.
“By launching the ‘Britain’s Best Pantries’ competition, we want to celebrate the people who are embracing pantries and refillable living to help reduce their single-use plastic waste. We also hope that we can inspire more people to shop sustainably and help tackle the single-use packaging pollution problem – one refill at a time.”
The ‘Britain’s Best Pantries’ competition is now open for entries! Open to all pantry lovers, no matter how big or small, the competition has three categories to enter – best eco-friendly pantry, best budget pantry and best small space pantry. Each winner will receive £750 of cash and £250 of Club Zero refill vouchers as their prize.
The nationwide search will be open from the 19th January – 19th February and will be judged by founder of Declutter Dollies, professional organiser and TV host Dilly Carter, Hugo Lynch from Abel & Cole and a specialist home & interiors influencer.
To enter, simply send us two photos showcasing your brilliant pantry and a short explanation of why you should win the category entered. Email entries to bestpantry@abelandcole.co.uk along with your name and contact details by 23:59 on 19th February 2023.
Full competition information and T&Cs can be found at: www.abelandcole.co.uk/bestpantry
