If you’re an individual, family, or business looking to shop ethically and save money, you should check out this Wirral hidden gem. Vintage Weighs Refill Shop is an independently owned ‘zero waste emporium’ on Seabank Road in New Brighton, nestled amongst other independent businesses.
Selling over 300 ethical everyday products, Vintage Weighs enables their customers to support independent, organic, and plastic-free businesses while helping protect our planet and saving some money in the process!
Miranda Merino founded Vintage Weighs in January 2020, and it offers everything from fresh organic foods to pantry essentials, plant-based cleaning supplies, personal care items, and freshly baked goods. All produce is ethically sourced and plastic-free, and there is a re-fillable option for a lot of the products, reducing the need for plastic and encouraging a more sustainable way of shopping.
The shop has enabled its customers to save approximately 3,000 plastic bottles through their refill system over the past three years, which equates to a huge CO2 saving of 71,000kg. Miranda’s main mission is to encourage as many people as possible to shop more consciously with the planet in mind.
Vintage Weighs’ regular customers come in for everyday items like rice, lentils, cereal, pasta, dates, seeds and nuts, herbs and spices, tinned goods, washing-up liquid, laundry liquids, and shampoo.
Vegan brownies, sourdough bread, organic lemons, fresh ginger, garlic, turmeric, onions, organic free-range eggs, and fresh organic fruit, vegetable, and salad boxes (delivered every Wednesday) are among the locally baked goods available.
Miranda’s shop is meticulously curated, and each item is only added to the stock list if it meets ethical standards. This means you can shop at Vintage Weighs with confidence, knowing that you are being the change you want to see while keeping the magic of independent trade alive and well.
Miranda began researching her environmental and ethical choices consciously nearly 30 years ago, when she began to question what was in her family’s everyday products. She then began her lifelong journey towards becoming a fully conscious consumer.
Having been made redundant in January 2020, Miranda decided to piece all her knowledge together and offer her local community an alternative to the mass-produced, plastic-wrapped, and often toxic everyday products we find on our supermarket shelves.
She gave New Brighton a chance to choose to shop consciously, ethically, and plastic-free. In a world of overwhelming information and confusion, “being a part of the solution instead of the problem is a very good place to start,” she said.
The shop, located near the beach on Seabank Road, is beautifully decorated with displays, plants, and fairy lights, with all shelving and furniture made from reclaimed materials and pre-loved items.
The local customers are not only choosing local, ethical, and independent; they’re also offered an authentic and friendly shopping experience, avoiding the chaos of the supermarkets.
Miranda said:
“When you look at all the many benefits of shopping at places like Vintage Weighs, it really is a no-brainer. As humans we’re creatures of habit and are conditioned to consume far more than is necessary, and much like the food we eat and the array of products we use, it’s about being conscious and actively making decisions before we blindly purchase.
She continued:
“The more people who shop at Vintage Weighs, the bigger impact we have. Collectively we can make a huge difference, for our environment and this beautiful planet.”
Regular customers bring their own containers, jars, or bottles to refill, and some have material bags for the rice or pasta that they transfer when they get home. The shop does have paper bags and bottle jars if needed, and a receptacle can always be found.
Miranda is currently working with several other independent businesses in New Brighton, supplying them with refills for their cleaning products, all plant-based, and reducing massive amounts of plastic bottles and chemicals going down the drain.
Vintage Weighs stocks over 300 products, from food to everyday consumables, all of which are plant based. Shopping at Vintage Weighs means no chemicals, no preservatives, no waste, and no cruelty — just great products and organic, hugely tasty, delicious, and nutritious food. “Less is more with organics and plant-based liquids.”
Vintage Weighs is located at 207 Seabank Road, New Brighton, Wirral, CH45 1HD, where you can pop in, or if you are a business and want a free waste audit, you can email vinateweighs@gmail.com
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