Winchester Green Week is an annual festival to celebrate and promote sustainable living, organised by Winchester Action on Climate Change. It features a series of local events, which you can find more about HERE.
New Leaf Alresford is celebrating Green Week by highlighting the efforts our local businesses are making to reduce their impact. In a year when the International Panel on Climate Change has declared a ‘code red for humanity’, the choices we make as consumers are more important than ever. You can see who responded to the challenge and the changes they are making below!
Thank you to everyone who has contributed.
Events
Wednesday 30th September @ 6pm ~ Ground Preparation for Wildflower Sowing at Arlebury Park
New Alresford Town Council have decided to turn an old chalk spoil heap into a biodiverse wildflower area for our pollinators. New Leaf volunteers are helping to make this happen!
Saturday 2nd October @ 11am-3pm ~ Alresford Apple Day at St John’s Church
Apple pressing, stalls, games, and a Toy Swap hosted by New Leaf Alresford.
Alresford’s Businesses
New Leaf Alresford is celebrating Green Week by highlighting the efforts our local businesses are making to reduce their impact. You can see who responded to the challenge and the changes they are making below!
Food & Drink
Caracoli, 15 Broad Street
- 30p discount when you use a keep cup
- Top quality plant milks
- Part of the ‘Too Good To Go’ scheme to rescue unused food
- Sell reusable cups
- Give away coffee grounds for composting
- Cashless
- Plant-based options
- Actively working to improve takeaway packaging
Read more about Caracoli/Heidi Bakery’s efforts HERE
The Naked Grape, 20 West Street
- No more plastic bags!
C E Evans & Son, 8 West Street
- Use recyclable/compostable paper carrier bags and reusable cotton and hessian bags
- Sell loose fruit and vegetables, including ‘naked’ cucumbers when possible!
- Halved their use of cling film
- Replaced old, inefficient fridges and freezers
- Exploring more sustainable packaging alternatives
- Local produce – including fish, meat (particularly Hampshire lamb), cheese, honey, jam, watercress & apples
- Strawberries and raspberries from the New Forest
Aroy Thai, 21 Broad Street
- Tuesday 28th – Thursday 30th 10% off both dine-in and take-away, to celebrate Green Week!
- Vegan options including classic Thai green curry
- Use paper bags where possible
The Arlebury Cafe, Arlebury Park
- Sell reusable coffee keep cups
- Use reusable plates and cups wherever possible to avoid disposables
- Offer takeaway food in paper bags and cardboard trays
- Recycle as much as they can
The Globe, The Soak
- Offer fantastic plant-based options, which currently include: lemon & chickpea burger with naked slaw & fries; tomato, basil & courgette tart with new potatoes & salad; Malaysian squash, cauliflower & chickpea curry
- Plant milks available
- Locally sourced meat
Fashion
Delilah, 34 West Street
- Focus on natural and sustainable fabrics, including items made from bamboo
- Source suppliers with sustainability in mind, featuring items made from recycled materials
- Many styles picked for longevity
- Philosophy: ‘every small change really matters’
Louisa Slade, Bakehouse Yard
- Specialises in repurposing jewellery, reusing stones and metals – reducing the need for new or unethically mined materials which have a huge carbon footprint
- Eco-friendly packaging
Roxtons, 43 West Street
- Stock a Selected Femme coat made from 47 recycled plastic bottles
- Stock brand Victoria who make trainers from recycled polyester
- Sell lunchboxes made from fast-growing bamboo
- Stock Devon-based Weaver Green cushions and throws made from recycled plastic
Billy Goat, 11 East Street
- Use only paper bags, no plastic
- Use paper rather than plastic stickers
- Recyclable loyalty cards
- Stock vegan school shoes
- Shoe boxes and larger boxes reused locally, for many purposes from Rotary Shoe Box appeal to making costumes for World Book Day!
House of Gallet, 19 Broad Street
- Focus on sustainable weddings for Green Week! Featuring ex-display wedding dresses & showcasing wedding outfits
- Sell high quality vintage and second hand items which offer longevity
- Personal shopping experience helps customers make the best choices and leads to less wastage
- Take your unwanted designer pieces into the shop to exchange for store credit
Ragamuffin, Bakehouse Yard
- Stocking more sustainable and organic products
- Organic brands include Frugi, Pigeon, Toby Tiger, Lilly & Sid
- Sustainably minded brands include Joules, Mayoral and Albetta
- Use tissue paper and paper bags for packing
Other
Wagglesworth, 4 West Street
- New electric van for deliveries
- Sell items in recyclable packaging where possible
- Use paper bags
- Sell loose treats and bird seed in paper bags
- Use greener couriers
- Going cashless due to the huge carbon footprint cash carries
- Streamlining deliveries to reduce number of journeys
Laurence Oxley Ltd, 17 Broad Street
- Sell secondhand and antiquarian books and pictures
- Offer restoration & repair services
- No plastic bags
- Recycle or reuse all packaging
- Ethos of reuse/repurpose – all furniture and fittings in the shop are reused
- Large selection of environmental titles in stock
The Alresford Gift Shop, 10 West Street
- Stock ‘naked’ cards
- Sell reusable cups and water bottles
- Mainly products made in U.K. and sustainable companies e.g. St Eval candles & The Recycled Candle Company
- No crackers with plastic gifts, only wooden/card
- Stock prints from The Print Rescuer (upcycled pages from books)
- Only paper bags
- Changed to a card machine which uses less paper
Fowler & Smith, 30 & 32 Broad Street
- Sell vintage and antique items
- Avoid products made in and shipped from a great distance
- Only local, organic and free range foods
- Plant-based options
- Cooking oil collected and recycled for energy production
Oakleaf Stationery Ltd, 56 West Street
- Recycling point for writing materials – including pens, correction fluid and tape, mechanical pencils etc.
- Recycling point for printer cartidges
- Sell reams of recycled paper and paper from FSC sources
Rawlings Opticians, 26 West Street
- Contact lenses (and associated packaging), glasses and hearing aids recycling point
- Recycle as much as possible
- Smart meter installed to monitor energy usage
- Refillable glasses cleaning spray (initially £8.50 then refilled for free for the life of the bottle!)
And Finally……
Earthian, 9a Parchment Street
Earthian in Winchester is one of our closest ‘zero waste’ shops. They specialise in plastic-free, organic and low waste products. You can take your own containers to the store to stock up on food staples, such as grains, beans, pasta and cereals. You will also find beauty, kitchen and home products in store, which are carefully selected to be sustainable, toxin-free and ethical. Earthian is also a recycling drop point for bicycle inner tubes, bras, milk bottle tops, bread bags and plant based toothbrushes!
Wildbunch Florist, 14 West Street
Wildbunch told us that their foliage is foraged, not flown…and locally sourced where possible!