A growing number of shops across the North East are aiming to revolutionise the way we shop in the name of the planet.
'Zero-waste' and low-waste stores have been popping up across the region, helping cut plastic waste out of your everyday groceries.
Among the first was Buy The Kilo, inside Tynemouth Metro station, and since it opened its doors last February it's been joined by plenty more.
At Something Good, in Jesmond, owner Lauren Wedderburn, 32, is celebrating a successful first 12 weeks.
She said: "I think everyone is becoming aware of the problem plastic causes: everyone's watched Blue Planet, it's being talked about much more.
"People are waking up to the fact that recycling isn't the answer all the time, it's about cutting down the plastic you use, as well as people wanting to know what they are eating, what chemicals are in the products we're putting on our skin or what we are washing down the drain in our cleaning products.
"When I started thinking about the shop it was because I was trying to make changes in my life, but at the time there weren't businesses locally giving the solutions, so I had to order everything online. The shop is about bringing all these sustainable products together to make them more accessible."
For the team behind 109 General Store, in Heaton (mother-and-daughter team Jacqui and Ellie Meyler, alongside Graham Tarr), the inspiration was also a desire to cut out packaging in their everyday products, though in their case, it was the bottles for the milk for their nearby coffee shop Heaton Perk they wanted to cut down.
Instead of coming in big plastic bottles, their milk is now delivered fresh by the churn from a farm near Hexham, and kept in a special fridge which serves up milk by the litre or half litre into reusable bottles. Opening with the fresh milk, artisan bread and a few other things, they've build up their selection of refillable, easily recycled or low-waste products based on what their customers say they want.
Because all the shops are small, and aim to cut carbon by attracting local customers who walk over, or stop by during car journeys they're already making, the boom in zero-waste shops isn't seen as a threat by those already on the market - Graham says he'd like to see a shop like his in every neighbourhood.
Graham: "Nil Living [in the Grainger Market] and Buy The Kilo and everyone have been very supportive - it feels like we've fallen into a small community. It's not like Tescos vs Asda for us, we're not competitive. It's more like the way things used to be, when you'd buy things from your own local grocer.
"I think this idea is here to stay. If anything is going to put us out of business, it'll be when the supermarkets turn around and start doing this themselves. It's only in my lifetime that we've got used to things coming in disposable plastic, I think we'll go back."
If you're looking to dip your toe into the reuseable world, Lauren recommends starting with the bathroom. The next time your shampoo, soap or shower gel run out, keep the bottle and take it to your local store to be refilled. Most offer a variety of cosmetic and cleaning products, and the tough plastic bottles for things like shampoo and hard-wearing and easy to reuse.
Although shopping locally and more sustainably might be seen as more expensive, the shops can keep costs relatively low by not having to maintain the huge stock supermarkets keep (there will be two or three kinds of pasta, for instance, instead of an aisle full of 10 different brands). Plus buying the exact amount you need, instead of being sucked in by buy-one-get-one-free and other offers, can keep costs down.
Buying a huge amount of swanky new packets to for your new reuseable lifestyle might feel good, but it isn't necessary the most eco-friendly choice - the energy that goes into manufacturing these products should be taken into account. Both Lauren and Graham say most of their customers reuse packets they already have, from empty washing up liquid bottles to the empty plastic packets from things like rice and pasta.
When these get too battered to use, a jar, tin or box is useful for your storecupboards at home, or refillable soap dispensers or spray bottles for cleaning products - and most of these eco-friendly shops sell bottles or boxes you can use, if needed.
You can bring these directly into the stores, where their empty weight will be calculated so you can work out what it costs to fill them.
For those who don't want to carry heavy jars or tins to the store, most offer paper bags for their products, which are less harmful to the planet than plastic packing. Or you can buy small cloth bags, which can be washed with your usual washing, to fill with dry products.
There are no- and low-waste shops, featuring refill stations and plastic-free products, across the North East.
They include:
Buy the Kilo
3, The Sidings, Tynemouth Metro Station, NE30 2FT
Something Good
265 Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 1LB
Fruit & Nut Company
36/37 The Grainger Market, Aisle One, Grainger St, Newcastle, NE1 5QN
Nil Living
106/107 The Grainger Market Alley, 3 Grainger St, Newcastle, NE1 5QN
109 General Store
109 Heaton Park Rd, Newcastle, NE6 5NR
The Naked Pantry
Plawsworth Road, Sacriston, Durham, DH7 6HJ
The Little Refill Shop
5 Adelaide Row, Seaham, County Durham, SR7 7EF
The Paddock Farm Shop
7-9 Ramsay Street, High Spen, Gateshead, NE39 2EL
