Who are you?
Hi, I’m Jess, owner of Jarr Market – an independent zero-waste shop with two locations in London. I run the shop alongside Eleni and Jade, our two managers. I’m passionate about reducing waste and sourcing quality products for a fair price for our local communities.
What is Jarr Market?
Jarr Market is a plant-based and mostly-organic, refill shop with two locations in London: Stoke Newington and Herne Hill. We first opened in Herne Hill 6 years ago and two years later we opened our Stoke Newington shop.
Jarr sells all sorts of products, like a small grocery shop, but everything can be refilled! We sell food including staples like lentils, nuts, pasta, rice, herbs and spices, as well as frozen food (only in Stoke Newington), toiletries like shampoo and hand soap, cleaning products (mostly Fill branded!) and household items.
Why is Jarr Market a cool place to be?
Jarr aims to be the best it can be, in all the ways it possibly can. We, of course, sell refillable products (we get as much as we can from circular suppliers) which are plant-based, ethically-sourced, and almost all organic. But we also run on renewable energy, recycle with First Mile (a private recycling company that do zero-to-landfill) and pay London Living Wage.
What made you choose to reuse?
It feels very easy to see that there are some clear problems on our planet that need urgent fixing. Seeing images of plastic sitting in landfill for thousands of years seems like a clear big problem, one that can be reduced with our daily actions. It might not seem like one less piece of plastic matters but each piece is one less ending up in the ocean matters and adds up. If we can create even a tiny dent in that by changing our habits ever so slightly, why not do it?
What do you refill?
My absolute favourites are the peanut butter machine (so delicious – it grinds up peanuts fresh into your jar!), the oat milk machine (saves on tetra-paks which are actually very hard to recycle), sunflower mince (such an easy and healthy alternative to mince meat) and of course, Fill products which I’ve been using for 6 years and trust completely.
Why FILL REFILL?
We stock Fill because they’re an independent company who actually care what ingredients they’re putting in their products – and by extension, in the environment. Not only that but the products actually work, plus they’re so easy to work with and really foster relationships with their retailers.
Coolest other refillable?
Some pretty niche ones include Fill’s Micellar Water (such a great, natural make-up remover), UpCircle refillable beauty products (like face serum and eye cream) and Spudo’s crisps which come unpackaged – simply scoop them into your container without the waste of the plastic bag!
Best moment
When a customer’s young daughter declared that she wanted to work at Jarr one day because it’s her favourite place!
Who is your inspiration?
All of the owners of zero-waste shops around the world – it’s not an easy job! They work tirelessly to try and reduce waste in their communities and generously share tips and insight with other shops.
Last song you chose to listen to
Favourite song in the world is ‘Everything in it’s right place’ by Radiohead.
