slightly click-baity title but i’m getting really tired of ‘zero-waste’ shops and bloggers which advocate buying le parfait/mason/fancy new glass jars for storing your organic flour, couscous, oats, etc. 

1. those jars are fucking expensive (i don’t care if it’s a ‘one-off investment’ they are overpriced and not everyone can afford to invest in your bougie jars)
2. it sort of defeats the object of reducing your waste if you immediately go out and buy a whole set of brand new virgin glass jars to store stuff in. there is loads of glass packaging already in the world. USE IT. 

to replace this middle-class bullshit (this is zero-waste for the aesthetic first if ever i saw it) is simple and way cheaper:

• go through your cupboards and find all your jams/pasta sauces/assorted nut butters.  use them (or chuck them out if they’re all old, no point hoarding ancient food), then wash very thoroughly and dry them (i’d recommend putting all your (glass only!) jars on a tray in the oven to dry as this will sterilise them too). then congratulations! you have a bunch of free reused jars to fill with rice/oats/organic chia and flaxseed muesli at the zero waste shop!
  
• go on ebay/your local bring and buy facebook page/a charity shop and find ‘job lot glass jars’/’old jam jars’/similar. then rinse and repeat as before (literally). congratulations! you have sourced reused jars for a minimal cost to fill with your choice of obscure grains! (and potentially supported a fellow member of the proletariat trying to make a little extra money/a charity in the process!)

zero-waste shouldn’t be the new trend for the middle classes. it should be accessible to everyone because it matters. 

•  a final point! whilst our individual actions can (and do) have a massive impact on the planet, and we should all make what changes we can to protect the environment, this means nothing so long as massive corporations are polluting water sources, destroying rainforests, dumping toxic chemicals in the oceans, exploiting poor migrant workers, and every other filthy trick they pull because they think they can. we need to hold these despicable companies (and the governments which enable them) to account! sign petitions, protest, boycott! do not allow them to get away with this!