Shop plastic free at Leeds Kirkgate Market this summer

July has been named Plastic Free July by the Plastic Free Foundation and you can’t shop more ‘plastic free’ than at Leeds Kirkgate Market. The market has been home to lots of traders who support the ethics of zero waste for a long time. Founded in 1951 The Nut Shop have always encouraged customers to bring their own containers to take home their products and in 2018 ‘The Jar Tree’ opened with their weigh and pay concept of filling your own jar with dry food items. The store has had great success with expanding their product range so you can now refill household cleaning products and toiletries and buy homemade reusable household products.

Leeds Kirkgate Market is also home to Adam & Eco who recently moved to a bigger unit in the 1904 Hall to accommodate his eco-friendly and completely plastic free range of soaps, shampoos, bathbombs and conditioners. Simon’s strapline is ‘Going Top To Toe with Adam & Eco’ which encourages customers to swap existing bottled products to plastic free and palm oil free, eco-friendly soap bars. Not only are markets known for fresh produce being available ‘package-free’ but all our traders support the ‘bring your own container’ at their stalls.

Leeds Kirkgate Market are proud to support a zero waste ethic and recently joined forces with Refill Leeds to encourage our street food vendors and cafes to let customers fill their containers with drinking water for free, just another way Leeds Kirkgate Market is supporting Leeds to be plastic free. So if you want to see what you’re buying, pick your own product, put it in your own container and join the plastic free movement, what better place to shop than Leeds Kirkgate Market.

Councillor Asghar Khan, Leeds City Council's deputy executive member with responsibility for markets, said:

“The more we can do as individuals to reduce single-use plastic the better. It is fantastic to see so many of Leeds Market traders and businesses supporting initiatives such as bring your own container and refill stations. We hope that by demonstrating there are alternative ways of buying and selling goods within the market without the need for plastic we can inspire others to join in too.”