A guide to shopping plastic-free in Oxford

Where to shop if you want to reduce your plastic waste

7 min readMar 15, 2018

Live in Oxford and interested in environmental issues? Check out Rebel Book Club Oxford to meet like-minded people — it’s a non-fiction book club and regularly features game-changing sustainability writers. Previous reads include Lucy Siegle’s ‘Turning the Tide on Plastic’ and Kate Raworth’s ‘Doughnut Economics’.

I firmly believe that the answer to our environmental issues is not individuals going zero waste, and that we need action from businesses and governments to make real, lasting change. However, I also think think that individual action has it’s place. By demanding change as a consumer and citizen, you put pressure on those companies and governments to reduce their environmental impact. And if you want reduce your individual environmental impact, then reducing your plastic waste can be a good place to start. It’s important to note, though, that there are other things which will increase your carbon footprint much more than the plastic waste you produce, such as how much meat and dairy you eat, what transport you use, and how you power your home.

If you do want to reduce your plastic waste or try going plastic-free and you live in Oxford, then this guide to shopping plastic-free in Oxford is a great place to start. I’d love to hear your experience in the comments, as well as any other shops or spots you’ve found on your plastic-free journey in Oxford.

Fruit and vegetables

Farmers markets

Farmers’ markets are a great option for finding loose fruit and vegetables plastic-free, and there are plenty of options in Oxford.

East Oxford Farmers’ and Community Market: Saturday mornings at East Oxford Primary School in Cowley
Headington Market: Sundays on New High Street in Headington
Summertown Farmers’ Market: Sundays at Summertown shops
North Parade Market: the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month on North Parade in Summertown
Gloucester Green Farmers’ Market: every Wednesday in Gloucester Green
South Oxford Farmers Market: Sundays at South Oxford Community Centre
Bonners’ Fruit and Veg Stall in The Covered Market, open Monday-Saturday 8am–5pm and Sunday 10am–4pm

Veg box deliveries

If you don’t have the time or energy to trawl round the farmers markets, but still want to buy your fruit and vegetables plastic-free or support local farms, then veg boxes might be a good option. There are several farms in Oxfordshire which offer deliveries of boxes of their vegetables, straight to your door.

Veg in Clover: delivering boxes of organic vegetables grown atSandy Lane farm in Headington
Ten Mile Menu: delivering boxes of organic vegetables grown in farms within 10 miles of Oxford
Coleshill Organic: deliver boxes of fruit and vegetables weekly

Local shops

There are also several local shops which stock loose fruit and vegetables. I’ve listed a few here but I’m sure I’ve missed lots — drop me a comment at the end of this post if you know of a shop in Oxford selling plastic-free fruit and vegetables, and I’ll add it in.

Hayfield Deli in Jericho have seasonal loose fruit and vegetables
Sandy Lane Farm Shop in Headington
Medley Manor Farm Shop on Binsey Lane, off Botley Road
Millet’s Farm have a farm shop with loose fruit and vegetables, plus loose frozen fruit and vegetables
Wild Honey on Magdalen Road, Cowley or South Parade in Summertown
OxCo-op, run by Oxford students. Order by Sunday and pick up your fruit and veg on Friday afternoon from the Oxford Hub at Turl Street Kitchen
Organic Deli in central Oxford have a stall of loose fruit and vegetables outside the shop

Supermarkets

When you’re trying to reduce your plastic waste you’re probably also aiming to avoid traditional supermarkets, and focus more on locally grown fruit and vegetables. However, in terms of convenience you just can’t beat supermarkets, and for most people that’s what it will come down to. And that’s why I’m including supermarkets here.

You can get loose fruit and vegetables in all of the major supermarkets in Oxford. Do be aware, though, that you might not be able to find everything you want without packaging.

Cupboard foods

Fruit and veg are pretty easy to find without packaging, but when it comes to dry cupboard foods (pasta, rice, oats etc) it can be a lot harder.

Oxford does have a few options for buying plastic-free cupboard foods, which I’ve listed below. If these aren’t an option for you, then you can also just opt for the bulk packages in supermarkets, like a 5kg packet of pasta. It’s packaged in plastic, but you’re still reducing your waste and that’s what matters.

SESI refill stall at East Oxford Farmers’ Market stall on Saturday mornings have a range of grains, cereals etc which you can buy per 100g.
Holland and Barrett on Queen St have bins with loose nuts and dried fruits, plus oils and vinegar at the back of the store.
Scoop Zero Waste are plastic-free pop up shops around Oxfordshire.
Oxunboxed is a weekly stall at the Oxford hub, selling cupboard foods supplied by SESI. They also pop up at other locations around Oxford, such as colleges, Brookes University, Lush in the Westgate etc.
Plastic free pantry is an online shop selling plastic-free cupboard foods, delivered to you in paper packaging. It’s not Oxford based but it can be useful if you can’t make it to the market one week.

Tea and coffee

Did you know that most tea bags have plastic lining in them? That means if you put them in your compost bin, they won’t be able to break down. So, if you want to go plastic-free you might want to swap to loose leaf tea.

Cardew’s in the Covered Market have an extensive range of loose leaf teas and coffee beans, which you can buy whole or ground.
Whittards on the High Street sell loose tea and coffee.

Bread

Bread can be a simple swap if you want to shop plastic-free. If you normally buy packaged bread from the supermarket you could simply opt for the loose bakery bread — just take your own bag. You could also try baking your own bread if you’re a keen baker. Some other options in Oxford are:

Gails Bakery in Jericho and Summertown
Barefoot Bakery in Jericho
Organic Deli in central Oxford
Modern Baker in Summertown
Silvie on Iffley Road

Household items

As you’ve probably found, when you’re going plastic-free it isn’t just about your food shop…

Cleaning products

In our modern world we’re obsessed with hygiene and cleanliness, meaning that we have a different cleaning spray for every room and every surface. One tip on going plastic-free is to cut down the cleaning products you use. You could try natural cleaners like baking soda or vinegar — infuse with citrus peels for a few days to reduce the smell.

Another great option is cleaning product refills, meaning that you keep the same bottle and refill it when you run out, reducing the amount of plastic bottles in circulation.

SESI refill sell refills of white vinegar, and also produce their own palm oil free cleaning products, including laundry liquid and washing up liquid. You can get hold of them at their refill stall at the East Oxford Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, and they also now supply a huge range of shops around Oxford and the UK — you can see a list on their website.
Ecover refills of washing up liquid and laundry liquid are available at Hayfield Deli in Jericho and Headington Fairtrade
Objects of Use on Market Street have household soap bars

Homewares

Part of going free is about reusing what you have, and not wasting resources. Therefore I would never recommend throwing out your existing homewares to buy a ton of new Kilner jars and bamboo brushes in order to have an Instagram-perfect plastic-free kitchen. But, when your plastic scrubbing brush reaches the end of its life, you may wish to opt for something more sustainable and longer lasting.

Objects of Use on Market Street sell a range of kitchenware e.g. pots and pans, brushes for cleaning, tools etc
The Library of Things, based at Makespace in Jericho, will help you reduce waste by borrowing and sharing a huge range of household items
Boswells in central Oxford sell Kilner jars and stainless steel cooking utensils. Debenhams and John Lewis probably also sell similar items.

On-the-go

Some simple swaps if you want to go plastic-free are to have reusable items to take on-the-go with you, such as a water bottle and reusable coffee cup.

Refill is an organisation working to ensure that you can refill your water bottle easily in cities around the UK, reducing the need for plastic water bottles. They’re now in Oxford: you can find spots in Oxford to refill your water bottle using their app, or if you see their sticker on the shop window.
Central Living on Little Clarendon Street sell 24 bottles reusable water bottles.
Common Ground Workspace on Little Clarendon Street sells KeepCups and Rcups, two different brands of reusable coffee cup.
John Lewis in the Westgate sell a range of reusable coffee cups, as well as water bottles.

Toiletries

Lush in the Westgate Centre have loose soap and shampoo bars, plus other toiletries and cosmetics in recycled packaging that you can take back to the store
SESI refills also have refills of shampoo and conditioner at their stall at the East Oxford Farmers’ Market on Saturdays, as well as loose soaps from Suma and Faith in Nature.
Hayfield Deli in Jericho sells loose Suma and Faith in Nature soaps.
Wild Honey in Cowley and Summertown sell a variety of plastic-free toiletries

And that’s it for now — happy plastic-free shopping in Oxford! Make sure you leave a comment if you know of any other places to shop plastic-free in Oxford, and I’ll add them in to this list.