Fight against plastics Woman launches packaging-free store in Remagen
REMAGEN · Plastic is frowned upon by Christine Lühmann-Wilshusen in Remagen. Her goal: no garbage, no waste. The products are filled into bags, cups or bowls brought along by the customer.
It’s Saturday morning at Remagen Markstraße 68. Places and things that are new always have a certain pull, but that alone does not explain the attraction of the new shop owned by Christine Lühmann-Wilshusen. It is the first shop in the district of Ahrweiler to offer no packaging whatsoever. "I was positively surprised at how many people were interested," the owner said.
Whoever saw what was going on in "Christine's shop" on the first day was struck by the fact that the desire to avoid garbage and waste had arrived at the very center of society. Apparently, many people have had enough, obliged to purchase set amounts of foods and other items, with multiple packaging and all kinds of plastic, contributing to the littering of the earth.
The mother of four adult children, who like her husband comes from a North German farming family, wants to offer food that in general is "regional, organic and sustainable". "Sustainable is my personal attempt to do something for our future and that of our children".
Regional means short transport routes and "suppliers preferably from Ahr, Rhine and Eifel because of great products and producers who grow organically and try to avoid plastic and waste themselves". Convinced of healthy, natural food, she mainly chooses certified organic products for her assortment.
What’s offered at the no-packaging shop?
One may wonder what is on offer at the store with no packaging. There are many types of pasta, as well as exotic things like a coffee from Ethiopia from the province of Mocca and lupine coffee, well-known things like spelt, rye, wheat, raw oats, barley and oat flakes, muesli, flour, lentils and kidney beans.
Several types of rice are available, along with milk and cheese, buckwheat, green spelt, millet, couscous and polenta, as well as sultanas, dates, figs, seeds and nuts. Baking accessories, reusable coffee filters and personal care products, including toothbrush tabs and non-liquid shampoo, are also available.
Organic wine comes from the Ahrweiler Maibachfarm, oil and vinegar from the Patrizia GmbH in Gelsdorf and eggs from Remagen. Bread is supplied by the Laib und Seele bakery in Rheinbach and honey by Remagen beekeeper André Günther.
Everything is very clearly arranged and well labelled, placed on "Bauholz" design shelves made of shuttering boards. The shop owner made a conscious decision to use second hand objects to equip her store. At a low-cost second hand store, she bought furniture, glasses and cutlery. The kitchen scale is just as much a second-hand object as the coffee grinder "Guatemala", with the basic idea of giving the shop a feeling of vintage, of not being new, while at the same time saving money.
(Orig. text: Hildegard Ginzler; Translation: ck)
