AN ENVIRONMENTALLY-aware store is urging people to think more about what they put in their trolley.

Last week was Zero Waste Week, which aims to encourage people to think about cutting down on resources such as plastics, to buy more second hand goods, and reuse, repair and recycle.

Love + Joy Home, in the Fairground at Weyhill, hoped shoppers would be inspired to try waste free living.

Sarah Lovejoy, who set up the store in February, promotes a environmentally-friendly shopping experience that considers not only the packaging but also the chemicals that lurk in products.

She said: “I always wanted to start a store like this, so when the opportunity came up with friends on a drunken night out saying that I would like to do this, then as luck would have it a building became available.

“ I’ve always been environmentally conscious and having children makes you more aware of what goes into things.

“After watching shows like Blue Planet, people were shocked. It brought it home to a lot of people, it brought the issues into our front rooms.”

The store allows shoppers to bring in any empty container to fill up with a variety of different products, therefore reducing waste created by packaging.

Sarah added: “Customers come in and have a chat to find out where to start. Cleaning products are always a good place to start. It’s about taking steps and doing it gradually and changing your perceptions and forming a new routine.”

The most popular products the shop sells are shampoo and conditioner, which Sarah says are half the price of some leading brands.

She wants people to see that it does not have to be expensive to shop in a waste free way.

For more information, go to love-joy-home.co.uk.