- [Lauren] We are a plastic-free, package-free grocery store
in Los Angeles.
- We wanted to make it easier
to shop sustainably for groceries.
We are Joseph and Lauren Macrino from Tare Grocery.
- A tare is the weight of an empty container.
When you come to the checkout, you remove that weight,
so you only pay for what's inside.
- We met up in the Bay Area,
and we started shopping this way,
got really accustomed to it.
We had a really hard time finding any way to do it
here in LA, so we did it ourselves.
Start shopping this way, you really get used to it,
and it just seems crazy when you go to the grocery store
and you see everything packaged up.
- Once you get your purse list going,
you have no waste at home,
you're amazed that your bin is not full all the time.
It turns into a passion and a lifestyle really quickly.
For me, also, we went back to Australia
where I'm originally from.
I can remember being on the beach that I grew up on
and seeing a lot of plastic in the ocean
and in the sand, which I'd never seen before.
- We do strive to live zero waste,
however, we're not perfect by any means,
and we don't expect anyone to be.
We really want to encourage people to try their best.
- Yeah, little steps at a time.
- We got a whole store, about over 400 organic products,
ranging from spices, herbs, nuts, grains, sugar, flours,
dehydrated vegetables.
- [Lauren] We have tea, a lot of snacks.
- [Joseph] Package-free pasta.
- [Lauren] We've got soba noodles, we've got udon noodles,
spaghetti, rotini.
- [Joseph] We've also got a bunch of liquid goods.
We've got oils and vinegars, kombucha,
also super foods, adapted gins, mushroom powders.
We also have some bath and body products.
Body scrubs, shampoo, conditioner.
= We have a little retail section in here too
with reusables and zero-waste alternatives
to your everyday household goods.
And everything is plastic-free.
The store's about 95% organic, non-GMO,
and we try to source as locally as possible,
but sometimes that isn't always possible,
but whenever we can.
- We're still competitive with the packaged alternative.
- It often ends up being so much cheaper
because you're not paying for the packaging
and the advertising and branding
that goes with that packaging.
We now offer EBT, which is really awesome.
- When we first stocked the whole store,
just to see the little amount of waste we had after
was incredible.
Most of the things we get shipped to us
are shipped in double-layered paper bags.
- [Lauren] And such large quantities, too.
We try and buy as big a quantity that we can.
- [Joseph] We're offering 100% post-consumer
recycled paper bags.
We also have glass jars for sale.
- We are serving everyone.
- And then post-COVID, we'll be able to use
our tare away station.
After COVID, when you're able to bring in your own jars,
you'll place it on the scale,
the scale sends the weight of your jar to the iPad.
You'll take one of these microchips here,
and you'll tap it on the reader.
That will write the tare weight of your jar
to the microchips.
You'll bring it to the checkout,
we'll actually scan it, and deduct the weight of the jar
from your purchase.
Even during this pandemic,
we really want to try to offer a plastic-free alternative
to grocery shopping.
It comes across as as plastic industry's wet dream
for this pandemic because, as you can see everywhere,
every grocery store you go into,
they're double bagging your groceries.
- It doesn't need to be like that.
Our store has been functioning really well.
- [Joseph] We're constantly going around
sanitizing surfaces, customers aren't touching anything.
- We just hope to be a beacon of hope
that you can still avoid plastic and shop sustainably
during this pandemic.
(upbeat music)