Lifestyle
Sustainable Shopping Whilst Self Isolating: Small Businesses We’re Supporting
After such great feedback from our posts on Instagram, we thought we would expand on businesses which we at Rêve En Vert are going to be supporting during this difficult time. All of us at REV will be self-isolating for the foreseeable future to protect those around us and ourselves, and therefore will be relying mostly on sustainable deliveries and the occasional quick outing if necessary. Here is who we are all using here in London, and whilst all these companies may not be available to you if you are not in the U.K. we would advise trying to find something similar in your home country! Stay very well everyone.
Farm Drop
A fantastic grocery delivery service, that offers organic, sustainable, and local items. Ranging from bakery goods, cupboard supplies, and produce. Instead of stockpiling pasta and tomato sauce, buy sensibly and thoughtfully to ensure everyone can buy what they need. If you’re new to Farmdrop, sign up to their newsletter to get £30 off your first order.
Petalon Flowers
Bringing nature and beauty indoors is proven to uplift spirits, so we will be getting our fresh flowers delivered by Petalon. They deliver all bouquets by bicycle all around London so you don’t have to worry about the carbon footprint of having beautiful bouquets, and they donate 5% of all profits to the Bee Collective and for every 100 bouquets, they plant a tree locally.
Bottle Apostle
We realise a bit of self care at this time is necessary, and having a lovely glass of wine with dinner is something we are very much treating ourselves too over the coming weeks. One of our favorite wine shops that offer a great delivery service and offers discounts for orders over six bottles. They have a fantastic selection of organic, low intervention, and biodynamic wines which is where we will be shopping. A glass of wine or two is pretty necessary during this unsettling time. Bottle Apostle offers some incredible wines under ten pounds if you’re on a budget.
Oddbox
This produce box subscription is an amazing initiative, that is trying to help put an end to produce wasting. Oddbox gather surplus fruit and vegetables directly from farms around the country and the EU. You can cancel at any time, so if you don’t want a box that week you don’t have to get it! They even donate 10% of produce to charities across London fighting local food poverty.
Kemp Kitchen
Kemp Kitchen is offering home-delivered meals for East London households with an option to also buy a meal to be delivered to a vulnerable person or family. Order a healthy, freshly prepared meal for yourself or your family, while offsetting the cost of the same meal for another.
Who Gives a Crap
We were thrilled to start supporting this amazing company earlier in the year when our CEO Cora realised that we were still getting toilet paper for the office that whilst being eco-friendly, was still coming wrapped in plastic. She immediately set out to find an alternative and came across this company who send out their TP in paper wraps and cardboard, use bamboo and recycled materials and donate 50% of their profits to charity. Who Gives a Crap also deliver. So rather than rushing out to a big chain supermarket and getting plastic covered and not sustainably sourced TP, see if you can find a local option such as these guys. Your bum and the planet will thank you.
Gift Cards
At Reve, we will all be buying gift cards for some of our favorite independent cafes, bars, and restaurants. If you can, we encourage you to do the same. We see it like this: we will definitely be wanting that glass of wine or cup of coffee when it is safer to go out, so we will pay for it ahead of time to help keep our local stops alive in the meantime and support much needed cash flow for small businesses. The same goes for our local yoga and pilates studios, we will just be buying our workouts in advance.
Local
If you are limiting your outings to buying groceries out and about, we urge you to try and buy locally, at small and independent shops. At the end of the day, this period will be the hardest on small businesses who may not have as much security. We at REV love to support places like Bulk Market and Yield N1 in Hackney, Earth Natural Foods in Kentish Town, and Gather in Peckham. However, there are incredible places such as these scattered all over the city. Whilst self isolating means you may not be able to go there just now, see our next tip for a wonderful way to show your support in the meantime.
Low Intervention Wines
We’ve said it before and we’re going to say it again: wine is a current essential. At REV we believe every essential should be as sustainable as possible. We enjoy our glass (or two) in the evening more knowing it is made as sustainably as possibly. Low Intervention Wines is a wine delivery service that guarantees the best of organic, natural, and biodynamic wines. They work with, “independent winemakers all over the world who are going back to the roots of their profession, fusing natural practices, creativity and experimentalism with a deep respect for the land.” You can shop their diverse selection or sign up to one of their monthly subscriptions that curates a collection of wines for you, changing every month. We love that they stock so many incredible local English wines.
Natoora Home Delivery
Usually reserved for chefs and restaurants, Natoora Home Delivery has opened up to the public to provide sustainably produced fruit, vegetables, dairy and cupboard essentials from an array of small farms and producers. We love their mission, which is, “to replace a broken, opaque food system with a transparent and sustainable supply chain.” If you’re lucky enough to live in zones 1-4, then you are eligible for their fantastic grocery delivery!
Spring Farm Boxes
One of our favorite sustainable, London restaurants has decided to collaborate with their usual vegetable producer to bring organic and biodynamic goods to our homes. Since Spring has closed their doors for now, it was important to them to continue to support local organic farmers, like Heckfield Place and Fern Verrow. In these boxes you can even get vinegars made by Spring, fresh sourdough, cakes, and organic cheese. Everything we love in one box!
Shida Preserved Flowers
Since we are staying in more, we are very passionate about bringing nature inside. Shida Preserved Flowers is an incredible service that provides long lasting preserved flowers. An amazing and sustainable alternative to cut flowers. All of their flowers are treated with a special preservation method, that uses 100% plant-based glycerin and dyes. “The treatment maintains the cell structure of the plants, leaving them feeling soft and retaining their natural beauty for many months.”
Pale Green Dot
Another amazing vegetable box delivery, Pale Green Dot, delivers fresh local produce to London from local Sussex farms. They source their produce from organic and sustainable farms to ensure that we are getting the best of the best. Their aim is to “protect our vulnerable planet by encouraging as many people as possible to eat local, seasonal food.” A truly beautiful mission to support!
Bras
Pico Goods
Ecru Cotton Crop Top
£36
