SUSTAINABILITY
WORDS CHARLOTTE GRIFFITHS
he start of a new year – or a new decade, in this case – presents an ideal opportunity
working flat out to be the change they wanted to see in the world. “Paul and I met Johanna in March 2018: we were all involved in animal rights activism in Cambridge,” softly spoken Emma explains over hot drinks in Indigo Coffee House on a chilly wintry afternoon. “I was giving talks about plastic and the plastic crisis, so I invited Johanna to one of my talks the day after we met – and we became friends.” “After her talk, we joked that we should start our own zero-waste shop,” Johanna adds, “to change, to do something bigger and meaningful – so we did. Paul, Emma’s partner, said he’d be interested in joining in as well: he has a background in business, which has been really helpful.” Before founding Full Circle, Emma was working in ecology consultancy. “I’ve also done five years in conservation research, travelling the world, looking at species at risk of extinction,” Emma says. “When I went into consulting I really felt hamstrung by the legislation, not being able to have
Catalyst finds out more about Full Circle, the zero-waste Cambridge firm on a mission
to begin again with good intentions. Most resolutions are inwardly and individually focused: losing weight, learning a different language or starting a new exercise regime – but with an ongoing climate crisis altering the world at a “scale and pace that threatens our way of life”, as the Cambridge City Council’s website puts it, perhaps it’s about time we all made changes with our planet in mind. Full Circle is a zero-waste shop aimed at helping humans to easily embrace a low-impact lifestyle through its range of environmentally friendly products that come without any unnecessary packaging. Currently found on Cambridge Market six days a week, with two stalls on Saturdays and a pop-up stall in Histon, the brand is poised to open a bricks-and-mortar shop on Norfolk Street in Cambridge in spring. It’s run by a small team of three – Emma, Johanna and Paul – who are
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