Tribe, back in 2015, when I first started attempting to go Zero Waste in UAE, it was not an easy task and required a lot of searching and looking for places around the UAE. We still don’t have an entire package free shop or plastic-free store. But I am more than happy to bring you this most awaited guide to Zero Waste Shopping in UAE, which also one of our most popular posts. Before we start discussing more zero waste, read here how with simple lifestyle changes you can beat plastic pollution.
Before I start listing where to buy zero waste in UAE, have a read about UAE’s waste statistics, which will give you an idea of why do we need to go zero waste here in UAE. Reading a beginner’s guide to zero waste lifestyle will also help you to prepare mentally before you start going zero waste.
Watch this vlog where I am shopping Zero Waste in a few supermarkets, it’s a great practical guide for newbies.
ZERO WASTE SHOPPING KIT
To start buying zero waste, first, you have to have your own zero waste shopping kit. Here are the things you can have in your zero waste shopping kit, but not all are necessary. You can get creative to replace a few things or reduce the size of your zero waste shopping kit. Basically, these are zero waste swaps for your typical packing materials.
My Zero Waste Shopping Kit
My zero-waste shopping kit has a lot of drawstring linen or cotton bags which I bought from Ikea a few years back. You can also find cloth produce bags with some designs in Daiso or Carrefour. I don’t recommend investing in nylon or polymer produce bags as that material is not natural and takes longer to decompose, not really an authentic zero waste swap. You will need to wash your produce bags once in a while especially if you use them for items that you eat directly without washing like bread. Then a few glass jars, I don’t really buy jars, I reuse the jars of packaged honey, jam, pickles, etc. Beeswax wrap and zip lock snack bags are useful but to be honest not very necessary if you have enough bags and jars. Lastly, cloth tote bags, which I have been using for more than 12 years now.
I won’t really recommend you to run for shopping to create your zero-waste shopping kit, that will defeat the purpose of going zero waste. You can start using whatever reusable items you already have at home, those can be plastic boxes from your pantry, and start reducing further packaging waste coming to your home straight away. From your experience, you will realize what all you need in your zero waste shopping kit and most importantly remember to carry your shopping kit on every (grocery) shopping trip. I always keep these few reusable items in my handbag, which is always useful to buy a few items on the go especially when my zero waste shopping kit is not with me.
TO BULK OR NOT TO BULK?
Now, most of the zero waste warriors around the world do bulk shopping, but when you are in UAE remember things might not be the same. The first thing we have to think is most of the food you get in stores of the UAE comes from someplace far off, apart from some vegetables and milk products. So if you are buying bulk and end up wasting it, you are not just wasting food but also all the resources used to reach that food to your home like fuel used for transportation of food from far away place to the UAE. Also, the weather conditions of UAE, might not allow you store even non-perishable food for a very long time which might be the case in your home country, especially if you are saving energy by switching off the air conditioning when not at home like us, which has a higher direct positive impact on the environment.
So think carefully about what to buy in bulk and what not. For example, in my household, there are certain things I buy in bulk, and certain things I prefer buying in a smaller portion. Rice, honey, pulses, spices, etc I buy in bulk as we consume them on a regular basis. I started buying honey in bulk for a few reasons, firstly we use it on a daily basis in drinks and also for my natural beauty care needs. The smaller packs come in plastic bottles and the bulk comes in a glass jar. Now I get to reuse these glass jars once honey is consumed and I can avoid at least 3 plastic bottles if I buy honey in a glass jar. Over one year by buying honey in a bulk glass jar, I avoided buying a total of 28 plastic bottles! That is the magic of bulk if you do it wisely.
Highly recommend reading how to reduce food waste at your home. Every zero waste shopper needs to give enough importance to reducing food waste first, as food waste has higher negative impacts when it comes to waste.
WHERE TO BUY PACKAGE-FREE FOOD ITEMS IN UAE?
For vegetables and fruits, it’s very easy to buy zero-waste in UAE. Just carry your own produce bags and buy loose vegetables and fruits. Till now I never had any issues with this, rather at my regular store staff are very co-operative. At the weighing scale station, it takes a little longer as I keep multiple types of fruits and vegetables in one drawstring bag so the staff has to weigh them separately and put stickers on the bag. I have rarely seen people behind me complaining, rather many consumers get inspired, either they reduce their plastic bags immediately or even talk to me about it.
Some readers ask me what do I do when fruits are pre-packed in a foam tray and wrapped with plastic cling film. I simply avoid buying those fruits and buy strictly loose. Generally, every shop has a loose selection, and remember they mostly wrap those packages in their stores. So if I need to buy particular fruit which is only pre-packed, I simply request staff mentioning I don’t use plastic and use only reusable bags to buy my things. Most times the staff co-operate, if the staff is less confident to help me or tells me it’s not allowed, I talk to their supervisor or even the store manager. Once they know the exact reason they co-operate. You might need little extra time for the first few zero waste shopping trips, but once it’s established you can do it in your regular shopping time. I have bought package-free fruits and vegetables from almost all supermarkets and grocery stores in the UAE.
1. Fruits and vegetables
Farmer’s market which is organized every Friday in winter months is my most favorite place for authentic organic and local produce. The ripe market is a good place to buy package free vegetables every Saturday even in the summer months. Union co-op has a great range of organic & local produce. Other places to buy zero waste fruits and veggies are Organic Foods and Cafe, Waitrose, Lulu, Spinneys, Carrefour, Geant. Fruits and vegetable market in Dubai or almost every emirate, great for bulk shopping if you have an event or guest over.
By rough calculations, our family has said no to 7,500 plastic bags in 5 years
You can pick your own organic harvest at Farm 182 in Al Rahba city in Abu Dhabi or other farms like Emirates Bio Farm in Dubai. But if you are buying vegetables from a supermarket just remember to buy fruits and vegetables from nearby places than any far-off countries to reduce carbon footprint. I even give preference to hydroponically produced vegetables like tomatoes, if you look for it carefully, you will find boards. Hydroponics is more sustainable farming in the UAE than the traditional one. Why? read more on hydroponics farming in the UAE here.
Happy to go zero waste
2. Eggs
Ripe Market in Dubai & 182 Al Rahba City in Abu Dhabi
3. Bread
You can buy package-free bread in almost all those stores, where they have their own bakery like Union-co-op, Waitrose, Spinneys, Carrefour just bring your own clean cotton bag or bee wax wrap or containers.
4. Cheese, Pickles
You can always find fewer options of package-free loose cheese or you can find those counters for local Arabic cheese & pickles. Best places for package free cheese Organic foods & cafe, Waitrose, Lulu, Union Co-op, Carrefour.
5. Pulses & Legumes
Union Co-Op, Carrefour, Al Adil, Sparmarket near Media One Hotel, Bioorganic store in Barsha Heights, Grandiose supermarket and even Carrefour have these counters.
6. Flours
Union Co-Op has gram flour, rice powder. For wheat flour Al Adil in Al Barsha. Flour Mills in Abu Dhabi
7. Rice & Pasta
Union Co-Op, Organic Foods & Cafe. But my favorite is Al Adil for the Indian variety of rice.
For Pasta, check out Grandiose in Al Barsha.
8. Tea
Tealand, Dubai Festival City. Teavana in Abu Dhabi Yas Mall
9. Coffee
Carrefour, RAW coffee (it’s also ethically sourced), Al Rifai Roastery in Abu Dhabi
10. Honey
Carrefour, Union Co-op, Blossom Honey or Sabha Honey in Abu Dhabi.
11. Nuts, Dry Fruits
Waitrose, Lulu, Carrefour, Bio Organic store, Grandiose supermarket are the places where you can buy package free plain or roasted nuts and dried fruits. In Waitrose you can find prunes, in Lulu, you can find spicy roasted nuts. There are many roasteries across UAE, I am sure they will co-operate to provide package-free products once you talk to them.
12. Superfoods
Like chia seeds, flax seeds, quinoa you need to go to Union Co-Op and Organic Foods & Cafe.
13. Juices
Carrefour, any juice center in Malls around the UAE.
14. Meat, Fish
Carrefour, Organic Foods & Cafe, Fish markets.
15. Spices & Herbs
The best place to buy package-free spices & herbs is spice souq in Deira Dubai, it’s also a cultural experience and must for any visitor to the UAE. There is a new store at Al Seef Dubai, Zafarana, where you get a similar cultural experience like spice souq.
You can also find loose spices or spice powders in Union co-op, Carrefour, Bzar & Bhar in Mushrif Mall Abu Dhabi. For fresh herbs, you can grow your own herbs in a window or balcony garden. You can also re-grow some herbs and veggies from scraps, read more about growing your own organic garden.
16. Vinegar
Vom Fass J3 Mall in Dubai, Grandiose, Carrefour.
17. Oils
Vom Fass J3 Mall Dubai, Mawasim organic supermarket in Abu Dhabi, Carrefour is another great place. Better to take an empty bottle where the weight is marked like 750ml etc so that it’s easy for staff in busy Carrefour.
18. Oats
Organic foods and cafes have large oat flakes.
19. Chocolates & candies
Lulu, specialty chocolate shops like Godiva.
PACKAGE FREE TOILETRIES & COSMETIC
When you are going zero waste, the best option is to use natural ingredients for cleaning instead of store-bought items. Baking powder, vinegar, lime are the best options for cleaning most of the surfaces and things at home. Read here how you can use lemon peels to clean your kitchen.
1. Detergent, Cleaning products
I refill toilet cleaners, hand-wash soap in my own containers at Organic Foods and Cafe. You can find cleaning products refill stations at Tavola shops, Carrefour, and in some Choitrams.
2. Soaps, Shampoos & Conditioners
You can buy naked soaps, conditioner bars, and shampoo bars at Lush cosmetics. Locally made soaps from camel soap and factory come in jute pouch which can be reused to store something else. For cheaper options, you can buy natural soaps wrapped in paper packaging and recycle the wrapping paper
HOW TO USE YOUR CONTAINERS FOR ZERO WASTE SHOPPING?
When you are buying things in your own containers especially food, you need to weigh your container first and after weighing the container with a food item in it, just subtract the weight of the container to get the weight of the item you need to purchase. It’s simple maths, but actually, weighing scales have the option to set up the weight of your container to make this process easy.
So give the store staff some time to figure it out if they are doing it the first time and help them or explain what exactly you want; as it is still very rare to shop with your own containers in UAE. If the store staff is hesitating or not co-operating, just talk to their supervisors. In places like Waitrose, you can do this process on your own next to the nuts and dry fruits refillable counter.
Make Your Own DIY Products
If you want to not just ditch packaging but ditch shopping altogether. Here is one option, make your own healthier products, where you can control all the ingredients going into your products, and compost the remaining organic waste. Truly zero waste alternatives!
Here are some of Tribe’s top home-made recommendations, along with their DIY tutorials
Have you joined our Zero Waste UAE Social Initiative?
Find more about our #ZeroWasteUAE Social Initiative which is created to reduce waste and bring a positive change in the UAE. Any individuals or organizations can be part of it.
Here is a recycling guide for UAE, which is the first and very important step in zero waste lifestyle.
Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe & join our Tribe, as I am going to update this Zero Waste Shopping Guide every now and then to list newer places who can help us reducing waste. If you know any place in the UAE where you can buy things package-free, please let me know in the comments below.
Note: This post will be regularly updated like our Second-Hand Shopping Guide, so please let’s know your zero-waste shopping finds in the comments below. Let’s help our community to live more sustainably.