Introducing Ripple: Cardiff’s first zero waste shop

Cardiff is filled with lots of great shops, cafes and restaurants, but until now we were missing one thing. Ripple is a zero waste shop based on Albany Road in Roath. There is a huge range of products from metal straws to food, and even ethical clothing.

Sophie Rae opened Ripple in November with the intention of trying to make people in Cardiff more aware of their impact on the planet. Sophie says she was initially inspired by David Attenborough (who isn't?) and the growing awareness of plastic consumption. She began asking ethical questions about her own consumption and wanted a place where she, and everyone else, could shop for a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

Just a selection of the many beans, pulses, and grains that are sold at Ripple

Sophie had no idea whether people would be interested, however just five days after opening she had sold out of everything and the shop had to close in order to restock.

We spoke to Sophie to find out more about the products and found that a lot of the products come from Wales and from Welsh creators. Any products that cannot be sourced locally come from ethical companies who pay their workers better than the national average and source materials ethically. For example, the company that makes the hemp backpacks pay factory workers six times the national average wage.

You can even get soya wax to use as a replacement for cling film

Sophie wanted to make sure that Ripple was about sustainability, but also affordable and high quality. Over Christmas there were volunteers working however, staff are now being employed. So if you're looking for a possible job opportunity, why not drop in and give her your CV?

Like all new ventures, Sophie encountered some challenges. She said to us that being a young, female entrepreneur and having to deal with sexism has been one of the biggest difficulties as her vision was not taken seriously to begin with. Belief in herself, alongside the support through social media was her driving force through these obstacles. She wanted Ripple to be a zero waste shop that not only sold food but also clothes, toothbrushes, washing-up liquid and many more products.

Eco-friendly clothing from Lucy and Yak

We would definitely recommend taking a walk down to Ripple with containers (if not you can buy them for only 70p while you're there!) and treating yourself to some sustainable goodies. We bought lots of things, and were actually shocked at how cheap it was. If one of your New Years Resolutions was to be more environmentally conscious, pop into Ripple to see what you can get!

Eco-friendly hand wash, washing up liquid and clothing detergent are just some of the products stocked

Sophie drew inspiration for the name of her shop from the quote 'from one ripple comes a mighty wave'. There is no excuse to not visit and try to be part of the change to help the future of our planet.

Follow their Instagram for daily updates of opening hours and stock changes: