'We really want to make a difference' - Shropshire eco-store Little Green Pantry opens second shop in Newport

The Little Green Pantry, an eco-friendly 'zero-waste' refill shop based on Crown Street in Wellington, is now also up and running in Newport Market, after announcing expansion plans earlier this year.

Owner Keli King said the move is a 'return to the roots' of the business, which began as a pop-up market stall operation working from markets in Telford and Newport in 2019, before moving to more permanent premises in Wellington in 2021.

Now, the business has come full circle with its return to Newport, with Keli thanking her first customers for a warm welcome back to the town as the market opened its doors on Friday (September 5).

"I'm so glad to be back, people have been very welcoming and we're already making connections with Sustainable Newport and other eco-friendly businesses because we really want to make a difference to the town again," she said.

"In 2019 I did a couple of pop-up stalls here in Newport Market which were really successful but unfortunately after that point we hit Covid and things kind of ground to a halt here."

The store says it aims to help households to reduce their environmental impact through "conscious, refill-based shopping", with its products either supplied loose for customers to take home in their own containers, or in recyclable or reusable packaging.

The company has grown to employ a team of five staff who run both the shop and the business' external events and has won a range of other awards for its sustainability and innovation - including 'Green Start-up of the Year' in last year's UK Startup Awards.

Owner Keli says the Newport store will allow the business to expand its ethos of sustainability to even more customers in the county.

"We've got a range of our best-selling items which we know do really well in Wellington, but we're ever-expanding and we're taking lots of feedback today. We're also expanding our range of refillable products to make sure people can shop sustainably in Newport and well as in Wellington," she added.

"We just want to spead the message of sustainable living further out of Telford, we want people to be able to come into Wellington and Newport and do their shopping sustainably, and get people into really good habits for the benefit of the planet."

Little Green Pantry will be open every Friday and Saturday inside Newport Market.