A new eco-friendly addition to Hadleigh High Street has been a roaring success since it first opened its doors – with queues forming outside and hundreds of cleaning products “flying off the shelves”.
Adore Nature is a zero-waste business which was started by former Hadleigh High School student, Kathy Attard, now 37.
Ms Attard started her business in Cyprus, where she lived for more than five years, after being shocked by the country’s waste problem.
She had previously been running the eco-friendly shop in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, for the last year, but decided to move home to Suffolk to be closer to her friends and family following the pandemic.
MORE: Mum who started zero-waste business in Cyprus brings shop to Suffolk hometownShe said her new site in Hadleigh has completely gone above and beyond what she had imagined and is excited for what the future holds.
“It’s been really busy,” said Ms Attard. “I completely underestimated how busy we would be, we even had a queue outside as we are only allowed four people in the shop at one time due to Covid-19.”
Ms Attard was initially concerned that there would not be a demand for the store in Hadleigh, but said the feedback has been “phenomenal” so far, adding that she has sold her record number of refills in one week.
“Hundreds of cleaning products went very quickly and I had to restock. We have never been that busy, it was our best ever week in more than three and a half years,” she said.
Among her range of eco-friendly products are Kathy’s food refills, which are a new addition to her business. She said these items have been a “huge success”, selling pastas, rice, cereals, flour, munchies and sweets.
Also in store are refillable cleaning items, shampoos, household products, cosmetics, fair trade kids toys and more.
Ms Attard said she is “chuffed” with her opening and has already hit her targets, explaining that many people are visiting to try and embark on their zero-waste journeys with small steps.
She has had many customers who want to make a change, but don’t know where to start, so Ms Attard has helped them choose a bamboo toothbrush and ease them in to the process.
She said: “The High Street is quiet, but people are still making a beeline for my shop, which is really nice to see.
“It’s always a worry how these things will go when you open a new shop, and the true test will be after Christmas when people return to normal shopping.
“You should never use the run-up to Christmas as a marker, but I am really pleased with how it’s going.”
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