A New Wave In Waste Free Consumption

“Zero waste could definitely be franchised; the trick is having smaller boutique stores pave the learning curve for big companies.” Remarked Dinsmore. Cassidy Dinsmore is the owner of the Daisy Market and Gather, two sustainable living stores in the Collingwood area. The Daisy Market is a lifestyle store and refillery for household products. Her goal is to provide customers with the products they need to reduce waste in their everyday lives. Gather follows similar values while creating a waste free grocery shopping experience of bulk goods and fresh produce.  

Dinsmore’s takes a holistic approach to sustainability and is guided by the principle that we must be able to maintain a way of life in both the short and long term without creating a negative impact on the planet. She then applies these values to consumerism when choosing vendors for her store. Dinsmore critiques each product on how it was made and how it will end up post consumption. However, she identifies two barriers while trying to reduce the waste of her store. The main barrier she faces when curating for the Daisy Market is that companies with similar values to hers fall short on their packaging. Producers are now starting to make the shift towards products that are free of chemicals and strive to be zero waste but then are ship their products wrapped in plastic. Dinsmore approaches this type of barrier with transparency in order to fuel conversation. When a mason jar pump arrives to her store in plastic packaging, she will put it on the floor that way with the hope that consumers will see what’s going on, acknowledge the problem then work towards finding a solution. Dinsmore’s second challenge is convincing people to move away from brands they are loyal to in order to try a new brand that is package free. This is where the learning curve comes in.  She claims that it’s about changing people’s ways and teaching people that zero waste and package free doesn’t mean no name. Switching to these brands means supporting something that is doing more than just fulfilling the need to maximize profit.

At the end of the day both Gather, and the Daisy Market are businesses and like everyone else Cassidy needs an income. So, I asked her about the financial aspects of choosing to run her stores the way she does. Unfortunately, the refillery aspect of the Daisy Markey does not pay the bills. Instead, it is her higher end skin care products that allow the refillery to work. However, this may be different if her store was in a large city rather than a small town. There is opportunity for a bigger margin as consumers are still looking for a cost-effective product. As a store owner it is less expensive for Cassidy to order a 20-litre container of shampoo rather than multiple 50 millilitre bottles. As a consumer, it is cheaper to buy a container once rather than paying for packaging every time their shampoo runs out. From which, you have probably deduced that shopping in a refillery style store both increases profit margin for a business owner and increases savings for the consumer. If this is the case, you may be wondering why larger firms are not jumping at the opportunity to shift towards waste free shopping. It could be the fact that such large-scale change may deter consumers out of convenience. Or possibly that higher end markets don’t bare the need to supply their target consumer with a cost-effective product. Either way, the Daisy Market and Gather are setting a great example for what sustainable shopping could look like in years to come if larger companies take the leap towards sustainability.

For more information on the Daisy Market and Gather check out their Instagram page @thedaisymarket and www.daisymarket.ca for more information. Their online store is in the works!

Africa’s New Biofuel Literally Grows on Trees!





Saving the Oceans One Step at a Time

Adidas has been working tirelessly over the past year to create a shoe design that utilizes one of the most detrimental forces against our ocean ecosystem- plastic waste. They are producing close to 7,000 pairs of these Eco-friendly shoes, with the ultimate goal of eliminating virgin plastic from their supply chain altogether. To find out more, check them out here.

Homegrown: How to Grow a Forest in Your Own Backyard

This incredible Ted Talk from Shubhendu Sharma shows us that it is possible to have nature in our own backyards. Learn how to grow a 100 year old forest in just ten years through engineered soil, microbes and biomass to kickstart the natural growth process.

Inspiration Hour with 5 Companies Dedicated to Sustainability

Take a few minutes out of your day to hear from 5 incredible CEOs of companies dedicated to sustainability in their products, and their processes. Jessica Alba touches on founding The Honest Company, Yvon Chouinard speaks about his company Patagonia, acting as an activist, rather than a business, and much more. Click here to see more from these amazing individuals.

Biofuel is Taking Flight


With restrictions on airline greenhouse gas pollution looming, JetBlue is looking to get ahead of the curve. The airline has made a deal with bioenergy company SG Preston to turn 20% of it’s fuel use into a biofuel blend. Their aim it to “jump-start the industry and quite frankly enable all airlines, very much ourselves included, to diversify our fuel supply.”- Sophia Mendelsohn, Head of Sustainability, JetBlue. Learn more about the airline’s effort here.

Making Climate Change Work

An interesting take on the complexities of integrating renewable energy into industry. This article focuses on the job potential within the green energy industry, especially as we move away from traditional energy production methods. To learn more, click here.

Finding Power and Profits out of Poop


The creation of a portable, odourless, and  waterless washroom system which can be used to power the communities in which it is used, has revolutionized the lives of those living in Madagascar. Originally created for music festivals, the human waste disposal system created by American student Virginia Gardiner is turning fecal waste into biogas, as well as eliminating human-waste born diseases. These solvers of the sanitation crisis are turning poop into electricity which can power electric lights, batteries, or gas cookers. Learn more here.

Looking to contact us?