New plastic-free eco shop coming to Fleetwood

The Tram Weigh will open its doors on Monday (October 25) from premises at 50b North Albert Street in Fleetwood.

Customers will be able to buy products such as liquid soap, shampoo, laundry liquid, dog shampoo, ketchup, herbs and spices by simply bringing in their own bottles to be filled up, rather than buying new bottles which will later go in the bin.

There will also be plastic-free essentials such as washing-up sponges, bin liners and dog poo bags, all at affordable prices.

Shop owner Amanda Cross, 43, who is originally from Fleetwood but now lives in the Adlington area of central Lancashire, says she was inspired to open her own shop because she said similar eco outlets simply charged too much.

The mum-of-three said: "I wanted to shop at these eco-minded places but I just couldn't afford it.

"I went to one place to fill up with shampoo and they were charging me £9.

"I can't afford that - these shops are aimed at middle class people with big wages, selling high end products which are out of the reach of people like me.

"That's why I decided to open my own shop - at affordable prices!"

Her first eco-themed shop, the Rail Weigh on Railway Road in Adlington, opened last year and has proved a huge success.

Both shops come under her ' Little Pink Shop With The Big Green Mission'.

She said: "Our mission is pretty simple - to reduce plastic and all the harm that we now know it is causing.

"Recycling was a good idea in theory but it doesn't really work effectively enough.

"The only way to stop all this plastic packaging causing chaos to our eco system is to stop buying it, day after day."

Amanda says not only are her shops much cheaper than many other eco shops, with prices more on a par with lower end supermarkets, but some items are much cheaper than those sold conventionally.

As an example, she says that while Schwartz parsley would on average cost £1.70 to buy in the supermarket, her shops can refill it for just 6p.

The Fleetwood shop will be run by Amanda's sister, Fleetwood woman Tracy Taylor-Wood and Tracy's daughter Jess and will be open seven days a week with late evening openings for Christmas shoppers.

Tracy, who previously ran the Cosy Cafe and Bistro from the North Albert Street premises, said: "The Covid pandemic was tough on our cafe business but we can't wait for the shop to open."