The West Midlands multi-award winning zero waste supermarket

Learn more about local places, right on your doorstep

Published: 12th October 2021

The Clean Kilo

Jump on board with us, and learn more about The Clean Kilo, a zero waste supermarket in the heart of Birmingham, easily accessible by bus.

The Clean Kilo is a multi-award winning zero waste supermarket, with two stores, one based in Digbeth and another in Bournville. The Clean Kilo ethos is to: sell plastic-free products, source as local as possible and reduce food waste. The team at The Clean Kilo are set up to challenge the traditional food system and its over packaged supply chain by sourcing in bulk and selling without packaging.

5 Clean Kilo facts:

Stores are located in Digbeth & Bournville
Multi-award winning zero waste supermarket in the UK
They sell plastic free products
Items are sourced as local as possible - to reduce food miles
You can buy just what is needed - to encourage less food waste

Zero waste shopping

The Clean Kilo sells most items you would expect at a conventional supermarket – including dry food, household products and toiletries. To further their impact, they have pioneered the growth of zero waste shopping by expanding their product range to include a frozen section, delicatessen counter, fruit and vegetables, orange juice/coffee machines and chilled milk dispensers.

With convenience being key in our busy lifestyles, The Clean Kilo continually pushes the boundaries of what they offer package free. They believe having the widest product range is extremely important to have the greatest impact on reducing plastic pollution.

Bulk dispensers are used to eradicate the need for individual packaging. Customers are advised and encouraged to bring their own containers to refill e.g. an ice cream tub.

Most of their products are either organic or locally artisan made, so the quality is high. However, they believe sustainable options should be available to those on lower income, therefore they try to keep their prices as competitive as possible.

One third of all food produced is wasted so shopping at The Clean Kilo allows customers to buy as little as needed; there’s no pressure to buy pre-packed bags.

Interested in learning more about zero waste? The Clean Kilo run a range of zero waste workshops from their Digbeth store, find more details by heading over to the The Clean Kilo website. Thank you to the staff at The Clean Kilo for working with us on this feature blog, and Dominika Kubalova for the use of her images.