Sustainable Shopping in Totnes: Refill, Repair, Reuse
Totnes has been a fairtrade town since 2005 and continues to lead the way in low-impact retail. The town hosted the UK’s first dedicated zero-waste shop, runs a strong second-hand economy, and supports more repair services than its population alone would suggest. This guide rounds up the places that make sustainable shopping practical, not just aspirational.
Refill: Earth.Food.Love
Earth.Food.Love opened in 2017 as the UK’s first zero-waste shop and remains one of the most influential. Owned by Nicola and Richard, the shop is fully plastic-free; you bring your own containers and weigh them in before filling. The range covers over 220 dry products, including flours, pulses, grains, rice, cereals, seaweeds, seeds, herbs and spices, plus refill cleaning products and natural toiletries.
The shop is part of 1% for the Planet and powered by Ecotricity renewable energy. It is a model that other refill shops across the UK have followed, and a visit is interesting whether you are a regular refill shopper or just curious about how it works in practice. Open Monday to Saturday; check current hours before travelling.
Second-Hand and Reuse
Totnes has an unusually high concentration of charity shops, which together create a strong second-hand retail offer. Oxfam, FORCE Cancer Charity, the British Heart Foundation and several smaller local charities all maintain High Street branches with regularly refreshed stock. Because Totnes attracts well-read, well-dressed and well-housed residents, the donations are good: expect quality second-hand clothing, hardback books, kitchenware and homeware at fair prices.
For vintage and decorative second-hand goods, Revival, Butterworth’s Vintage Company and the vintage stalls in the Saturday market cover the higher end of the reuse market. The Saturday market in the Civic Square (9am to 4pm) is also a reliable source of used books, retro homeware and bric-a-brac.
Repair: Fixing Rather Than Replacing
Several Totnes jewellers handle repairs as a routine part of their business. H.E. Phillips at 19 Fore Street and Doble Jewellers both offer ring resizing, chain repair, clasp replacement, watch battery changes and pearl restringing, with longer-form restoration work also available. Fifth Element Jewellers takes this further by remodelling unwanted gold into new pieces, which is a particularly sustainable form of buying new.
For clothing and textile repair, Creative Crafts and Needlework sells the materials and equipment needed to repair garments and soft furnishings, with staff happy to advise on techniques. Several Totnes residents also run small alteration and tailoring services from home; local noticeboards in cafes and the library list current operators.
Repair Cafes
Totnes hosts community Repair Cafe events through the year, where volunteers help fix electrical items, bicycles, textiles and small appliances rather than throwing them away. Dates and venues vary; check the Transition Town Totnes calendar for current events. The format is sociable and useful, and is a practical example of the wider Transition movement that originated in Totnes in 2006.
Local Food, Less Packaging
The Friday and Saturday markets in the Civic Square remain one of the lowest-impact ways to shop for food in Totnes. Stallholders generally use minimal packaging, and several actively encourage shoppers to bring their own bags and containers. The Sunday Food and Craft Market (first and third Sundays, 10am to 3pm) follows the same model.
Beyond the markets, several Totnes food shops have shifted significantly towards lower-packaging models, with refill or bring-your-own options for items like olive oil, vinegar and dried goods. Ask at the counter; many traders prefer customers to bring their own packaging where practical.
Practical Notes
Bring containers if you plan to refill. Earth.Food.Love and other refill operators weigh your containers empty and then deduct the weight at the till, which is straightforward but takes a moment longer than conventional shopping. Allow extra time for refill shopping, particularly on busy Saturdays.
For charity shops, mornings are often when fresh stock hits the shelves, so early visits can be rewarding. Most charity shops accept card payment, although a small contingency of cash is still useful for the smallest transactions.
Parking is at Heath Way (TQ9 5GA), the Lamb (TQ9 5UH) and Longmarsh (TQ9 5LJ). The High Street is steep but most of the sustainable retailers are clustered in the lower half, between the Plains and Eastgate, which makes a circular walk manageable.
The Wider Picture
Totnes’s sustainable retail scene is not a single sector but a network: refill shops, jewellers who remodel, charity shops with quality stock, repair cafes, makers using local materials and markets that minimise packaging. Visiting any one of them is interesting; spending a day moving between them is genuinely educational, and the kind of slow shopping experience that is harder to find in larger towns.