We're coming to you with a fun new project this week, and we cannot wait to get you on board! Our vision for Scoop is that we are able to contribute to building a sustainable future in which everyone can thrive. We believe that package-free grocery shopping is an essential element to our sustainable future, and we recognize that that means we are going to have to change human behavior on a massive level.
Think about it: almost everyone goes grocery shopping. In fact, the average person goes to the grocery store 1.6 times a week and in the United States we collectively spend over $700 billion dollars on groceries each year. Just imagine what we could accomplish if a fraction of that was intentionally spent in zero waste stores, like Scoop, that are working hard to be a beneficial presence in the world!
We know that you want to play a part in this shift towards sustainability, and we can already see the ways in which you are voting with your dollars to build the world you want to live in. We want to help make it even easier for you to disrupt the pattern of shopping in conventional supermarkets, and develop a new habit of shopping Scoop first.
According to the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, "the ultimate purpose of habits is to solve the problems of life with as little energy and effort as possible." This is so perfectly aligned with our mission of teaching people how to improve the quality of life while learning to walk more gently on the planet, so let's use this framework to build a new habit and make life a little better for all of us.
Sometimes the best way to start is by making a decision and committing to take the action required to meet your goal. This is where we introduce the 1/3 Pledge: As a community, we would like to commit to spending 1/3 of our grocery budget at Scoop Marketplace. Of course that number is going to be a little bit different for each household. Here are some averages to help guide you, but of course you are welcome to pick the number that fits best for you:
- The average 4 person household spends $887/month on groceries.
- 1/3 Pledge: $295/month spent at Scoop
- The average 2 person household spends $495/month on groceries.
- 1/3 Pledge: $165/month spent at Scoop
- The average 1 person household spends $247/month on groceries.
- 1/3 Pledge: $82/month spend at Scoop
Sounds simple so far, right? Now here's how we are going to help you make it a habit using the Four Laws of Behavior Change as outlined in Atomic Habits.
Step 1: Make it Obvious
To really change our behavior, we have to start by increasing our awareness. Simply looking at the numbers and deciding to spend a certain amount at Scoop automatically increases your awareness, and we are going to take that one step further by helping you track your Scoop spending so you will know how close you are to reaching your goal. We will be sending out 1/3 Pledge emails two times each month: once in the middle of the month to show you what percentage of your goal you have reached, and then another email at the beginning of the new month to share the previous month's spending total. These emails will help to track your progress as well as provide a little reminder of the commitment you have made.
Step 2: Make it Attractive
We know that if an experience is rewarding, we're more likely to participate, right? And so much of the reward that we experience is tied into our anticipation of that reward. Here are some possible rewards that you might get from this new habit. Focus on the ones that speak to you most:
- I love the atmosphere at Scoop. It is a beautiful store and I just love being in the space. It is the highlight of my week!
- Using the Filljoy system with the fancy little RFID tags is fun - I just love taring my jars!
- Every time I shop at Scoop I find a new product. I get really excited learning about all of the ways in which I can live more sustainability. Indulging my inner eco nerd makes me feel so good!
- Shopping in bulk at Scoop means that I can try little bits of all different kinds of products in a really affordable way. This opportunity to explore makes my shopping experience so much more fun!
And the list goes on and on! I'm sure you can easily come up with some of your own.
Step 3: Make it Easy
Yes! We love this one because this is where we get to talk about progress over perfection, and if you don't already know how strongly we feel about this topic, take a listen to one of our most downloaded podcast episodes.
Here's the thing, we know that you are going to have a bigger impact in the long run if you are willing to take imperfect action and just keep moving forward. And since we want to make this as easy for you as possible, we have put together an incredible toolkit to help you out along the way and make it a little more fun. When you take the 1/3 Pledge with us, we will send you a virtual gift that includes:
- A Weekly Meal Plan Template: this will help you to shop intentionally by planning your food in advance instead of just going to the grocery store and shopping for whatever looks good in the moment.
- A Weekly Shopping List Template: You've never seen a shopping list like this one! It will help you to list out all of the groceries that you need into two groups. One for items you can purchase at Scoop and the other for items that you will purchase from a conventional supermarket. We know that Scoop doesn't have every single item that you include as part of your sustainable lifestyle (a lifestyle that you actually want to sustain is one that allows you to thrive - you get to decide what this means for you!), and we want to make it easy for you to remain intentional about your shopping by organizing your lists ahead of time.
- A Monthly Scoop Stock List: Each month our team will produce a complete list of everything that we have in stock at Scoop at that time. Make this list your own by highlighting the items that you usually buy and then keep it close at hand when making your shopping list each week so it's easy to see what you can get at Scoop and what you will need to look for elsewhere. Note: some items may come in or go out of stock in between our Monthly Stock List releases. Please reference our website as the best guide for up to date information from week to week by visiting our bulk availability page here.
- A Bulk Shopping Success Checklist: We are giving you our best tips and tricks for low waste shopping to simplify the process! The more elements of this that we can make automatic, the more likely we are to continue doing it.
Step 4: Make it Satisfying
Don't forget to celebrate the progress! Your brain needs to be rewarded for doing good things. You don't even have to hit the goal perfectly for it to be worth celebrating. Always focus on the progress and improvements, no matter how small, and make a big deal out of them!
Here are some possible rewards to bring awareness to the incredible progress you have made and maintain the momentum you have built up:
- I always feel so good knowing that I have supported a small, local, woman owned business that is making the world a better place! It is incredibly satisfying!
- I can't wait for the end of the month progress report email. I know I am going to meet and surpass my goal and I am all about collecting those (figurative) gold stars!
- The amount of garbage that I have to remove from my house each week has definitely decreased and I am so proud of that progress! I even got to skip garbage week last week and it felt so good!
- I actually saved money this month because so many of the bulk items that I bought at Scoop are actually cheaper than their packaged counterparts. Now I get to put that money towards something I am really excited about!
- I met 80% of my 1/3 pledge goal this month! I am really impressed that I made so much progress so quickly and feel confident that I will get even closer to my goal next month!
And that's all there is to it. Just keep repeating these steps, focus on progress over perfection, and whenever you can, surround yourself with people whose goals are aligned with yours so you can encourage each other along the way.
These small shifts in our own daily routines and our commitment to becoming more conscious consumers will have a ripple effect over time, with an immeasurable positive impact for ourselves as individuals, our community, and our planet.
This is your invitation to make the 1/3 Pledge: I am committing to spending 1/3 of my monthly grocery budget at Scoop Marketplace. Make it official right here so we can provide you with some tools and resources, and track your progress for you!
We are so excited to launch the 1/3 Pledge with you, and this is just the beginning. The more people who commit to shopping this way, the more Scoop and other zero waste businesses like it can expand their offerings so that before you know it, you'll be able to spend 50% and eventually 75% or more of your grocery budget at low waste shops. You choosing to shop this way will create more opportunities for those around you to do the same and generally improve quality of life for all of us.