We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Craig and Merschon Hutson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Craig and Merschon below.
Craig and Merschon, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
We’re Craig and Merschon. Yes, we’re Americans, but we’ve lived in Ireland for over 13 years and were granted citizenship in 2018. Merschon has always been diligent about recycling and conservation and so she was delighted when she found Jennie and Minimal Waste Grocery in the Red Stables Market a number of years ago. Even though he was all for conservation, Craig was sometimes put off by Merschon’s often pedantic measures to not be wasteful and her love of collecting glass jars. But he started to come around when he realised the organic products we were buying from MWG were far superior to what we were getting in supermarkets, and we were producing much less plastic rubbish. In Autumn of 2019 Jennie’s market help left for uni. Merschon offered to help out for a few weeks until Jennie could find a replacement. Little did we know that early 2020 Jennie would decide to further her education herself and therefore sell the business. It took a few months for both of us to come around to it, but we were excited to start helping others on their minimal waste journey.
After a few months in the market we began to think about ways we could encourage more people in our community to embrace better stewardship of the environment and their health. The benefits of a brick and mortar store, being able to offer our customers a broader range and five days a week to shop became high on our list of priorities. When this dream was realised in December 2022, we wanted the name of the shop to inspire and invite others to join us on this journey.
We believe that while fear can be an effective motivator for change, it is often a poor navigator, and can leave us feeling hopeless and defeated. And hopelessness won’t help us find the creative and innovative solutions we need for the best future.
When our friend Jennie courageously started Minimal Waste Grocery over six years ago she deliberately chose a name that she believed reflected a realistic path towards positive change, rather than the fearful trudge of unattainable goals. And we’ve tried our best to build on that positive ethos of potential.
Our ancestors used a special word to describe the undeniable beauty that emerges when something reaches its innate potential. Flourish. Whether a spring blossom at its rosiest peak, or a distant star whose twinkle captures the grateful eye, the rich velvet of great chocolate, or that perfect moment around the family table…we all know flourishing when we experience it.
Flourishing is about recognising potential, growing together and celebrating all the good things along the way. Flourishing means eating better, shopping smarter, and being more mindful of the people who produce our food. Flourishing means feeling better, sharing what we have, and learning to be better stewards of this world. Flourishing means being honest about the important environmental issues we face, while also claiming the differences we can make when we work together. Flourishing means starting where we can and encouraging each other on the journey.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
We aim to work with Irish producers whenever possible. With these local producers we can participate in a circular economy. For example, most of our household cleaners come from two companies, one in Dublin (Tru Eco) and one in Galway (Lilly’s Eco Clean). With both brands, the laundry and cleaning products come to us in 20-25 L containers. Our customers bring in old containers to be refilled. The large containers are then sent back to be reused over and over again by the producers. In 2023 our customers saved over 7000 bottles from having to be produced and then disposed of. A bottle here and there may not seem like much to an individual, but as a community it adds up quickly!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
We love what we do and we truly believe that prayer, customer care and product quality have made the most positive impact on our journey. Though this may seem an odd answer, we are people of faith and we cover everything we do in prayer. We believe that these same values compel us to offer our very best to our customers. This means that we work very hard to curate a range of products that we can personally recommend, and we try to treat every relationship with the utmost care and value. We hope that this creates a unique environment for our customers; one in which flourishing is the goal, and the business is the byproduct. This core shapes all we do. Starting a business is really tough and requires a lot of patience and perseverance. Taking the time to think through your values and how your business should align with those values can give a foundation robust enough to withstand the many challenges ahead.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
The biggest obstacle we face is one shared by the whole refill movement. Single-use plastic packaging has become so ubiquitous that it’s really not even a consumer preference. We simply haven’t been given any other option for decades now. Customers buy new containers every time, not because they prefer a new piece of plastic, but because that’s the only way they have been able to purchase the products they want. Interrupting these systemic cycles is difficult because the burden of change falls mostly on the individual, without much encouragement from the big retailers and manufacturers. Not only have we been forced to unconsciously shoulder the extra costs of these unnecessary containers each time we purchase, we are also being forced to purchase the quantities the companies prefer, regardless of our needs. There are big players invested in these cycles, some of whom are actually fighting to PROMOTE single-use plastics! One giant fast food chain has a well-funded team dedicated to opposing and overturning legislation that tries to curtail single-use packaging.
While these challenges are real, they aren’t keeping our courageous customers from doing their part to make a big difference. To quote Anne-Marie Bonneau, “zerowastechef”, “We don’t need a few people doing zero-waste perfectly, we need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
Contact Info:
- Website: minimalwastegrocery.com
- Instagram: Minimal Waste Grocery
- Facebook: Minimal Waste Grocery
