Walking through the narrow glass doors of Unpackaged is like stepping back in time. Floor to ceiling shelves of fresh fruit and veg offer a wall of colour, texture and fresh scents. Grids of “pigeon holes” are home to every dried food imaginable from organic arborio rice to wheat-free muesli. Behind the counter, miss matched glass jars of different shapes and sizes are filled with vibrant and bright spices and herbs. Unpackaged is a one-stop-shop for all things organic, you just have to remember to bring your Tupperware.

Owner, Catherine Conway has poured enthusiasm, heart, soul and love into the cosy store that offers a cost effective and eco-friendly way to shop for your groceries. The store’s concept is why buy when you can refill?

“The plan is to have everything in the store 100% refillable” Conway beams from behind the dark wood counter, “but what’s not refillable is definitely recyclable.”

One refillable product which has taken the interest of nearly all Unpackaged customers is the laundry detergents by Ecover. You buy the container for the first time and then you can refill that same container time and time again for as long as you like.

Asda’s recent refillable pouch scheme works on the same principle, only that it will continue to offer its product in the pre-packaged version also. Conway comments that “here, it’s not just one product that’s refillable, it’s nearly everything, it’s streamline and easy, so it works”

Richard West, an insurance broker, lives locally and came into Unpackaged specifically for the laundry detergent with his own empty bottle. He admits that “yes it is slightly more expensive, but that’s not the point.”

The point is to protect the environment and that while one product can be recycled there is no reason why that same product could not be refilled. In fact, why buy more than you would actually need?

Rebecca Tremain, an actress, has been shopping in Unpackaged since the store opened in 2007. She said: “What I love is that I can buy manageable portions of what I need, rather than what someone has already pre-packaged for me.”

Almost 8.3 million tonnes of food waste is thrown away in the UK each year, but having the option to pick and pay for as much or as little as you need helps cut down this massive figure. “It really is disgusting how much we throw away, but I seem to throwing away less and less. And it can be surprising how little the bill actually comes to.” Tremain added.

Jan Baldwin, a photographer, described the store as the “most wonderful shop in the world.” Jan is a regular and chats cheerfully to Catherine as she refills her containers. She explains “Our garbage has gone down, everything is recycled or reused. I haven’t done the calculations, but we are throwing away far less, we must be saving money.”

Olive, sunflower and rape seed oils are presented in aluminium 20 litre drums along the top shelves, tiny taps allow you decide how much you need. Similarly, tea and coffee is weighed and priced by the gram. And clear plastic zip lock bags are on standby should you have forgotten your own but have popped in to get puy lentils, dried apricots or cous cous, each charged per hundred grams.

Nicola Jennings is a lecturer at City University and drove from North London on a Saturday afternoon to shop at Unpackaged. “I drop my son off to his class and then I come straight here. I think it’s brilliant.” Unlike the majority of customers who come through the door, Nicola does not live “just round the corner”. She explains “I love to get my organic stuff here, pasta, rice and muesli too, but it’s not just about the products, it’s that I have a personal relationship with Catherine now too”

There is a character and charm in Unpackaged that cannot be achieved in any supermarket. Behind the weighing scales, there are photos of smiley friends and family. There is a card posted about the olive oil being behind the counter and it’s signed by “Cath” with a kiss. The notice board has fun and cheeky post-its hand written by customers, one says “I want Unpackaged to…open on every high street in every town so there is no need for supermarkets”

In this case at least, it seems the customer is always right.