![\"\"](\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Kokubunji-1-1024x768.jpeg\")
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOne of the early challenges was around mindset. \u201cThe convenience and level of service that Japan is known for, has been hard to shake. Businesses are used to providing it, and for consumers it\u2019s also hard to forgo this readily available convenient lifestyle,\u201d Mona explains. \u201cI also think the urgency isn\u2019t clear \u2013 a lot of people understand that being wasteful is not \u2018right\u2019, but they don\u2019t understand the extreme damage this waste is causing the world. I also believe people want to do more but that they don\u2019t know how to take matters into their own hands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest expansion for Totoya is a zero waste supermarket in Kyoto, Totoya Kyoto, which opened on July 31 this year. This store has over 800 food and lifestyle items (much bigger than Kokubunji) which means that more and more waste-conscious brands can gain exposure, and hopefully attract new businesses too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the measures the team is implementing here to eliminate food waste from any leftover fresh produce is to transform part of the store into a zero waste restaurant at night. \u201cAnother major difference for the Kyoto store is that we are implementing technologies that make the shopping experience smoother and faster. Our technology partner for scales and cashiers is provided Teraoka Seiko, who are working with us to bring technologies that are used in Europe\u2014where zero waste shopping is almost common\u2014to Japan for the first time, and we are excited to be implementing some of these technologies and services for the first time ever.\u201d The size of the store means that more and more brands can gain exposure, and consequently it is becoming more important for brands to care more about waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While established brands like Muji are introducing the idea of bulk-buying bins to their stores, the message is a bit mixed given that the bins have only been introduced to a very few stores, and also that many of the products inside are still plastic wrapped. But, it\u2019s undoubtedly a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJapan, as well as the world, is moving towards a more sustainable future for the environment. We think that systematic changes can and are happening. We hope that the success of our Kyoto store as the first zero waste supermarket in Japan will allow other businesses to try similarly to not only succeed as a business, but as a member of society. It is our aim for Totoya to not be an exception but rather for zero waste shopping to become the norm. Therefore we are continuously working to support others who want to open zero waste stores across the country.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept of zero waste shopping is not new, and in Japan we are well into the first wave. We spoke with Mona Neuhauss, the PR manager at the small but visionary Totoya, about their zero waste stores and the exciting future for Japan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":48620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[119,117],"tags":[1952,3435,3444,2568,272,3442,3440,3443],"place":[223,133],"writer":[],"class_list":["post-48614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-guides-en","category-culture-en","tag-kyoto","tag-nue-by-totoya-en","tag-sell-by-weight","tag-sustainable","tag-tokyo-3","tag-totoya","tag-zero-waste","tag-zero-waste-shopping","place-kyoto-en","place-tokyo-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/\u30c9\u30e9\u30a4\u30c8\u30de\u30c8-Nue-1024x682.jpeg\")
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