This exciting edition is a subject I wanted to share with you the most. This column introduces to you 'stores that only sell something of a real substance'. Let me share what stores of sustainability sell and what differentiated services they offer their customers. Because there are so many interesting examples, I have categorized this theme into two parts – overseas edition and a local edition. Now, shall we take a look at stores overseas?

 It has already been quite some time ago, but I was once invited by a friend of mine in Chicago in college and I was shocked. My friend was very much interested in social and environmental issues, so much so that she would pack her salad in a lunchbox every day. But the entire tableware she used as we cooked lunch together at her home was disposable tableware. As I looked at the irony of her empty sink and full trash can, I felt disappointed thinking 'what does it matter how much we recycle in Korea?'

 There is a store that completely changed my thought about America – the Package Free Shop located in New York. It is a select store with the goal to literally make packaging of no use.

 The thing that left the biggest impression on me at the store which pursues 'Zero Waste Lifestyle' was that they asked if I wanted to remove the package of the item I purchased on the spot. What I bought was a silicone bag to replace disposable plastic bags and zipper bags. I was told that any packaging removed on the spot would be reused as packaging for another new product, allowing for the resource to be reused. I immediately said yes. Of course, it was good for me to reduce any baggage as a traveler, but more than that, I wanted to take part in the service that practices meaningful recycling right in front of my eyes. The paper package was removed without leaving a mark and was collected by the store to be repurposed as a new package for another silicone bag. As I saw it be reused with my own two eyes, I felt more pleasure than when I separated paper products to be collected and recycled. This very impressive method is still very clear in my memory.

 I would like to share more about the various products this store offered as well. The store held items that are now sold in Korea too, but I was quite pleasantly surprised when I first saw them at the Package Free Shop.

 The store's unique product line such as cotton rounds made of fabric that I never thought could be an alternative or razors that are usually thrown out was interesting. But the part where the store explains what happens to each product at their 'end of life' on its website shows how much this brand chooses its products carefully.

 Package Free Shop, which has both online and offline stores, does not make new delivery boxes for their deliveries across the country. It chooses boxes in good condition among already-used delivery boxes. This decision also shows how much the brand thought deeply throughout its entire process. As a select shop, there is no consistency in design across different products. But the font on its own products or texture of fabric it uses, or witty expressions show that sustainable life can be 'hip'.

 The second store I'd like to introduce to you is Original Unverpackt in Berlin. This store is famous for selling food products without packaging for the first time in Berlin. In fact, zero-packaging groceries is not a new concept to us. Remember when we were young when we would go to the market, bought groceries in the exact amount (by weighing the produce) we needed and brought it back home in a market basket? The today's standardized product is a convenient way for suppliers or sellers to predict demand. But as long as we can solve the issue of storage in today's market where the number of people per household is smaller and customers' needs are much more fragmented, buying only the amount of what we need can be much more appealing to customers. This is probably the reason why, as of this year, around 5,000 customers every month visited this small store.

 I had heard that the store sold fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables, but when I visited the store they only sold other items that can be stored for a certain period of time and can be sold in the exact amount customers needed such as nut products, grain products, tea, spices, pasta, and balsamic oil. The store also sold reusable containers for creams or other ingredients and fabric bags to hold fruits.

 Original Unverpackt founder Milena Glimbovski and Lina Schulz opened Original Unverpackt in 2014 after a long research into creating a plastic-free store since 2012. They shared the idea of a 'package-free store' through crowd funding and founded the brand with the support of 1,522 people funding 108,915 euros. It is quite encouraging that Original Unverpackt had since inspired about one hundred package-free stores to open across Germany. Because the purpose of the store is more focused on 'creating a culture' than generating profits, store staff encourage customers to bring their own containers rather than recommending the containers they sell at the store to take purchased items home. Continuing to run the store without losing sight of their philosophy was very impressive.

 This is a video of purchasing grains like buying candy from a candy store where you buy as much as you want in weight. Listen to the pleasant sound of sunflower seeds falling.

 The last store I'd like to introduce is Naked Lush. Starting in Berlin and Milan in 2018, Naked Lush opened its first store in the UK in Manchester. The brand is considering increasing Naked Lush stores. Naked store aims to run the store only with products that do not use plastic packaging. The store sells solid shampoo bars and body soaps that are offered at any general Lush store as well as various package-free cosmetics developed by the brand. Customers can experience the brand's experiment with sustainability through products offered at Naked Lush.

 Lush says that customers washed their hair 616,880 times without the use of any plastic bottles by using shampoo bars sold by Lush as of now, including products sold at Naked Lush (as of early 2019, accumulative). Naked Lush also holds regular workshops. At the workshops, Naked Lush discusses with customers ways to use liquid body products and solid soaps that can melt away in the humid environment of the bathroom without using packaging. Let me share a few more impressive points about the brand with you.

 Generally, the packaging of cosmetics has the name of the product, brand name, function, how to use, and instructions. Products without packaging not only comes with challenges in the way to use or store the product, but also on how to introduce product related information. To solve this issue, Naked Lush has enabled customers to access product information using a smart lens-based mobile application service called 'Lush Labs'. When a product is recognized through the lens, the app connects to the relevant product information page. The brand also makes stickers that hold barcode and product info and stick them on containers customers bring. If a customer didn't bring a container, Naked Lush provides the sticker on paper package provided at free of cost.

 Using a QR code or barcode to provide product information is a method that is already used at places that sell various types of products in an efficient manner such as Olive Young or department stores. Rather than faithfully showing product information, there are cases where product information is offered by inserting QR codes in smart price tags at places that encourage customers to make purchase choices on their own. The difference is that Lush was the first to use this method on cosmetics to replace packaging. When brands talk about sustainability, many emphasize the point that their products only minimally process natural elements. Changing the way of service by utilizing the right technology can also be an option.

 This brings me to the end of my column introducing 'overseas stores that only sell something of a real substance' I myself visited this year. There is also a growing number of stores that offer similar services here in Korea. The column's next edition will bring to you the story of sustainable stores in Korea!