The grand opening of Tare Market in Northeast occurred on Earth Day, Friday April 22nd. At 945 Broadway St. NE this is Tare Market’s second location. Owner Amber Haukedahl opened her first Tare Market three years ago in south Minneapolis and chose Earth Day as a launch day for both locations. She finds Northeast “a community filled with sustainable-minded people and families who are open thinkers and a natural fit for our market”.
Haukedahl’s interest in zero waste started several years ago when she learned about what happens to trash and about recycling systems in the U.S. She wanted to purchase zero waste products, and one of the only places at that time to find products such as bamboo toothbrushes or compostable dental floss was Amazon. But, the carbon footprint with delivery and packaging from Amazon defeated the purpose. She opened Tare Market for this reason, offering zero waste products that are accessible.
For many years recycled plastics, paper and metals from the U.S. and other countries were sent to China for processing and recycling. In 2018 China announced to the world they would no longer accept solid waste recycling including plastics. “As a whole in the USA right now 91% of plastics in your recycling ends up as trash,” Haukedahl said. It is cheaper to make new plastic than to recycle old. “We don’t create new plastic, we refill bulk products in the same container,” she said.
Tare is a synonym for zero and refers to the process of calibrating a scale to take into account the weight of a container so that only the items within it are measured.
Tare Market offers 768 items from shelf-stable bulk foods like rice, beans and pasta to family-friendly snacks like fig bars, mango slices and grind-your-own peanut butter. There’s a great selection of bulk cleaning supplies, personal care and pet items, coffee and tea. Prices are comparable to other stores. One store favorite is the Swedish dish cloth, which can be used like a paper towel, or to wash dishes, and can be reused more than 1,000 times before composting it. Vendors refill bulk containers so everything along the supply chain is as sustainable as possible. Customers are encouraged to bring in their own clean container, or containers are available in the store. Tare offers online purchase of items and delivery for a small fee.
Although the recycling culture in Minnesota is strong, many plastics are not ultimately recycled. Bulk purchasing and buying zero waste products reduces packaging destined for the trash or incineration. Returning to the reusing habits of several generations past – for example, using bulk shopping containers that would otherwise be thrown away or recycled – is taking a small step in caring for this planet.
Tare Market is located on the first floor of the historic Broadway Building at 945 Broadway St. NE (same building as Spyhouse Coffee).
Interested in learning more? Tare Market periodically will offer the class “Transition your home to Zero Waste.” Subscribe to the newsletter at TheTareMarket.com to learn about upcoming classes.
Below: Owner Amber Haukedahl opened Tare Market’s location in Northeast on Earth Day 2022. Tare offers products in bulk and customers refill their clean containers. (Photo by Patti Hoffmann)