A Perth couple have opened a new zero-waste shop in a bid to make saving the planet friendly on the pocket.
Moved by both the cost of living and climate crises, David and Rachel Amdurer wanted to find a way to do their bit for both causes.
Feeling stuck in a rut during the coronavirus pandemic, the couple decided to take the plunge and leave their careers in education to open their shop, Leachman’s on Perth High Street.
The store opened this week, selling food, eco-friendly products and sustainable gifts.
‘People are struggling’
Rachel said: “We really wanted to do something that would help people during the cost of living crisis.
“We’ve felt the pinch recently, but are also concerned about the environment.
“We wanted to do something that blended both of these things.”
The couple are focusing on keeping their prices as low as possible amid the cost of living crisis.
They want the store to be sustainable, but also cheap.
Rachel said: “Because there’s a cost of living crisis, we wanted to keep the food as cheap as possible.
“People are struggling, and we have witnessed that here in Perth.
“We wanted to create somewhere that people could go to, that’s both affordable, and nice to shop at.”
Rachel added that in her experience, zero-waste shops are often more expensive than mainstream supermarkets, something she and her husband want to change.
She said: “In our experience, cheap and nice shops don’t normally go hand in hand, so we want our store to be both of those things.
“Alongside this, there’s also an environmental crisis.
“So we wanted to create a place that is cheap and also environmentally friendly.
“We wanted to do what we could to help people during the cost of living crisis.
“We’ve centred our store around that.”
“That’s how Leachman’s was born.
“The name is also a family name, which makes it even more personal.
“Our number one goal with the store is to cater to everyone, despite their background or income.”
Covid career change
David and Rachel moved from Leeds to Perth six years ago for a slower pace of life.
But during the pandemic they decided it was time for another change and left their jobs in education to get Leachman’s up and running.
Rachel said: “Your work has to be something that you enjoy. You spend so much of your time at work, it consumes your days.
“What is the point of being trapped in a job that you hate?
“Sometimes you have to take a chance on a new path, and take a leap into doing something you love.
“My days are my life, and I had to do something that I wanted to do.
“You have to do what’s right for you, and this is right for us.
No regrets
David added: “Yes, we both felt like we were stuck in our lives.
“We weren’t happy with our jobs, and knew it was time to make a change.
“Once we got the idea down, everything happened very quickly.
“We only came up with the concept in March following the drastic increase in the cost of living. We knew we needed to do something.
“It was exactly the right move for us.”
Conversation