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SOCIETY<br />
Brits drop the<br />
stiff upper lip<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
ASDA opens first sustainability store<br />
The supermarket giant is taking steps in the right direction<br />
Lately, we’ve all been thinking<br />
a little more about the things<br />
that we can do to protect the<br />
environment. One option is<br />
cutting back on the amount of<br />
plastic we’re using in our daily<br />
lives. Though, with plastic firmly<br />
ingrained in our society, this<br />
doesn’t come without challenges.<br />
But that could, finally, be<br />
changing.<br />
In a move to help customers<br />
chose greener options,<br />
superstore ASDA has opened<br />
a new sustainability trial<br />
store, partnering with some<br />
of the biggest brands in the<br />
UK – including PG Tips, Vimto,<br />
Kellogg’s, Radox, and Persil – for<br />
their plastic-free section in the<br />
Middleton, Leeds, store.<br />
The trial is set to evaluate<br />
what works best for customers,<br />
with plans to roll it out to more<br />
locations in 2021, if it proves<br />
popular.<br />
“Our own insight tells us that<br />
more than 80% [of customers]<br />
believe that supermarkets have<br />
a responsibility to reduce the<br />
amount of single-use plastics in<br />
stores,” says Roger Burnley, CEO<br />
and president of ASDA. “We want<br />
to give them the opportunity to<br />
live more sustainably by offering<br />
them great product choices and<br />
value, underpinned by a promise<br />
that they won’t pay more for<br />
greener options at ASDA.”<br />
Is this the sign that a more<br />
sustainable world is on the<br />
horizon? We certainly hope so!<br />
It’s an age-old stereotype that<br />
British people don’t like to talk<br />
about our feelings, and would<br />
prefer to stay quiet and try to<br />
work through them alone. But<br />
things seem to be changing for<br />
the better, as a new survey, from<br />
data research and analytics firm<br />
Glow, now shows.<br />
In the study, almost two-thirds<br />
of respondents reported that<br />
they felt comfortable asking for<br />
the help that they need, and also<br />
felt confident that they would be<br />
able to support others who are<br />
struggling with their own mental<br />
health, too.<br />
With a rise in the number of<br />
people speaking out about their<br />
mental health in the media and<br />
online, it makes sense that it may<br />
be becoming more normalised –<br />
and that, in turn, is affecting the<br />
ways that we speak and respond<br />
to the people in our own lives.<br />
So often, the first step to feeling<br />
better is to begin talking to others<br />
about the things that are going on<br />
out of view. And while stoicism<br />
has come hand-in-hand with<br />
British culture so far, breaking<br />
down the walls that we put up,<br />
and learning how to be there<br />
for one another, is a vision for<br />
a kinder future. So, perhaps we<br />
should be less ‘keep calm and<br />
carry on’ and more ‘keep calm<br />
and keep talking’.<br />
Writing | Kathryn Wheeler<br />
happiful.com | 9
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