Appointed with blonde wood furnishings and just the right number of potted plants, Slowood feels like a MUJI-fied grocery store that makes you want to keep returning for more – though that’s about as far from the point of its existence as you can get.
Proposing a “mindful way of living,” Slowood, unveiled in January, purveys eco-friendly and organic alternatives to personal care, household, and pantry products, from facial wash and liquid soap to an extensive array of pasta, grains, seeds, and natural sweeteners. You’ll find not only pedestrian brown, red, and black rice, but also substitutes that are less often stocked such as wheat grains, giant couscous from Italy, and pearl barley from the UK, all elegantly dispensed from raw wooden shelves.
Slowood isn’t the first of its kind in Hong Kong, but it’s certainly one of the largest – and most of the details within its 3,000sqft space adhere to principles of zero waste and sustainability. The lampshades, chairs, and parts of the tables in the store’s café are, interestingly enough, crafted from fungi (mushrooms); recycled Styrofoam and old wooden wine crates serve as shelves.
Toward the back of the marketplace is a display of housewares from labels including Zuperzozial, which manufactures tableware and other products from biodegradable bamboo and corn; earth-conscious Japanese brand Wasara, whose disposable tableware are compostable and crafted from 100 per cent tree-free renewable sources; and If You Care, which produces unbleached and sustainably made kitchen essentials (coffee and tea filters, parchment roasting bags, sandwich bags, and more).
And because we all know that shopping for groceries makes it very difficult to escape single-use materials, Slowood introduces a refill station to help address the issue of over-packaging in Hong Kong. It might take a little bit more effort to bring your own containers and weigh your purchases, but the comprehensive array available at this one-stop shop means you probably won’t have to hop from one eco-friendly store to the next.
Slowood is at The Hudson, 11 Davis Street, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong.
Photography courtesy of Slowood
See also: New Brews and Modern Interiors at a Tea Cafe in Sai Ying Pun
