WHAT CONTAINERS SHOULD I BRING TO COLLECTION?
You will need to think about the volumes of product you are buying and the containers you collect them in. For instance, 1kg of oats needs a container of approximately 3 litres in volume, 1kg of flour will need approximately 2 litres. In general, other products will need between 1 and 2 litres per kg. Click here for our full guide to approximate weight to volume ratios for all products.
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Where possible use containers you already own rather than buying new: bread or cereal bags, biscuit tins, takeaway containers, and so on. We love to see how creative people are!
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Here is our advice for making collection as easy as possible.
1) A set of reusable bags, cloth or sturdy plastic, is ideal for collecting.
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You can make cloth bags with string ties or buy them.
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Make them big so you can get all your order in one bag, this will save time.
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Pillow cases work really well for larger amounts of pasta for instance.
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Bags are light for transporting and take the form of their contents and so don’t waste space in your overall bag.
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Compostable bags are generally only compostable if you get them to an industrial composting facility. They can be reused but are flimsy and won’t last long. We’d suggest you avoid them.
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6) For cleaning and personal care liquids - advice and health & safety guidelines:
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Clean your container before refilling with a different product, this doesn't apply to refilling a container that previously contained exactly the same product .
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Remove previous labels before refilling if using a bottle for a different product. This includes if you are putting the same product from a different brand into an old bottle. eg. refilling an Ecover washing up liquid bottle with SESI washing up liquid.
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Prior to collection mark the volume you require on the container by using the same volume of water at home first. This will save you having to use a measuring jug and funnel at collection. We would really appreciate it if you even measure bottles that say they contain the quantity you require. If you simply fill to the top you may be taking much more than the quantity stated on the bottle. From experience, bottles are not always what they seem!
2) We suggest you do not bring glass to collection, breakages do happen and this not only wastes one of your containers but takes time to clear and make safe. If you store your products in glass jars at home, that is fine, you can decant from bags when you get home.
3) Tupperware, tins, boxes are also fine.
4) Try to avoid containers with a thin opening as it is hard to pour your products into containers like this, but we do have wide necked funnels available.
5) If you can label all your containers with the contents to go in and the amount this will really speed things up for you and will mean we can easily help you gather your order
without needing to refer to your list for each item.
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Use see through containers so that you can see the liquid inside, this is very important.
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Wide necked containers are much easier to use, anything bigger than 2cm is ideal.
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Bring as few containers as possible, it’s much easier to fill one large container than lots of little ones.
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For SESI products, label your refilled bottle with the product labels provided. Full product information is available on the Naked Larder website. If preferred you can print the product information out at home and stick on to the bottle in advance of collection. One of our team will be available to refill bottles for you when they can and it will be helpful if you put the SESI labels on your bottles before giving them to them. It would also help if you write your name on your bottles at home in advance so they don't get mixed up with other peoples.
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We cannot accept milk bottles for cleaning product refills as we have had a couple of reports of them degrading and the product leaking out.​
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Exercise extreme caution if you are refilling food or drinks bottles with detergents. Keep out of reach of children and it is even more important to label the bottle.
7) For shampoo, conditioner and moisturising lotion:
These are not runny liquids and cannot be dispensed into a measuring jug first so it is even more important to follow the above advice.
Use a jar or wide necked or very short necked bottle for these. They will not dispense into a long, narrow necked bottle as the neck gets plugged up.
8) It is the customer's responsibility to ensure their containers are FIT FOR PURPOSE. Naked Larder cannot be held responsible for any liability or damage arising from use of our refill products once they have been decanted into the customers own containers. Please make sure everything is clean and dry.
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9) We do usually have spare containers/bags/bottles available on the day also.
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10) A wheelie suitcase can be ideal for taking your shopping home with!
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11) Contact your local Naked Larder for further information.