Story

The Blue Market Concept

Blue Market AK is committed to introducing and making convenient an earth-conscious "unpackaged" refill shopping experience that will encourage a simpler, mindful approach to shopping.  Our little blue market cart  already carries a sampling of household and personal products in bulk that we will provide at our brick and mortar store in 2020 (note bulk food items will also be available at our store).  You can find us at farmers markets and pop-ups starting August 2019.

• Blue Market AK employs the  REFILL model of shopping to support the“4 R’s” of a mindful consumer: REFUSING single-use plastics, REDUCING, REUSING and RECYCLING.  
• We also contribute 1% of proceeds back to a different environmental cause every month.  
• We believe in taking steps to change purchasing habits, and we believe that people want to participate in change.
• We provide earth-friendly products, each one vetted by us to ensure vendors' transparency based on their impact to the planet, ethical production and business practices.
• You will save money by reusing containers you already have, produce less waste by avoiding single-use-plastics, and feel good about contributing to a local business that gives back.
• You will refill containers from bulk bins and liquids on tap, instead of adding to that drawer of bags and containers in your kitchen.  

This will be the first neighborhood market in Anchorage that carries a spectrum of goods emphasizing eco-friendly shopping, all in one location (fresh local market produce, food and cooking items, personal care products, household cleansers, and gifts that are locally-made whenever possible).  
 

Our Vision for the Brick and Mortar

By backing us during this campaign, we will be able to secure a location for a brick and mortar retail spot.  The atmosphere will be intimate, inviting, bright and uncluttered. We will be pedestrian and bike friendly. We will offer free on-site and electronically available information that contain tips about how to affordably become earth-conscious shoppers and eaters, and how to reduce our own carbon footprints. Space will be available for meetings, group discussions, community gatherings, or just hanging out.

The carefully curated selection of products reduces the number of choices and addresses shopping-overload anxiety that bigger stores with hundreds of brands can produce.  You will shop with confidence knowing each product meets the Blue Market standards of sustainability. You will keep single use plastics out of the landfills and water-ways.

You can change the course of our ocean's and earth's future by helping us get started.

Our Goals

Raise at least $30,000 to grow our business beyond the little blue market cart: this amount matches what each of our Founders has committed, in addition to their time, to make Blue Market AK a reality. Each $30,000 covers approximately 1 month of retail store overhead.  If we reach our funding goal we can recoup the start-ups costs associated with the business and the little blue market cart and stock our shelves for the opening of a brick and mortar store.  If we exceed our fundrasiing goal, funds will go into the store build-out and additional start-up costs.  All proceeds  from this campaign and the little blue market cart go directly back into the business.  We will not take any salary until 2020 and do not anticipate making any profit until the store front opens. 

Reduce the garbage in the ocean: minimal to no plastic packaging, minimal waste, compostable, eco-friendly, fair trade, locally made, good quality and not too many choices

Improve shopping by slowing down: friendly atmosphere

Benefit the customer: guilt-free shopping, connection to a community, friendly environment, peaceful moments in a hectic day, healthy, contributing to a solution, easy access to schools, work, larger grocery stores.

Problem solved: Customers will not have drawers full of plastic bags, will no longer be contributing to the landfills or to ocean pollution.  Items that are normally available only online or disbursed locations will be available here.
 

And that's all there is to it.
 

Perks