{"id":464780,"date":"2025-12-22T17:20:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T17:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/464780\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T17:20:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T17:20:25","slug":"the-unwaste-shop-brings-sustainable-living-to-beverly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/464780\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unwaste Shop Brings Sustainable Living To Beverly"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEVERLY \u2014 Beverly resident Randi Alexander has been focusing on living a more sustainable life for the past decade. Now, she is helping make sustainability more accessible to neighbors across the South Side.<\/p>\n

Alexander and Todd Barancik, co-owners of The Unwaste Shop<\/a> in the West Loop, opened a second location in Beverly on Nov. 28. The zero-waste store aims to provide sustainable alternatives to everyday items \u2014 a mission Alexander is passionate about.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to try and eliminate single-use plastics and provide sustainable alternatives for everyday items,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cWe hope we can solve that need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Unwaste Shop Beverly, 1915 W. 103rd St., includes a variety of\u00a0eco-friendly products, zero-waste essentials and a refill station to cut down on single-use plastics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our refill station, we try to have an alternative to your everyday items,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cWe have bath, body and beauty items, dry goods and pantry items, as well as cleaning and laundry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Unwaste Shop Beverly offers a refill station where customers can bring a container from home and fill up on different household items and dry goods. Credit: Jim Lynch\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

The Unwaste Shop was founded in 2021<\/a> as a pop-up shop by Broadway performers Jessica Naimy and Ben Mayne in West Town. Barancik acquired the business in early 2022, and Alexander joined that fall when the duo opened their first location in the West Loop.<\/p>\n

Alexander\u2019s passion for sustainable living took root a decade ago while backpacking across the country. While visiting 35 states over a year and a half, she began to realize just how much waste people create.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was out in the wilderness a lot visiting a lot of national parks and living out of a backpack,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cI just became really aware of waste, not only mine, but seeing other people\u2019s and how much excess there was.\u201d <\/p>\n

Alexander started her own sustainable living journey, first working with a zero-waste food service company in Chicago before partnering with Barancik at The Unwaste Shop.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Unwaste Shop aims to provide sustainable alternatives to everyday items. Credit: Jim Lynch\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Barancik, who is based in the West Loop, oversees the West Loop location, while Alexander manages the new Beverly storefront.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal was to always expand,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cWith this business, part of the difficulty is accessibility. It isn\u2019t accessible or convenient. So many people want to do it, but it\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

With their new location, Alexander hopes more people can make a change to sustainable living. She said the early response from the community has been positive. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey have been so supportive,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cI have been so blown away from the community response.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Unwaste Shop partners with a number of community groups, including Reduce Waste Chicago<\/a>, a nonprofit that aims to empower residents to address climate change through waste reduction, and EcoShip<\/a>, a nonprofit that collects shipping materials from Chicago-area communities and distributes them to businesses and individuals for reuse.<\/p>\n

The Beverly storefront is now collecting non-working holiday string lights in partnership with Reduce Waste Chicago as well as used shipping materials with EcoShip.<\/p>\n

The Unwaste Shop will host a Do It Yourself Bookmaking Workshop guided by Kelly Laughlin, artist and founder of\u00a0Odette Press<\/a>, 5-6:30 p.m. Jan. 24. Participants will use traditional bookmaking tools to sew their own soft-cover journals. All materials are provided. Tickets are available on the shop\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Unwaste Shop owners Randi Alexander and Todd Barancik. Credit: Provided<\/p>\n

Alexander said all are welcome at the shop no matter their expertise with living sustainably.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want people to feel comfortable here no matter where they are,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cThere is no judgement. We\u2019re not perfect. It\u2019s just how do we make it more accessible, attainable and convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours of operation are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays.<\/p>\n

Learn more\u00a0online<\/a>\u00a0and follow the shop on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. Contact the store by emailing beverly@theunwasteshop.com\u00a0or calling 708-285-0105.<\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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