When we debut in 2011, in.gredients will be the first package-free, zero waste grocery store in the United States.

Perhaps it's not the achievement that warrants the most attention. Perhaps the real surprise here is that while packaging makes up nearly 40 percent of all landfill-bound municipal waste, our stores remain filled with packaged goods. The fact is, packaging isn't always necessary - and it's almost always thrown away.

Since there's no fundamental shift on the horizon for food packaging, we're taking matters into our own hands and rejecting unnecessary packaging altogether. in.gredients is an experiment that will serve as a testing ground for what package-free looks like practically and become a model for more sustainable food retail.

At in.gredients we promote a "reduce, reuse, then recycle" approach - which is to say "reduce waste, reuse what you have to use, and recycle what you can’t reuse any longer." Our zero waste operations mean we send nothing to the landfill by reusing, recycling, or composting 100 percent of our on-site waste. While it's sometimes hard to live sustainably in our society, we hope to facilitate sustainable living by enabling our customers to use resuable containers and bags from home for grocery shopping.

We're excited to bring package-free groceries and the first zero-waste grocery store to the US. Until we open, follow us to stay tuned to updates - give us feedback via twitter or email about what you want our store to offer, packaging not included.