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Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of North Shore
Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
EP #72 - Beyond the Bottle with Unpacked Living: Reimagining Our Relationship with Everyday Products
Sabrina Auclair founded Unpacked Living in 2019 to combat the overwhelming waste generated by American consumer culture. Her zero-waste store challenges misconceptions about sustainable living, proving that eco-friendly products can be affordable and accessible. Specializing in “naked products” and refillable options, Unpacked Living serves Massachusetts’ North Shore through a physical location and reaches customers nationwide via an online shop. Auclair’s approach eliminates wasteful packaging and makes conscious shopping effortless, emphasizing small changes that lead to a significant environmental impact.
Beyond selling sustainable products, Unpacked Living stands out by meticulously vetting each item, ensuring ethical sourcing and genuine eco-friendliness in an era of rampant greenwashing. Auclair’s journey hasn’t been without obstacles—closing a second location helped her refocus on purpose over profit. Her commitment to meaningful change extends beyond business, fostering a community dedicated to sustainability. Ready to embrace low-waste living? Connect with Unpacked Living on Instagram and Facebook @UnpackLiving or visit unpackliving.com to explore products that align with your values.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Yvonne Godfrey.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Joining us today we have Sabrina Auclair. She is the owner of Unpacked Living. Sabrina, how are you today?
Speaker 3:I'm good. How are you? I'm so happy to be part of this podcast.
Speaker 2:Oh, we're so excited to have you here and to share with our listeners information about Unpacked Living. So can you tell our listeners about your company?
Speaker 3:Yes, Unpacked Living was created back in 2019, and we specialize in plastic-free, zero-waste, ethically sourced. So we are what it's called now a zero-waste store. We serve the North Shore of Massachusetts, but we also have an online store so everybody from all the United States can order from us. And, yeah, we are basically an environmentally conscious store and we provide the products everyday products to anybody that wants to switch their plastic products for environmentally conscious ones.
Speaker 2:Okay, and how did you get started in this business?
Speaker 3:I am from a different country.
Speaker 3:I'm from Colombia, from Latin America, and our culture is just so different from the consumerism in America. So when I came to live in the United States, I was shocked, basically, at the amount of trash and the lack of resources to manage all the trash and the recycling, and I decided that there has to be a better way than relying on Only recycling our items, and there should be items that are not even meant to be recycled. They're just meant to not be packaged in Materials that need some kind of process, so let's call them naked products or refill products. I should be able to just go to a store and refill my bottle of shampoo instead of having to buy another bottle or just find shampoo that doesn't come in a bottle to begin with. So that's what drove me to it to find these products, to get into this industry that at the time I didn't know existed. So now we are a network of a few stores in a community of zero wasters that want to do better for the planet. That's what drove me to it.
Speaker 2:Thank you, you're welcome. So, sabrina, what are some myths or misconceptions in your industry?
Speaker 3:myths or misconception in your industry. I think the main myth is that eco-friendly products are expensive, and that might be the case a few years ago, but it's not anymore because there's more demand for them. So now eco-friendly products and refills are completely affordable for everyone. We are trying, as an industry, to make them more and more accessible to everyone, and now that's a myth. That's a myth they're not expensive anymore.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, beautiful. So, sabrina, outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:I actually work all the time, but I like to watch movies and just spend time with my dogs and community. I do a lot of community programs where my store is and I belong to many committees and I like to help in the town and making events. So let's say, my free time it's also working event.
Speaker 2:So let's say my free time, it's also working Okay and at the same time, you're getting the message out.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, I just like to collaborate with friends and other business owners. It's nice to have that community.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. So let's change gears. Sabrina, can you describe one hardship or one of life's challenge that you rose above and can now say that because of it, you're better, you're stronger? What comes to your mind?
Speaker 3:Well, there's a few, but I think the main one is that I had another store, so we only have one brick and mortar. But two years ago I opened a second location and that failed immediately. It was really fast and I thought that an environmentally friendly store that was so well received by one community was going to be well received everywhere, and there was nothing further from the truth. It was a failure from the beginning and we were in this other community for two years but then I had to close it. I actually closed it this year and as a business owner and as an entrepreneur basically somebody that does not know a lot about business that was a huge failure.
Speaker 3:Obviously, that was a huge hardship and it taught me a lot. Now I know better what to do, what to look for, and it also allowed me to slow down a bit and, like rethink what my business is about and it's not about scaling and growing and just the business side is secondary to the actual mission of our business. So, yeah, that was something that was hard and obviously not a great thing to happen to have a failing business. So, yeah, that was something that was hard and obviously not a great thing to happen to have a failing business. But now it's done and it did teach me a lot and it made me more resilient and more let's say wiser. So, yeah, I think that that's the one.
Speaker 2:Wow, interesting. So, sabrina, please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Unpacked Living Unpacked Living.
Speaker 3:It's there for you. That's what everybody should remember that there are products out there that are actually made in a conscious, ethical way, which is so hard to find now. Right Nowadays, you don't really know what you're getting. You don't really know what you're buying. There's a lot of greenwashing and lies out there and I think we're all trying to do better. So stores like mine specialize in doing we do the homework for you. We find these products, we find these vendors, the right ingredients, the right materials, the right packaging, so you don't have to go looking for it. So I want people to remember Unpacked Living as that hub of products that you can feel fine purchasing, you can feel fine buying because you know they're coming from great companies, small businesses, family-owned businesses that are doing better for the planet. And, yeah, that's the main reason to shop with us to feel better about yourself and to feel good about our future. As you know, environmentally conscious people.
Speaker 2:And the beauty is that your service is available and, yeah, we are so happy to serve the community and, just overall, the entire country. So, sabrina, how can our listeners learn more about Unpacked Living? Do you have a website? Do you have an email? How can we learn?
Speaker 3:Yes, we do Absolutely. We do have social media. We have an Instagram page at Unpack Living. We have a Facebook page, also at Unpack Living and we have a website, unpacklivingcom. That's where you can shop and learn more about everything we do. And, yeah, you can find us pretty much everywhere.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. So, sabrina, I really appreciate you taking the time to be with us today, and we wish you and your business all the very best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for inviting me. This was great. Thank you, thanks for the opportunity.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPNorthshorecom. That's GNPNorthshorecom, or call 857-703-9406.