Happy Planet Store: Sustainable Pop-Up Shop Opens In Manchester

New planet-friendly pop-up, Happy Planet Store, has opened in Manchester. Here's how it's supporting local businesses.

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Live in Manchester and looking for eco-friendly places to shop on the high street?

National social enterprise, Blue Patch, has teamed up with Manchester Art Gallery to create the Happy Planet Store.

Located at the gallery, this pop-up showcases small local businesses and ethically crafted products.

Here’s what to expect.

What is the Happy Planet Store?

The store is a combined shopping and sustainability experience.

Customers can support the gallery and local economy whilst shopping for beautifully crafted products handmade by local talented artisans.

Some of the products and brands featured include:

  • The Stitch Society artist smocks and pencil cases.
  • Ian Mankin recycled cotton throws.
  • GrowCycle Grow-your-own mushrooms.
  • Play Press Toys playhouses.
  • Kind2 plastic free shampoo bars.
  • 4160 Tuesdays handmade perfumes.
  • Tooth eco-friendly toothbrushes.
  • Bath House wellbeing products.
  • Chloe Haywood hot water bottles.
  • Handcrafted furniture by Bezueval and Tread Softly.

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Speaking about the reasons behind the need for the new eco pop-up, Blue Patch Founder Jane Langley says:

“The pandemic has highlighted fragilities in our economy especially when it comes to supply chains, it has also given us time to pause, and reflect on the world we inhabit.

“Since COP26 there is a real appetite for businesses to reflect our values especially around kindness and the environment.

“At Blue Patch, these are our core values and, as such, the businesses that we promote have to demonstrate these credentials.”

What is Blue Patch?

Founded in 2014, Blue Patch is a social enterprise that puts 100% of its profits into funding community-owned green energy projects with highlights including Brighton Energy’s Solar Schools in 2019 and Low Carbon Hub in Oxfordshire in 2020.

Its first investment of 2022 will be in Energy Garden, a community-owned solar energy company.

It also has a sustainable business directory for the UK and Ireland.

Blue Patch members are all local, heritage businesses that are committed to sustainability, providing local jobs, reducing emissions and being transparent in the supply chain.

The social enterprise was founded as an antidote to the ‘growth at all costs’ business model that was contributing to climate change and creating a limited space for small businesses that wanted to have a more positive impact.

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“Manchester has set a zero-carbon target for 2038 and this project underlines our commitment to achieving this goal”

For Alistair Hudson, Director of Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth, the partnership with Blue Patch is a natural one.

He explains: “Manchester Art Gallery is very happy to be hosting Blue Patch, as part of our drive to support a more sustainable and ethical economy and switch to an ecologically sound way of life.

“The gallery has always had a role as a kind of ‘regulator valve’ as Manchester has grown from a town to a super city, championing the role of both ethics and aesthetics in the development of a healthy society.

“Manchester has set a zero-carbon target for 2038 and this project underlines our commitment to achieving this goal, and at the same time supports the growth of community-owned green energy across the land.”

Learn more about the Happy Planet Store’s opening and all the featured brands.