MUJI Islington Community Store
On August 31st, 2022, MUJI Islington reopened after refurbishment as the first MUJI Community Store in the UK.
“What MUJI should be”
MUJI Islington is a residential store with a strong local customer base. Our aim is to be ‘rooted in the Local Community’ and ‘to contribute to society by making ESG approachable and accessible in everyday life’. We focused on connecting with the community by introducing local initiatives, and by highlighting sustainable store design, products and our communication to our customers.
Community Initiatives
‘Neighbourhood’ MyBag Competition with Hugh Myddelton Primary School.
We are supporting the local primary school (8 mins walk from the store) by donating the profits from the sales of the printed bags (image above) back to the school to help raise funds for various Art projects. The new window display currently shows all the participating drawings from school children, aged 7 – 11.
Community Market
We have partnered with a small local plant store, ‘The Archway Planter’ to provide an easy-care and affordable selection of plants. We have incorporated the greenery into our store and hanging display features to help improve the store environment. The space is free of charge and suppliers will keep 100% of their sales. We aim to continue with the Community Market initiative to help local suppliers, small business and charities going forward.
ReMUJI
Upcycled MUJI clothes from our customer garment collecting initiative. Items are over-dyed and offered as ReMUJI to help waste reduction. Garments are hand-dyed in the UK by a local dyer, Lisa Reddings at Indigowares?using 100% natural plant and vegetable dyes.
As well as unwanted garment collections, customers are also encouraged to bring in their skincare empties and any damaged plastic items for us to recycle. Collected waste is recycled into new useful products.
Water Refill Station
Customers can refill their water bottle for free. The counter feature on the machine displays the number of bottles that have been refilled, which helps to minimise the use of single-use plastic bottles.
Reusable Water Bottles
We offer a new reusable water bottle made from recycled plastic collected from our UK stores. The factory repurposes materials in partnership with our recycling partners.
Store Design & Other Initiatives
Feature Wall
Made using repurposed wood, the ceiling joists comes from a demolished building in Northwest London. Most of our fixtures have been reused from other projects to help reduce waste.
Other initiatives include:
Charity Donations
Customers are given the opportunity to donate after their transaction to support UNHCR’s Ukraine Emergency Appeal.
Self Checkouts
Two new self checkout tills available for our customer’s convenience.
Single-use Carrier Bag Charges
As part of our effort to create a more sustainable business with consideration for the environment, paper carrier bags are now at a charge of 10p. The aim is to help reduce the use of single-use bags and encourage the use of reusable shoppers.
Product Packaging & Signage
We are in the process of reviewing packaging and display materials in consideration of the environment, with the aim of reusing recycled resources and help reduce waste.
MUJI Islington Overview
Name: MUJI Islington Community Store
Location: Angel Central, 14 Parkfield Street, London N1 0PS
Size: 243.8 sqm2
Opened: May 2014
Refurbished: August 2022