In this Temper series, art and non-wasteful behavior aficionada Kate Kologrivaya sits down for a Deepdive and some Chitchat with people who are changing the face of China’s urban landscape. Wasting zero time, here’s #3: sustainable savant Carrie Yu of The Bulk House.
It’s pretty amazing that our society has reached a point
where we extract oil from the ground,
ship it to a refinery,
turn it into plastic, shape it appropriately,
truck it to a store, buy it and bring it home,
because it’s easier than to just wash the spoon
when you’re done eating.
– unknown
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The Bulk House is a social enterprise which entered the world in early 2017. Back at that time, the concept of recycling was a rather obscure notion in Beijing. Its founder Carrie Yu saw the piles of waste building up in her old compound, realized she was adding more bulk to the pile and decided to step up her game. And go zero waste — biz boss style.
Her store’s original mission statement was to become a one-stop-shop for all things zero waste while also promoting the underlying philosophy, sporting a sense of accessibility and convenience for all.
The Bulk House today has evolved from selling one reusable metal straw to dozens, hundreds even, of products across the sustainable board.
Time to dive in.
Welcome to The Bulk House.
The Deepdive
Carrie
I think it would be so cool if people would be able to slow down for a moment and just… Think.
Kate
Do you often do that yourself?
Carrie
I try to, but sometimes I fail. Our work is really intense, and I constantly need to check if everything is alright with deliveries, customers and production given I’m responsible for the store’s operational and logistical running.
Kate
Did you originally start offline?
Carrie
We first launched online and then within the same period also started thinking that maybe we should give it a try off the WWW. We just wanted to take it for a test drive, you know, see how it would pan out. Turns out people were really interested and wanted to visit the physical shop and find out more about the products. So our offline space became pretty popular pretty fast — and we’re now upon year No.5.
Kate
Did you have any experience running a business before establishing The Bulkhouse?
Carrie
Not directly, but I did gain some working experience beforehand and was responsible for tasks like those I’m doing now. I’ve worked at a firm where my boss was giving me all sorts of responsibilities ranging from finance to HR and logistics. I didn’t go [well, dive — #howcouldoneresist] too deep into each and every one of those chores but did literally take on everything imaginable.
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Kate
But then.. You opted to walk down a bold, unbeaten path: your own business.
Carrie
This was funny because, contrary to what you most often hear, this wasn’t a long and thoughtful decision-making process. I felt more like a kid who didn’t know what she was doing but just really wanted to go for it. I had something I was phantastically interested in, so I wanted to give it a go.
Kate
Do you feel like your parents gave you the freedom to be a wild child?
Carrie
Oh, well, this where we should travel back to my childhood. I have a very supportive sister and a not-so-supportive younger brother, and we all grew up in a very traditional Chinese family. It was quite rare for a family to have three kids in the 90s [– that’s only been allowed since June of this year, FYI ]. But after two girls, my parents desperately wanted a son and they eventually managed to have one.
In this big family, I always felt like I was in the middle of a sandwich. I was constantly being compared with my sister and brother. Both are super good at everything they try their hand at — especially at getting the top scores in school. I always felt pressured and wanted to escape. You know, I grew up in the suburbs of Wuhan and constantly wanted to go out and see more. Not just the city, but the whole world!
Kate
So what did you do?
Carrie
I went to vocational school for about a year – opting out of high school. Then I realized school, to me, felt useless and boring. I had to work and pay for classes, which didn’t make sense to me.
I stepped out of my comfort zone, faced some challenges, and those enabled me to explore and learn more. Teachers at school were always paying attention to the best students, whilst I would often feel left out. Plus, they were teaching something that I figured I could easily learn online. Why then bother sitting in class?
I taught myself computer skills and then headed south to work in a factory – all before I’d even turned 17. Long story short, after some time, I realized that I would need to try and be myself in a bigger city, so I bought a ticket to Beijing. I always told my parents about my decisions after I’d already put my plans into action, so there was never anything they could do about it. What is done, is done!
Kate
What do you feel you’ve learned since settling down and creating a brand?
Carrie
I definitely learned to say no and am still learning how to define my priorities. When you feel overwhelmed, you should just stop for a moment, especially when you have to make too many choices within a too short period of time.
If you’re a yes person then at some point, you will do nothing. It happened to us when we started the shop and were constantly involved in too many projects outside of it. Eventually we couldn’t properly do our own job. Now, we are trying to focus on our brand.
Kate
You work with a small team, right?
Carrie
Yes, only four people for now, but everyone is brilliant in their own right. This is another thing. I’ve learned that finding the right person for the job is very important. Without a team, you can’t do anything; but with a team, everything seems possible.
Kate
When you were creating your brand, what was your inspiration?
Carrie
Though we did know about different projects outside of China, for me personally, setting up a zero-waste shop was all about my own needs and how I wanted to fulfill these. I didn’t want to make money or educate anyone; I just wanted to cut my waste and replace all possible stuff and packaging in the house with disposable and biodegradable materials. I also wanted to clear my mind and stop reading the news, so I turned to work.
Kate
What’s the hardest part of it all?
Carrie
Money. Money is always an issue because we need to pay salaries, bills and keep up a stock of good quality products. And we have a demand, but there’s a tough balance between demand and things we produce, which we have to sustain. Time is another thing that never seems to suffice.
Kate
How would you rank “money, time and people” on your priority list?
Carrie
That’s an interesting question. I think, I’d still put money or cash flow first because it’s not just about me. And then time — because it’s precious. People… like customers… I don’t know, they come and go, and they are usually not sure what they want anyway. We mostly work with those who already live a zero-waste style; I believe we’re doing a good job at maintaining a close client relationship.
Kate
Do you feel like many people prefer to live differently? When I think about minimalist lifestyle, I see it as really focused and less chaotic, as we all tumble inside a whirl of insanity? How did you first go zero-waste?
Carrie
Oh, that was super simple. My landlord kicked me out. He gave me a couple of days to pack everything up and it was Chinese New Year. I looked at my stuff and realized I only need a very small amount of what was factually there, that’s all.
Kate
A lot of people don’t even realize what do they have. I travel and move a lot, so I’m thoughtful about my belongings. When I buy something new, I revise my whole “cr*p list” and donate or sell things I don’t use or wear anymore. When I moved from Beijing to Shanghai and my friends helped me unpack, they were shocked with the small amount of stuff I actually own. They expected Kim K coming to town but saw a bachelorette basic kit.
Carrie
Right. And I find it ridiculous when people ask: how do you live like that? Because I want to ask them the same question: how do they live like they do without feeling nauseous? You know, we understand the brands of our phones and can differentiate Chanel from, let’s say, Gucci, but then we go outside and cannot distinguish one tree from another.
Kate
Food for thought, thank you.
Carrie Yu in the flash flesh
The Chitchat
Carrie
You know, I always felt different. As a little girl, I didn’t like pink or playing with toys. I liked to climb mountains and hang out with boys.
Kate
But do you feel like despite these preferences, and what people would call “a boyish” character, you’re still super feminine? And actually the more you grow, the more feminine you become?
Carrie
Aha, oh yes, 100 percent.
Kate
Funny thing is… Contrary to what we’ve been told over the years, even to this day, that female bosses are “strong and powerful” women with a more man-like demeanor, in reality – at least from what I can tell… They are all hyper feminine, often far more truly womanly that many girls who are trying to fit into the photoshopped mold.
Carrie
Yeah, when I meet those “girly girly” types, I usually feel extremely uncomfortable because they behave like they are objects. But I think perhaps this is why many men find this particular tribe attractive. Who knows.
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Kate
Moving into the topic of “when society makes you uncomfortable,” do you feel the same way when you’re out roaming nature? Or does it calm you down?
Carrie
For sure. Nature offers a solution to any problem we may have. On that note, I highly recommend you watch “The Biggest Little Farm,” a documentary that talks about Earth as if it were a farm, a fascinating piece of work.
As nature is so complicated and fulfilling, it makes you to slow down and take a step back; it allows you to think — when you are open to it.
Kate
Yet society demands you go faster, do more, constantly produce, and buy. People are so scared to stop doing something or take a second to think.
Carrie
Most people suffer from FOMO, that’s for sure. Everyone wants to be seen, but rather than creating on their own, they prefer to be a part of something already in existence. Does that make any value? It didn’t to me, so I started doing my own business with my beliefs at its core.
Kate
I like your grounded approach, it seems quite human to me and close to my heart. When I met people, who genuinely wanted to become presidents of their countries to change the world, I was like, jezuz, that’s so funny.
Wouldn’t it be great if children could learn more about nature and sustainability at school instead of some ridiculous stuff that makes them want to be presidents? Every year something new happens in the world, we live in crazy times and yet our education is based on what mattered centuries ago. People are struggling to adapt to new realities because no one prepares them for the things they’ll face after graduation.
Carrie
Yep, for example, people still don’t understand money. Or don’t analyze their lifestyles. Parents, too, seem to be at a loss and while everyone is struggling with their mental health, no one talks about it – still.
Kate
And this is where we find ourselves at right now. Society is a scary beast, but the only thing many seem to fear is Mother Nature…
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
– Margaret Mead
ABOUT THE AUTHOR — DUE TO A PERSISTENT TECHY HICCUP, #WESIGH:
KATE WRITES ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION (EE) CURRICULUMS USING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING METHODOLOGIES (EXL) WHILE AT THE SAME TIME CONNECTING LEARNER’S KNOWLEDGE BUILDING AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE DEVELOPMENT.
THE NERDY STUFF ASIDE, SHE ALSO DEVELOPS HER OWN CLASSES ON ART AND FILM AND EXPLORES THE CONTEMPORARY ART SPHERE IN CHINA. SHE GRADUALLY WANTS TO BECOME A COLLECTOR AND PROMOTE PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN NAMES TO THE PUBLIC.
ALL IMAGES COME COURTESY OF CARRIE YU AND THE BULK HOUSE
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