An established Grantham cleaning company has expanded into selling eco-friendly and ethical products in their shopfront.

Samantha and Michael Windsor-Hampton who operate commercial cleaning company Marigold Lincs will be opening Bare Planet on Saturday.

The store at 35 Westgate will sell kitchen products, body cleaning products (soaps/shaving soaps/conditioners, etc) coconut scourers, recyclable brushes to refill stations and organic t-shirts and fair trade products.

Prices range from 23p per 100ml for washing up liquid, to £35 for luxurious throw made from plastic bottles, which the couple say are "much better than you imagine".

Explaining why they are launching the venture, Samantha told Nub News: "Last summer, we cleaned over 100 student properties in Lincoln and Nottingham. Although we were using eco products, we decided we were using too many plastic bottles in our work and wanted to make a much more sustainable choice.

"The bottles that we were using could not be refilled. We researched many companies and eventually found a business in the UK selling the sustainable and effective cleaning products.

"The premise of reducing our plastic waste then took us to other more sustainable products and also the realisation that no-one within 20 miles of us had a store dedicated to low waste products."

With the couple already operating from the back of the shop, they felt the front part would be ideal for another business.

Michael told Nub News: "Although Grantham is a market town which has undergone many changes over the years- change does not always mean a negative.

"As residents of Grantham, we are aware of the band of independent retail stores trying to survive and prosper alongside multi-nationals.

"In addition, there are reasons that 'shoppers' leave Grantham and visit Newark, Lincoln, Melton, Stamford, Nottingham, Stamford, etc. What if we could provide something different for people to visit Grantham?"

Bare Planet promises to be different by supplying all its products from the UK, from businesses large and small, or from UK importers. These include candles from Edinburgh and Yorkshire, Chocolate made in York.

Michael continued: "We have priced our products inline with 'online shopping prices' so come in and see the products in real time, not augmented reality."

The couple plan to put some of their profits back into the local community by supporting Grantham Passage, which helps the homeless and the vulnerable; plus Helping Hands, which aims to help the homeless and others needing support to 'get back on their feet'.

Samantha said: "We truly believe that people can make small changes that matter, whether by ditching buying that plastic shopping bag or full on use of refilling bottles with cleaning solutions that are less harmful to the planet.

"Bare Planet is about informing consumers so they can make more conscious choices about the products they buy and the shops they frequent.

"As directors, our social consciences drives us to share with consumers that there are choices that can be made and we want to change the way people think about how goods are provided, the people who make and sell the things we buy every day and the communities that rely on fair, regular trade to survive; be that wood carvers in Bali or independent traders in the high street."

At present, just the pair of them will run the shop, though they hope to take staff on as the business grows.

Michael added: "We have our website, where people can purchase online- but we truly hope that purchasing good products from a local store is something that people can engage with. We believe 100 per cent in our strapline that 'Small Changes Matter'."