Why Refill Stores Are the Future

Refill stores aren’t a concept everyone knows about, especially when it comes to home products like cleaning supplies and bathroom items. So ... what is Refillism?

We are a store that supplies a variety of refillable products. Our customers can bring in any old bottle to refill with shampoos, deodorant, toothpaste, you name it! Our website has a refill menu as well, which lists available items next to their price per ounce, so you can check out the different products we have in store. Simply bring a bottle to the shop, weigh it, fill it, and check out. We’ll subtract the initial weight you took so you aren’t charged for the weight of the bottle.

Refilling isn’t just a fun concept for a small business. Our mission is rooted in helping the environment, and it plays an integral part in combatting the waste building up on our planet. There are many reasons why refill stores are appealing to customers besides being eco-friendly (though that’s a huge factor). Here’s just a few of the reasons why you should start refilling:

1. Plastic reduction

Every time a customer refills, it saves a bottle that could have been thrown into the landfill and gives it a new purpose. This plays into the sustainable idea of circular living. A type of living that repurposes our resources by reusing old items. Think of how many shampoo bottles you must have used in your life, or how many of those huge, clunky laundry detergent bottles you’ve recycled.

Wouldn’t it be nice if laundry detergent brands just allowed customers to refill their product instead of buying a new bottle every time? That’s what Refillism does! We stop the single-use plastic production at its source.

2. Natural ingredients

Generally speaking, refilleries will have more natural ingredients. This is because the harsh chemicals often found in home cleaners can create toxic waste water that harms us and native wildlife when it transfers from wastewater treatment plants into the environment.

Aside from the environmental impact of harsh chemicals, many directly impact the user's health. It's a known fact that many mainstream bath and body products, like children's shampoos, are made with carcinogenic ingredients. Unlike these brands, Refillism strives to provide products that are safe to use with organic and natural components.

3. Budget-friendly

So many people think refill stores are out of their price range. I’ll let you in on a secret … if you bring any empty jar from home, say it’s about 8 ounces, you can fill it up to the brim with shampoo for about $7.00 at Refillism - a comparable price to other mainstream shampoo brands (with an added bonus of all-natural and organic ingredients). While some of our items can be more pricey, the necessities are going to cost about the same as general stores if you bring your own bottle.

4. Mindfullness

Refilling can help start a butterfly reaction in people’s lives. We always say to start with one little thing, one product to refill. Maybe it's toothpaste tablets, or multi-purpose cleaner. One step at a time, you can refill more and more things. After a while, people realise it’s not nearly as hard or intimidating to refill as they previously thought.

We try to make helping the earth attainable through refilling, and encourage customers to simply try it out, then see where it can take them.

5. Necessity

At this point, so much waste is produced in this world that it’s an almost incomprehensible amount. In 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency says 146 million tons of waste were sent to the landfill, and 4.9 pounds of trash were produced per person in the U.S. everyday. Looking back sixty years, in 1960 a mere 2.68 pounds were produced per person daily in the United States. The difference between now and then truly puts into perspective how new and unusual it is to live in such a materialistic and consumeristic society in the present day and age.

After a while, I personally get rather desensitised to the statistics thrown at me. But the cold, hard truth of the matter is that here in York, Pennsylvania, our landfill is full. Regardless of how much waste you as a person produce every year, your trash has no where to go, and sits in another city’s landfill or finds its way into our oceans. We are reaching a point of no return, and it’s time to make some changes. This means taking a step back from mass-produced bottled cleaners and shampoos, and instead going to your local refillery.

In Conclusion:

Refill stores are the best way to provide basic home and body products without the mass production of single-use plastics. Our world is filling up with trash, and we are running out of space for it. Let’s solve the problem one step at a time, together, through refilling.

Resources:

H, Leach. Toxic Chemicals Found in Shampoos. Refillism. https://refillism.com/blogs/blog/toxic-chemicals-found-in-shampoos?_pos=1&_psq=shampoo&_ss=e&_v=1.0

H, Leach York's Landfill Is Full. Refillism. https://refillism.com/blogs/blog/yorks-landfill-is-full?_pos=1&_psq=landfill&_ss=e&_v=1.0

K, Fung, H, Dornelles, M, Varesche, and T, Gutierrez. From Wastewater Treatment Plants to the Oceans: A Review on Synthetics Chemical Surfactants (SCSs) and Perspectives on Marine-Safe Biosurfactants. MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/14/11436?trk=public_post_main-feed-card-text

National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling. United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials

R, Cho. Recycling in the U.S. Is Broken. How Do We Fix It? Columbia Climate School. https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/

T, Perkins. Dozens of 'high hazard' toxins are common in beauty products - report. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/04/beauty-products-toxins-chemicals

Visit York, PA’s Original Refillery and Eco-Friendly Store – Serving York County Since 2022