My Favourite Kind of Shops
Refill stores just make me so happy. I love this concept and that these are a thing.
I learned about refill stores back in 2018. Before that, I thought that the only Refill store was Bulk Barn, and wished that I could just refill my shampoo and dish soap rather than getting a another plastic bottle every time I had to buy a new one. Since I learned these places exist, I have shifted a lot of my household and beauty supplies to refill versions. The products these shops typically stock are high quality, and often small local businesses. Depending on the products you usually buy, these may be a bit more expensive, but compared to the same products that come with new bottles, you'll save quite a bit on refills!
Refill stores in the Lower Mainland*:
New Westminster: The Refill Stop
Fort Langley: Chuckling Duckling Farm
Vancouver: The Soap Dispensary
Port Coquitlam: Pomme Market (has a little section at the back, with dish soap, hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc.)
*that I'm aware of. Hopefully there are more than this.
How it works: bring your clean containers, or purchase ones from the store. Some stores have free containers, which have been previously sanitized. These are great in a pinch, though may not be as aesthetically pleasing. Depending on the store, you may have someone weigh your containers before filling them up (so you are only paying for the weight of the product, not the container on top of that), or you may weigh them yourself. Then you fill them up, and you're good to go!
What I refill at the refill store:
Home stuff:
Dish Soap
Dishwasher detergent
Laundry detergent
Hand soap
Cleaners (glass, bathroom, vinegar, etc)
Self Care:
Epsom salts
Shampoo
Conditioner
Deep conditioner
Leave-in conditioner
Bentonite clay
Essential oils
Beauty oils (jojoba, argan, castor, almond, coconut, shea butter, cacao butter).
Face soap
Face moisturizer
Deodorant
Dental floss
Food:
Dry goods, though if you are in Vancouver, Nada and Soap Dispensary offer so much more.
I encourage you to check out your local refill shop and browse what they have to offer. There is so much goodness available.
Do you know of any refill stores that I haven't mentioned? Connect with me here, I'd love to check them out!
Kaitlyn Beugh's mission is to assist you in fostering a soulful connection to self and the natural world through creation and intention. She is an interdisciplinary visual artist. Her art practice plays on the ephemeral, and is intuitively channeled and created in a flow state.
She lives, works, and plays on the unceded land of the Coast Salish First Nations. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts with a minor in Social Practice and Community Engagement from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and has a background in social services.
Kaitlyn is a practicing artist and has some of her artwork for sale in the form of original pieces via her website here. Kaitlyn is currently studying herbalism and connecting deeper with the energies of plants and natures cycles.
Let's stay connected. Sign up for my email list here: https://www.kaitlynbeugh.com/