{"id":8810,"date":"2022-11-15T12:13:34","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T17:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/edfund\/resources\/products-without-packaging-how-refill-stores-can-help-solve-the-plastics-crisis\/"},"modified":"2023-03-29T16:55:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T20:55:13","slug":"products-without-packaging-how-refill-stores-can-help-solve-the-plastics-crisis","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/edfund\/resources\/products-without-packaging-how-refill-stores-can-help-solve-the-plastics-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Products without packaging: How refill stores can help solve the plastics crisis"},"featured_media":45003,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"resource_type":[65],"region_tax":[],"state":[2],"topic_tax":[115,126,117],"class_list":["post-8810","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[115,117,126,185],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":65,"event_type":false,"campaigns":false,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":185}},"subtitle":"","excerpt":"A world without single-use plastics might seem a long way off \u2013 but the rise of zero waste retail provides a glimpse of what that world could look like.","featured_image":45003,"caption_override":"","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":"","related_event":"","hide_hero_image":false,"location":"internal","external_link":{"publication_name":"","url":""},"file":null,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":[{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":3,"people":"102"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}}]},"helper_downloads":{"title":"Downloads","files":null},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"This article is part of a series looking at the increasing availability of alternatives to plastic packaging. To find out about the growing number of startups developing new takes on the concept of returnable packaging, <\/em>click here<\/em><\/a>. To read about the innovators reimagining the products themselves, <\/em>click here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>\r\n

* * *<\/p>\r\nDisposable plastic products are so ubiquitous in our daily lives \u2013 from coffee cup lids and grocery bags to the clamshell packaging that encases the fruit and vegetables we buy at the grocery store \u2013 that it\u2019s hard to imagine a future without them.\r\n\r\nBut a world without all this plastic might not actually be as far away as it seems. A glimpse of that world can be seen in the small but growing number of stores whose business models are built entirely around the concept of zero waste.\r\n\r\n\u201cRefilleries\u201d are a variant of the bulk store concept of \u201cweigh-and-pay\u201d shopping, whereby customers can pick up what they need without any packaging whatsoever. Generally stocking foods and\/or household and personal care products (laundry detergent, shampoo, skincare products, soap, toothpaste, etc.), refilleries allow customers to fill their own containers with as much or as little of a product as they need, and pay for the product by weight. Distinguishing them from most other forms of low-impact retail, refilleries also often return their empty bulk containers themselves to be refilled by the product manufacturers, thus creating a \u201cclosed-loop packaging system<\/a>.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhat\u2019s interesting about the refillery concept is not so much its newness (it\u2019s not really<\/em> a new idea \u2013 variations of it have existed since before plastics even became a thing) but rather the pace at which these kinds of stores are now emerging across the world as more and more people look for ways to reduce their plastics use.\r\n\r\nGoogling \u201crefillery near me\u201d from my desk in Long Beach, California, brings up a whole range of these kinds of stores in the local area. A \u201crefillery and low waste goods boutique,\u201d BYO Long Beach<\/a> [BYO = bring your own] has<\/a> three<\/a> stores<\/a> across the city selling a wide selection of products, including\u00a0cleaning products, personal care products, teas, herbs, spices and other household basics. Just up the road in west LA, Refillery Los Angeles<\/a> \u2013 a \u201crefill bar and zero waste store\u201d \u2013 sells laundry liquids, personal care and other products in bulk, by the ounce, and operates a refill van bringing the refillery to customers\u2019 homes. Sonora Refillery<\/a> down in Oceanside sells body, bath and home product refills<\/a>, as does My Zero Waste Store<\/a> in Pasadena and Eco-Now<\/a> \u2013 \u201cOrange County\u2019s first zero waste shop and refill station\u201d \u2013 which has stores in Costa Mesa and Anaheim, plus another about to open in Laguna Beach.\r\n\r\nAdmittedly, Southern California is not exactly representative of the country as a whole, but a variety of similar takes on the refill store concept can now be found all across North America, Europe and elsewhere. Zero-waste resource hub Litterless provides a state-by-state, city-by-city list<\/a> of these kinds of stores in the US, now numbering in the hundreds across the country. Let\u2019s Go Zero Waste<\/a> has a directory of stores spanning the U.S. and Canada, and the Sustainable Collective provides a map of stores all over the world<\/a>.\r\n\r\nIn the U.K., Unpckd<\/a> is one of numerous emerging examples of refill stores that bring the refillery to customers\u2019 homes via a home delivery service \u201cfor families wanting to shop more consciously but still conveniently.\u201d Advertising \u201cthe convenience of online shopping without the waste<\/a>,\u201d Unpckd delivers package-free dry food, toiletries and cleaning products in returnable, reusable containers: \u201cYou order online, we deliver to your doorstep, and you decant refills to use from your storage containers \u2013 no packaging, no waste. When you need more refills, we swap full for empties, milkman-style.\u201d\r\n\r\nAnother variation on the \u201cweigh and pay\u201d concept is found in Connecticut-based company BD Provisions<\/a>, which has stores in Newtown, Conn., and New Milford, Conn. The idea behind this business was, its founders say, to \u201ctake the concept of bulk food but elevate it to more of a foodie paradise, at affordable prices and with eco-friendly packaging.\u201d The result was to merge a \u201cgourmet, specialty market with an environmentally friendly zero waste shop,\u201d offering \u201ca carefully curated collection of bulk foods sold by the pound in sustainable containers.\u201d\r\n\r\nOne key difference between BD Provisions and most other zero waste stores is that, in addition to its two Connecticut locations \u2013 plus another about to open in Maryland \u2013 its founders have also developed a franchising system<\/a> whereby they provide training and support for franchisees seeking to set up similar shops. This support takes the form of help with real estate and site selection, store build-out\/construction, training systems, operational support, recipe development, marketing and brand building, vendor and equipment selection, point of sale systems, pre-opening\/grand opening support and business consulting. Arrangements like this could play an important part in helping the zero waste store concept achieve the scale necessary to make a significant dent in the plastics crisis.\r\n\r\nThe environmental case for this kind of retail is obvious. The use of refillable containers and refill pouches creates major reductions in plastics use<\/a>. Refills also require less storage space and thus reduce both the financial and environmental costs associated with their transportation. And they bring savings for consumers too. Refill stores often have lower overheads, and the fact that manufacturers don\u2019t have to pay for production of packaging creates savings that can be passed on to the consumer. And reduced trash means fewer taxpayer dollars spent on garbage disposal and environmental cleanup services<\/a>.\r\n\r\nGlobal public opinion today is overwhelmingly in favor<\/a> of putting an end to single-use plastics. As long as the perception persists that there is no realistic alternative, however, doing so on a mass scale will be a monumental struggle. But there are already alternatives. Refilleries are just one of many new ideas for reducing single-use plastic packaging, and with the aid of smart policy incentivizing package-free retail, more Americans will have the chance to a see what a future without single-use plastics might look like.","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"wide","image":"","caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_action","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_action":{"action":"","action_query_string":""}}],"site_specific_content":""},"yoast_head":"\nProducts without packaging: How refill stores can help solve the plastics crisis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A world without single-use plastics might seem a long way off \u2013 but the rise of zero waste retail provides a glimpse of what that world could look like.\" \/>\n<meta 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