In-Store Refill How-To:

1. Bring your clean, crack/breakage free containers to our shop or to one of our pop-up events. If you are filling the same product into a vessel, you can bring part-filled containers to be topped up, as well.

2. Containers are weighed before filling and then again after filling by a staff member - simply state what you would like in each container and how much. You may also fill your vessel in it has been weighed already. We have labels should you wish to have one placed on your container.

3. You then will only pay for the product you purchase. 

  

Ordering Refill Goods Online for Delivery

We recommend using up everything you currently have before beginning to refill, in order to ensure a low waste approach. In the meantime, you can sample refillery items using small sized containers you may already have (check your recycling!) and try them out to ensure when you refill, you'll have products that work well for your lifestyle and preferences.

1. Check to make sure you're in our local delivery radius or that you can pick it up. If you're unsure, please send us a message at harlowegreen@gmail.com to check.  

Some refill goods are okay to ship; please check the product page. If a refillery good is not available for shipping and you purchase it, it will be refunded.

2. Select your bulk products and checkout online. You can find all pre-filled bulk products/sizes that we offer here. These items will come in a mason jar (for liquid goods) or paper bag (for dry goods) or the selected pre-filled dispenser you choose. The mason jar and paper bags are provided for transport and so that you can refill your home dispensers. If you would like to purchase a dispenser first, you can find several options on our site. If you'd like any other items added to your bulk delivery, just include them in the same order.

3. Choose your delivery option at checkout - curbside pickup or local delivery.

4. You will receive an email once your order has been delivered to your home (for local delivery) or to the stockist that you wish to pick up from. 

Please see our Pickup and Delivery policies for more information.

Why Refill? 

Well, really, let's face it - buying quality products that don't include cheap chemical ingredients and fragrances, and paying people in our own country to make them in an ethical fashion, can cost more. A big part of what you're paying for in your products is the packaging. In an effort to keep costs down, a lot of companies have opted for the cheapest plastic packaging possible, with the result being a consistent reliance upon single-use plastics and recycling programs.

However, the average amount of plastic recycling (those that make it to your bin) that actually gets fully recycled is only 8% in Ontario. Some darker colour plastics, like black plastic, cannot be recycled at all. Plus, plastic can only be recycled once (not over and over as we used to think) and must be mixed with new plastic to be recycled. Plastics take a few centuries to degrade, and as they do so, they break into micro plastic waste, which ends up in our water and food and our bodies. In 2021, it is tough to ignore the impacts this is having globally from an environmental, a health, and an ethical, point of view.

Bulk refillery shopping has decreased our own family's costs to access these products (it is far cheaper to refill than buy new), and completely eliminates the throw-away waste and production of cheap plastics. However, it is hardly realistic when a lot of these items are offered so far away from our home community, especially when we want to support local economies as much as we can. Hopefully we remove that barrier for you, and we can head down a better path together. 

How does it work?

If you're interested in slowly switching over to this type of shopping and lower waste lifestyle, check out our blog - there are a number of articles there that delve into how to set up different low waste systems in a family home.

Basically, look at what containers you have already that you can refill. Then, store a mason jar sized refill of it at home for back-up. When you crack open that back-up mason jar, put the item on your list and refill when you can. As long as you're using a clean, air tight container, you are good to go. You can refill that same jar in our shop or at a pop-up event, reuse it (honestly, how versatile is a mason jar?) rather than tossing it like you would your plastic packaging, or hold onto it. Many thrift shops cannot keep mason jars in stock as they are such a versatile, reusable package!

Questions - If you have any questions, we are so happy to try and answer them for you. I have spent many years trying a lot of different products within the "natural", "sustainable", and "eco" spheres, and some of them really aren't effective. Worse, some of it is just "greenwashing" - using buzzwords like 'green' and 'eco' to market you a product that is just another pig wearing lipstick. I've tested this stuff and if anything, overthink the background of companies and products that I choose and know them very well. Send any questions/comments/concerns/ wonderings to Ange at harlowegreen@gmail.com or just ask us in-store!