Have you ever opened a package and peered in, only to find more boxes, extra fill, or just an oversized plastic container, and then wondered why businesses can’t figure out how to package products with less waste?
Separately, two extraordinary women on the sunshine coast have decided to make it their mission to help reduce the amount of extra and unneeded garbage from packaging. Sechelt hosts two unique refill stores, Forget Me Not Refill Station and Fills Good.
FORGET ME NOT REFILL STATION
Forget Me Not Refill Station on Cowrie Street is owned by Susan Seltzer. She started from a $500 investment with a stand at the Roberts Creek Community Market and opened her own bricks and mortar store three years later.
Susan makes many of the products herself. She is an amateur cosmetics creator, and her specialty is creating personal bath and home products. Have you ever wanted to create your own signature scented bath soaps, bubble baths or bath salts? How about a unique scented gift for wedding favours or a custom host or hostess gift? Susan can work with you to discover your special scent.
Forget Me Not Refill Station is brimming with refill options for you to choose from. Along with Susan’s creations of scented and unscented products, she carries two in one shampoo bars, clay masks, tooth powders, laundry detergent and dryer balls, Sapadilla hand and laundry soaps, and other eco-friendly products such as tea towels, shopping bags, containers and vegetable bags.
When sourcing products, Susan focuses on Canadian eco-friendly products as much as possible but will go further to find the best products for customers. She is adamant about quality, value, and staying on mission – contributing to the health of the planet.
FILLS GOOD
Fills Good is located inside Trail Bay Mall and is owned and operated by Christina Corse.
With a background in grocery retail, Christina was aware of the amount of waste there is in packaging for shipment, and this disturbed her. She knew there had to be a better way. One day she came across a refill store in Vancouver, and the spark of an idea started forming. As she thought about it more and more, it resonated with her personally and she knew she needed to create a refill store of her own.
Doors opened April 10, 2021. All the products come from a personal curiosity. Christina has researched the brands for eco-friendliness, ethics (as to where they source ingredients), and how effective they are.
Fills Good carries a wide assortment of refillable goods. Kitchen items include dried pantry items: beans, lentils, baking powder and soda, dried fruits, salts, flours, nuts, seeds, and spices. Also in stock are body care, laundry, and kitchen products, with the most popular item being her dish soap.
Christina loves that there is very little waste generated from refill products. You can bring your own container or purchase one from the store and make refilling part of your routine grocery shopping experience.
There is great satisfaction and pride in knowing that you are doing something intentional to improve our planet’s health each time you commit to refilling.
