February 24, 2021

Winnipeg
-7° C, Partly cloudy

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Canstar Community News
    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Flyers
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photostore
  • More

©2021 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Flyers
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photostore
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Read Now Pay later
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
Winnipeg Free Press

ABOVE THE FOLD

Subscribe
Articles Read Your Balance +tax

Can I get a refill?

New local business offers sustainable re-ups on shampoo, detergent and other products

By: Ben Waldman | Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, Jul. 31, 2020

Scroll
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/7/2020 (207 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Usually, when a business begins, its primary concern is getting to the point of financial sustainability: once the doors open, how can we afford to keep them that way?

Sure, Marisa Loreno wouldn’t mind making some money. But the co-owner of the Refill Zerowaste Market is more concerned with a different kind of sustainability.

Co-owner Marisa Loreno hopes the Refill Zerowaste Market does well, but she has a different kind of sustainability in mind.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Co-owner Marisa Loreno hopes the Refill Zerowaste Market does well, but she has a different kind of sustainability in mind.

"I’m not going into this thinking, ‘I’m going to make money.’ I’m going into this hoping to build more resiliency within our community," she said. The market, which sells eco-friendly house and personal care products and refills of liquids like laundry detergent and shampoo in reusable containers, launched its online store in June.

While online sales have been solid over the store’s first four weeks, it wasn’t Loreno and business partner Cody Fullerton’s aim to be a digital operation, at least, not yet. In October, they signed a lease for a storefront at 634 Notre Dame Ave., and envisioned opening up to the public some time in the winter before launching an e-store further down the road.

Those plans changed.

Refill has several items from Oneka, a Canadian company that makes natural personal care products.</p>

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Refill has several items from Oneka, a Canadian company that makes natural personal care products.

After taking possession in January, the building experienced flooding in February, causing significant clean-up and delays. "And then a pandemic sorta happened," said Loreno. At the point that COVID-19 restrictions began, Loreno said she wasn’t comfortable buying products —20-litre jugs of shampoo, 200-litre barrels of liquid laundry detergent and dishwashing fluid — without having an opening date in sight.

In April, the owners decided to pivot to online delivery, building a new website and developing a low-emissions delivery service to deliver nearly 100 products within Winnipeg. (The owners belong to the Peg City Car Co-op, and make deliveries using a hybrid-plus vehicle one day a week).

The way the business works is that the market orders eco-friendly products in bulk from distributors (95 per cent from Canada, Loreno says) and consumers pick a volume they’d like to purchase. Customers pay a $2 deposit on a glass jar, it gets filled, and it can either be delivered or retrieved at the storefront’s pickup window. When the jar is returned, so is the deposit.

Of the many eco-friendly items you can purchase at Refill are various soap bars that including shampoo bars from bottle none, a Canadian company.</p>

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Of the many eco-friendly items you can purchase at Refill are various soap bars that including shampoo bars from bottle none, a Canadian company.

Loreno admits the concept is not one she thought of: zero-waste refill shops had already begun in most midsize to large Canadian cities — Vancouver’s Soap Dispensary started in 2011, Toronto’s Saponetti soap shop and Waterloo’s Zero Waste Bulk opened in 2016, Calgary’s Apothecary in 2017. In Winnipeg, Generation Green on Main Street offers refills on soaps and other items.

"It’s an old, new idea," she said. A recycled one, some might say.

Stay informed

The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

Subscribe to COVID-19 Briefing
Sign Up

Nonetheless, she was eager to create an accessible shop that could also help move the conversation forward on sustainability and reducing waste. In Canada, research has shown as recently as 2016 that only nine per cent of domestic plastic is recycled, with the rest sent to landfills, incinerators, or becoming litter.

Castil products are very popular and Refill offers several options including these handcrafted soaps from Yukon Soaps.</p>

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Castil products are very popular and Refill offers several options including these handcrafted soaps from Yukon Soaps.

Not without good reason, COVID-19 has exacerbated public reliance on non-reusable personal protective equipment. But it’s also led to worry that single-use plastics will increase, and progress that’s been made on their restriction will be undone.

The fight to reduce plastic waste is obviously far too big for the Refill Zerowaste Market to fight alone, but Loreno said she hopes people in Winnipeg are taking stock of how much they consume and waste as they’ve spent more time at home.

In the near future, Loreno’s goal is to keep making enough to cover rent, but also to be able to safely open the market to foot traffic. Once that happens, she hopes to add more local products to the store’s lineup.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

Ben Waldman

Ben Waldman
Reporter

Ben Waldman covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.

   Read full biography

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Top