Welcome to the judgment-free zone where we don’t judge where you are at in your sustainable journey but we DO judge ingredients before they are welcomed into the store.
The journey to low waste can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming or full of pressure to do it perfectly. We believe in progress over perfection and doing what you can when you can. We do not shame anyone when they show up with a disposable water bottle or to go cup or forget their bag or buy something at a big box store because they needed it and we weren’t open. We get it. We aren’t perfect either and we are still on our JOURNEY.
Everyone’s Sustainable Journey Looks Different
We live with a broken system that is actively working against us to live low-waste. You’re doing great just reading this!
Are you just starting your journey? Awesome!
Think of ways to remember your reusable grocery bags. We keep one in the car just in case we need to make a quick stop on the way home. When we use it, we leave it by the door so we remember to take it with us when we leave.
Swap out paper napkins for cloth napkins. Yes, it creates more laundry but you’re doing laundry anyway, a few small napkins aren’t too much more.
Invest in a reusable water bottle that you will actually use. Choose your style and size and remember to grab it when you’re on your way out the door!
There will be times you forget these and that is 100% ok! You’ll remember next time.
Start small. Don’t try to make all of the changes all at once. That will be too expensive anyway. Speaking of expensive, stick to your budget and within what you are able to do now. Every swap, every step counts!
Pretty soon, you’re going to be a pro at this. Remember to celebrate the wins, big or small! Oh and get your friends and family involved. This helps keep you accountable and encourages others to join the movement.
Remember, do what you can when you can.
We DO Judge Ingredients
While we don’t judge you, we DO judge ingredients and refuse to bring in ingredients toxic to us or the environment. We list all of our product ingredients online for a reason, transparency.
We make sure the companies we work with align with our values as well, this also means they don’t use toxic ingredients.
Before we test any products, we run the ingredients through the Environmental Working Group to check them. If they’ve been banned in the EU or Canada, we don’t bring the product in. We don’t care if it is the most amazing product by the best company, we won’t bring it in.
What we put on our skin, use in our homes, and wash down the drains has a lasting impact. We are here to help reduce that as much as possible and provide you with products with ingredients we can be proud to offer.
The products aren’t just clean, they need to be ethically sourced too. Dr. Bronner’s uses sustainably sourced palm oil. We want to support the farmers doing the good work and avoid companies who put profit over people and the planet. Essential oils can also be harmful to the environment due to demand. If we cut down forests to plant another crop and use pesticides, that doesn’t help. We as a society need to weigh the costs of “natural” only.
It isn’t sustainable if it isn’t effective. We test all of our products to make sure they work and we can be excited about them. Otherwise, we don’t want them in the shop…yes, they are judged on their performance.
How to Not Get Overwhelmed with Choices
Start with one swap. Which one would your household get on board with first? Do that one!
Find an alternative that has good ingredients, bonus points if it’s something that can be refilled, and then find where you can purchase this locally.
Download the Yuka app. It will be your friend when you’re out shopping. The app tells you if it is healthy to consume, for food, and it will rate home and body products too! Whip out your phone at the store and scan away! Seriously. Scan everything you can. It will also give you a better / safer alternative.
Chat with friends to see what they have already swapped out and do your own research. Again, don’t judge your friends, just the ingredients they’re using. 😉
You are always welcome at Refill Mercantile, no matter where you are in your sustainability journey.
Remember progress over perfection and don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t far enough along in your journey. Go at your own pace. We just ask that you start. If every household in the world swapped out 1 item…that would be billions of swaps saving billions of items from the landfills.
