Soap is one of my favorite luxuries. I don’t mind spending a little more on soap, bubble bath or face wash if it seems better for me, smells heavenly, is beautifully made, or if it promises to get rid of all my wrinkles. But lately, especially if I use a product a lot, I’m looking for ways to reduce the waste I create with my purchases. I think this all started when I learned about the refillable soap at Follain in University Village when they arrived last year. Seeing the refillable soap at that store reminded me that even if I reuse a container just once, it’s one less container that I’ve added to our world garbage pile. (I’m currently on my 4th or 5th Follain refill!) And I started wondering about where else Seattleites can find reusable/refillable things in the Pacific Northwest.
Scoop Marketplace– Seattle
Scoop Marketplace is a zero-waste grocery store in Seattle. I first learned about this store when I checked out the grand opening at The Works Seattle next door. It is such a great space and the products I saw looked like they were good quality. I noticed online that they have refillable dental floss and floss refills so next time I’m in the area, I’ll have to stop in to find these things. I didn’t realize that there is a lot of waste with floss. The Scoop Marketplace also has soap and body wash refills so I’d like to see what type of soap they have.
Public Goods and Services ( West Seattle)
I have not been to Public Goods and Services yet-it is in West Seattle and it’s nearby Dumplings of Fury which is on my list to try one of these days too. I think I will really love the aesthetics of the store solely based on how beautiful it looks on instagram. I checked on the Public Goods and Services website and was happy to see that among all the other refillable things they offer they also sell refillable soap.
The Tacoma Soap Refillery– Tacoma!
I found The Tacoma Soap Refillery by random chance and I’m headed to Tacoma to check out the Art Museum soon, so I will hopefully be able to stop in here as well. I have a lot of love for Tacoma and I think the Tacoma Soap Refillery will be one more reason to love this city even more. On the Tacoma Soap Refillery website it talks about how 400 million tubes of toothpaste are thrown away in the USA each year and I’m now curious about trying refillable tooth powder.
The Soap Dispensery– Vancouver BC
When I told one of my Vancouver besties about my visit to Follain in Seattle, she told me she had been going to a place in Vancouver called the Soap Dispensery for a while too. On a recent Vancouver trip I had a bit of time in the area to stop by to and check it out. Out of all the stores I’ve visited that sell refillable soap, this store was the most extensive refillable shop. There were so many types of refillables and bulk goods here- the Soap Dispensery has everything from bubble tea tapioca balls to vegan pierogies in a freezer section.
The Soap Dispensery is also in a really cool area of Vancouver BC. Across the street is Collage Collage, a store that has great art classes not only for kids but for grownups too. I wish we had something like the kids’ entrepreneur class they offer there in Seattle (maybe we do-if you know about it please message me!!!) I’ve been following Kellie from the Secret Society of Books for ages on Instagram and when I walked into Collage Collage she was there too and I think that made the day even that much better. A friend’s kid also had a really fun birthday party at Collage Collage as well.
Port Moody Refillery Port Moody BC, Canada
This is where I bought my first compostable toothbrush. I’m still finishing using my other regular toothbrush but we’ll see how it works when I try it out. I’m also going to ask my dentist and my dental hygienist friends about using compostable toothbrushes-I never though about how many toothbrushes we actually throw away. They have refillable soap and refillable deodorant and they also have lovely paper goods and tea. I heard about this place when I told my aunt that I had gone to the Soap Dispensary and she mentioned there was a store that has hand soap refills near where I grew up too.
Scout and Co – Steveston BC, Canada
The refillable soap wall in the adorable Scout and Co Store was one I found by accident when I was wandering Steveston on a press trip that took me from Richmond BC to Whistler. Scout and Co looked like a really cool maker-type shop and when I saw a wall of giant soap dispensers here too, I was totally thrilled and surprised.
Undeniably there is a growing trend in the Pacific Northwest towards being more thoughtful with the ways we buy things. I am still a mega consumer-I love trends, gimmicky packaging and I buy way too much stuff. A road-trip to Vancouver for soap alone would also probably counteract any good I did by buying refillable things and eventually refilling them too. But everything takes small steps. Even if I refill a container once, that’s one less container that I will put into a landfill. So similarly to participating in meatless Mondays (and now Tuesdays and eventually Wednesdays…), maybe actively finding something like refillable soap in my life might be one small way I can contribute to less waste as I figure out how to add more sustainability into my family’s every day life.
Are you into refillable soap or reducing waste too? I’d love to hear if you have a favorite refillable product or place to refill as well.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)