Filling more than bottles.
by Dawna Mirante
“The lightbulb moments are the ones we truly cherish. Watching a first-time customer slowly walk through our store, in awe of all of the low-waste products and refill opportunities, I can see her thinking about what containers she has at home to bring in and reuse. Then the lightbulb goes on and she gets so excited. Moments like these are why we do what we do and why we put so much effort into every choice we make for the shop.
Education is half of our job. The conversations we get to have . . .
- “even though we recycle, resources are used to create a new container from the old.”
- “microplastics are everywhere!”
- “why don’t we reuse more as a society; how much easier it would be on the planet?!”
Rob and I started Refill Mercantile in Petaluma out of a need to help ourselves and others continue the low-waste journey. Providing a space where the community can find everything they need to ditch single-use packaging and talk to someone who has researched and personally used the products is very important to us. And we get to reuse all of our own beautiful vintage containers!
Creating community and a judgment-free space is huge for us. We aren’t perfect. We produce waste. We don’t expect you to be perfect either. This is a work in progress in a broken system that has taught us for years to recycle containers or toss when something is out of date. We are getting back to the way it was before when we reused as much as possible, reduced our consumption and instead invested in heirlooms, fixed everything, borrowed and handed down clothes, and built relationships.
Every time someone walks in and gets super excited, we know we’ve done our job and it gives us the energy to keep going! We are forever grateful for this amazing community we are fortunate to be a part of and look forward to seeing more stores that provide refills and those lightbulb moments!”
Is there a refill store near you that you have been meaning to visit, but haven’t found the time? A thing you’ve been meaning to get repaired? A new thrift store to try? Well, let’s make it happen this month on National Reuse Day, October 20, 2023! Reuse Day Pledge: I promise to patronize a local reuse store in my neighborhood on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 (National Reuse Day). Send us a picture?
Happy Shopping!
(Dawna and Rob Mirante are the Co-Owners of Refill Mercantile in Petaluma, CA)
Upcoming Reuse Events
November 4 : Petaluma Reuse + Repair Fair
Bring your treasures and have them repaired! We will be at the Petaluma Regional Library fixing textiles, bicycles, small appliances and more. Register your fixable item HERE or if you are interested in fixing things (or know someone handy) sign up as a Repair Coach HERE
October 25-26 : National Zero Waste Conference (virtual)
Annual two day educational and networking event organized by Zero Waste and partners. Wednesday focus on Zero Waste Businesses and Institutions. Thursday focus on Zero Waste Communities.
January 8 : Reducing Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Construction Materials and Products EPA Grant
The EPA has announced the first $100 million grant opportunity under the IRA that specifically calls out salvaged building materials. Attend one of the two upcoming webinars on 11/2 and 11/4 to learn more. The first deadline is an optional Notice of Intent to apply by October 27, 2023.
Reuse in the News
A new survey from FCC Environment shows increased appetite for reuse.
France is allocating 154 million Euros to subsidize clothing repair and promising to make the process painless by using the nonprofit Refashion to administer the program.
A new study in Australia adds to the growing body of evidence that people would rather repair their things.
Reuse to Amuse
Too hard to choose which things to reuse? Try these tips to handle overchoice.
Speaking of over choice… is anyone else hooked on the GEM app?
Enjoy these reuse bubbles.
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