How to refill and why it matters
We started SomethingGood as a call to change, as a place where people could come and get involved in a new (and much-needed) way of shopping for daily essentials, as well as the occasional and considered 'nice to have' purchases. First and foremost, we saw a desperate need to offer something else, something better, in our current hyper-convenience culture. Our core purpose, to choose well, buy less and to reduce plastic and packaging waste.
In order for us, and the many wonderful shops like ours to be successful in our mission, we need to make sure we're helping others to understand what it means to choose us over your local supermarket - and that only good things come from refill shopping!
You'll find no egos here, just really lovely and passionate people who want to help.
A few of our favourite things about refill shopping...
1. It's so easy once you know how. Either have a read of our beginner's guide below, or just ask! No one expects you to walk in for the first time and know exactly what to do or exactly what you'd like to buy. Browse, take your time, check out what's on offer, find your staples and compare the costs.
2. You'll meet some lovely people, and we're speaking from experience! Staff or fellow customers, chances are you're going to leave smiling.
3. Feel better about treating yourself. Shops like ours have worked so hard to curate product collections. You'll be treating yourself, whilst at the same time, helping smaller, more conscious brands to thrive.
4. You're helping to save, restore and improve our planet, and the people in it.
5. Love at first bite - no doubt you'll discover new and delicious products, that are better for you, and better for the planet.
6. Depending on the size of the refill shop, you'll often find so much more choice! While stocking up on your personal essentials is key, trying out new ingredients and products is so much fun too, and a great way to start adding a little more variation to your go-to meals.
Our 'Beginner's Guide to Refill Shops'
Our Top Tips
We’ve got all of your daily essentials (and lots of luxuries too...) without the packaging. Why not just pop over to browse first, so you know what's on offer in our range of refillable hair and body care liquids, natural cleaning products, and our plant-based, plastic-free pantry.
Before you leave the house check what you already have, and make sure to use everything up first before you buy more. Write a list of things you need, and dig out those empties! It really doesn't matter what you're refilling, you absolutely don't need fancy glass jars. Plastic pots, old Tupperware, and reused paper bags are all perfect, (just remember that they must be empty, clean and dry before they can be refilled), what matters is that you are reducing, reusing and refilling. No need to worry if you're caught off guard either, or need to pop in for something on your way home from work, we always have bags and jars available for you to use.
Our shop is completely self service, but only if you want it to be. Our super friendly team are always close by to help or even do all of your refills for you. Just ask, we love to help! If it's your first time refilling, we'll take you through how it works step by step and will take you under our wing until you've got the hang of it.
Three Steps To Refill
Step 1 - Tare. Weighing your empty containers first is probably the most important step. Pop your empty container on one of our scales and it'll print you out a handy little barcode to scan later, which will separate the weight of your container from the weight of the product you've filled it with. No mental maths involved, just all the fun of filling up!
Step 2 - Fill. The fun part! Take your time to fill your containers with something good. There's clean scoops, spoons and funnels to use each time to make it super easy and mess free.
Step 3 - Weigh. Pop your filled container on the scale, scan the barcode you printed at the beginning, and tell the scale what you've put inside. It'll print you out a (removable) label to stick on your container which includes the product information, the weight, the price and the date you bought it. We'll pop it through the till to take payment, and you're done!
