We are two friends living on opposite coasts (Brooklyn, New York and Santa Monica, California) that share a passion for living a minimal, zero waste lifestyle and on a mission to help others do the same.
Harper. Lives in Brooklyn with a +1. Sassy pup. Matcha. Wine. Whiskey. Cheese. Proscuitto.
Charley. Lives in Los Angeles with a +1. Doofy pup. Coffee. Wine. Whiskey. Cheese. Pasta.
All tagged Refillable
Very mixed. The Puracy Shampoo refill is a maybe buy but we will not be buying the Puracy conditioner. The ingredients overall are better than your average drugstore brand, which is great. The plastic reduction is also notable compared to shampoo and conditioner bottles - we like that. Cost wise, it’s comparable to other refills but more than drugstore brands. The scent of the conditioner was just too bizarre for us.
Better, but not great. Given how much we liked Blueland's cleaning products, it is disappointing to report that we wish Blueland Dishwasher tablets worked better. Even though they are zero-waste dishwashing tablets with no chemicals or strong smell, they are too pricey to not work as well as other options. However, given the update regarding PVA in other brands, we believe that it might be worth revisiting Blueland dishwasher tabs. We had previously rated them a NOT buy given the product did not dissolve and was on the pricey side. Since then, other brands prices have increased faster than Blueland’s. Most importantly, Blueland is a PVA-free, convenient tablet option.
Its a STRONG BUY! We really loved the experience of using Evolved by Nature’s Hand Soap. It smelled incredible, felt amazing on our hands (they really do feel more moisturized after!) and you really can’t beat this price. This product is really a win-win in almost every regard. This will likely be our go-to non-foaming hand soap from now on!
Not really. That said, byHumankind’s refillable, natural deodorant is one of the best intersections plastic reduction and natural deodorants on the market, but it still misses the mark on consistency. The drawback is that it is a little pastier (rather than gel texture) than we would like. Note: byHumankind has not increased prices!
BUY (Definitely for the toothpaste!). Huppy: zero-waste, plant-based toothpaste! (We did it, we rhymed.) We really like the ingredients of Huppy - all natural and contains a fluoride alternative called nHap. The bamboo toothbrush is ok - just based on cost while the floss is probably a skip from us. Note: zero waste toothpaste is just going to be a lot more expensive than drugstore brands. However, we like that the active ingredient is nHap, so if your budget allows, we think the switch could be worth it.
Proverb Deodorant, an eco-friendly deodorant is a ‘no’ from us. This is entirely based on price! As one of the most expensive options, we just can’t recommend it. We like the packaging, we like the texture and the scent. Even the ingredients are pretty good and the bar doesn’t leave white streaks. Our favorite part is that the refill has ZERO plastic. If you can spend the extra bucks, we think this is a good choice.
NOT a haul we recommend. The recycled loofah was a highlight, but unfortunately not enough for the whole haul. We liked using almost everything in this haul (zero waste dish soap, natural sponges, laundry sheets, laundry sheet), but we were confused at the hand soap sheets. Moreover, many items were on the pricey side - the biggest reason for our overall no recommendation
BUY. Soap Sense Foaming Soap Tablets are easy to use and smell great, thanks to essential oils. Made with limited ingredients, they drastically reduce the amount of plastic due to their compact size. Additionally, they are cruelty-free and paraben-free, and big plus for carbon emissions: made in the USA. Lastly, Soap Sense is one of the cheapest hand soaps when bought in subscription or bulk (the packages are super tiny, about 5” high!)
Not really a buy from us: While we enjoyed using Beautycounter’s Deo in Clean Rose, because of the combo of plastic and prohibitive cost, we are going to be a ‘no’ here. We liked how it worked and smelled. The case is designed very nicely and functionally, and the ingredients are clean. If the cost is not prohibitive for your situation, this refillable deodorant is still a step in the right direction, with reduced plastic use on every refill and cleaner ingredients.
It’s ok. Puracy Natural Baby Shampoo and Body Wash is a decent refill option. The scent is derived from essential oil and very light. As a body wash, it works ok and the ingredients do not contain sulfates, parabens, or SLS. However, it’s a little knotty-feeling as an adult shampoo. Price wise it is on the expensive side but another pro is the reduction in plastic with the refill bag.
Even though it is pretty and very earth-friendly, the glass bottle is on the heavy side, so the Grove Collaborative Glass Cleaner Set is NOT a buy for us.
MAYBE a buy. We really loved the experience of using Puracy’s natural liquid dish soap. We liked that the consistency wasn’t too thick (easy to refill) and that the scent is relatively light. Most importantly, we appreciate that this is a sulfate free soap that is naturally derived and biodegradable. The packaging is also generally great — large refill bag means less shipments (less carbon footprint) and the very small spout makes refilling super simple (no mess!). Our two complaints - the plastic pouch isn’t really recyclable (more on this below) and the price is pretty darn high 😔
Its a buy! We really loved the experience of using Puracy’s natural liquid gel hand soap. We liked that the consistency wasn’t too thick (easy to refill) and that the scent is relatively light. Most importantly, we appreciate that this is a sulfate free soap that is naturally derived and biodegradable. The packaging is also generally great — large refill bag means less shipments (less carbon footprint) and the very small spout makes refilling super simple (no mess!). Our biggest complaint - the plastic pouch isn’t really recyclable as it is labeled at a “7” 😔
BUY Gelo Hand Soaps. On a price comparison basis, it is cheaper than drugstore brands. The plastic bottle is ok, maybe you have your own bottle - that’s ok too. The Gelo refills offer a more earth-friendly option that minimizes plastic and emissions by using lightweight pods that make foaming hand soap refills. The ingredients are cruelty-free, phthalate-free, SLS-free and paraben-free. Note: unless getting the Clear, Clean, and Dye free option, the Gelo soaps do contain essential oil fragrance. Additionally, the pods are wrapped in PVOH, which dissolves in water but we are optimistically cautious - as we haven’t seen strong impartial research on this. Finally, the scent is lovely, but contains essential oil fragrance unless you go for the clean, clear option which is both fragrance-free and dye-free.
It’s a mixed buy. Overall we have had a positive experience with rE: Dish Washing Soap Bar (Citrus) - but we’re not convinced that its our favorite option. Dish soap bars are generally much less expensive than liquid dish soap, and this is certainly true here, but rE: Dish Washing Soap Bar doesn’t stand out in terms of affordability, and it also didn’t deliver like we thought it would in terms of scent (we expected citrus, but it is basically unscented). However, from a pure utility standpoint, it cleaned our dishes well!
byHumankind loses points for a (very light but) slightly weird smell and residue. Wild also gets points off for residue (come on guys). Myro and Public Goods (not zero waste) win the scent and texture game (silky!) but not the price (Myro) or zero-waste (Public Goods) game.
Since all of the refillable or zero-waste options are already crazy expensive compared to drugstore brands, if we had to pick one, we would pick Hammond Herbs given its decent texture, no residue, light scent, and zero-waste.
Mixed BUY. Personally, we are really liking the scents available at Siblings and we will likely subscribe. We tried No01 (loved it) and sniffed the bag of the No04 (smells like winter holidays). These refillable candles cost more than drugstore candles like Mrs. Meyers, but the scent is really quite nice. Pillar candles like Aroma Naturals are going to be even more earth friendly, but we do like the variety that Siblings offers. Plus we have so many empty candle jars.
NOT a buy. We like the zero-plastic effort, especially with zero-waste and biodegradable concentrate packaging for the hand soap. Unfortunately, being a little tricky to use and pretty expensive did not make up for good ingredients, clever packaging, and lovely lemongrass soap scent.
NOT a buy. The floss itself is fine. But given that it’s not easy to spin off or load the spool, plus given how expensive it is, the byHumankind floss is a pass for us.
