Goodwash Soap

When you hear the word “refillery”, do you automatically think of boutique-style, aesthetic shops in the heart of metropolitan cities like Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto? These stores are great examples of refill to reduce waste and increase the reuse of packaging. But if you’re a supplier of products without a storefront, it’s still possible to participate in reuse—and rise to meet the challenges that go with the model.

Goodwash Soap, a supplier of Canadian soaps and creams, has a system figured out that bypasses plastic altogether, reduces packaging waste, all while doing social good at the same time—5% of sales go to charities.

Goodwash Soap is currently an online business with products placed in a few locations. Aside from the products being specifically formulated to break down once they’re in the environment, the aluminum packaging is returnable and refillable. “There’s value in that packaging, and it’s coming back to us, and that can actually save us money and save the customer’s, [too]”. And with a concentrated formula that is diluted up by the customer, less material goes into the product packaging in the first place.

“I started off with the idea of just having the aluminum container, and it’s a concentrated formula, so that was reducing waste,” Farrell said, “and then a little bit more recently, decided to take it that step further and introduce the package return program.” After having looked at a few companies in the United States who were already doing container reuse through postal mail, Farrell decided to give it a try, even though shipping prices were notably cheaper south of the border.

Shipping costs weren’t the only challenge Goodwash Soap has had to deal with. Once the packages are received, they are sent to a company that washes them to be reused. Thankfully, Farrell was able to find a label manufacturer that was able to produce product labels that could withstand these repeated washes.

A key consideration in this process is that many manufacturers operate under ISO standards, which introduce additional complexity when re-used packaging is involved. Further conversations with product manufacturers and bottlers will be essential to making this model more widely acceptable and seamlessly integrated into existing production practices.

Customers sending back their empties is a way of making refill more accessible. “You shouldn’t have to […] worry about whether you have an empty container to refill and if you’ve cleaned it properly.” Being able to drop empties in the mail makes it easy and convenient for consumers, no matter where they’re located in Ontario.

Farrell also highlights that Goodwash Soap’s innovative aluminum packaging and washable labels ensure important information, such as directions for use and expiry dates remains intact. “All of that sort of value in the packaging and the communication stays with it,” she says, emphasizing the convenience and reliability of their approach.

For those thinking of starting a business following a refill model, you’re in luck. When asked for her advice, Farrell noted it’s easiest to implement before your business is running, as opposed to adding it in. Her extra advice is to think about the full life cycle of products.

“Some of the challenges are not as difficult as they seem at first. We used to do it, places like The Beer Store have been doing it forever. We used to do this with things like milk. […] We’ve just become so used to doing things in a certain way. […] It’s just a little bit of behaviour change.”