New "Refillery" promotes sustainability with natural product lines

(TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.) The shelves inside The Refillery Traverse City are stocked with bamboo toothbrushes, natural deodorant, reusable linen coffee filters, and other products owner Sarah Lang said are not only better for the environment, but your body, too. 

"I don't sell any products that have synthetic fragrances, or paraben, sulfates, toxic chemicals that you know are going to disrupt your hormones or just be dangerous in general to use in your home," said Lang. 

Lang started The Refillery Traverse City online back in March. She opened the in store location at the Grand Traverse Commons at the end of May. 

Lang said their goal is to help people use products without toxins and to reduce waste from going into the environment. 

There's also a refill station where people can bring in their own containers to fill with shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, and body wash. 

After coming across another store that had the concept of refilling cleaning and toiletry products, Lang thought it would be something northern Michigan could use, too. 

"I thought that it would go really well in Traverse City," said Lang. "Surprisingly there wasn't really any other low waste stores. A lot of the products that we stock, too, you can only find online and being a consumer myself, I personally like to see it in my hands, take a look at it, what am I spending my money on. So, it all just kind of snowballed together to create this space."

Lang said she tries to get as many of her products as possible from other Michigan businesses. 

Even with the in-store location, The Refillery Traverse City will ship to customers who are within a 12-mile radius of the store. 

And while the business didn't start until this year, Lang said she's been trying out natural products for a long time. 

"I really started probably after I graduated high school, mid college, I would say I started switching to a lot of the natural products," said Lang. "I was a big DIYer so I would make my own, you know cleaning, floor cleaning solutions, things of that nature."

She says growing up surrounded by the Great Lakes has taught her to be mindful of protecting the environment. 

"It's just a really big deal to just start refusing things and reusing what we have, and just making those swaps that really aren't that hard," said Lang. "And it may be an investment in the beginning but in the long run it's just more sustainable for the planet, for your wallet." 

Lang told us the idea of refilling and buying sustainable products is catching on.  

"I've got a really steady clientele now that comes in every two weeks or four weeks to refill their products and then grab their bamboo toothbrushes or Swedish dishcloths," said Lang. 

If you would like to know more about The Refillery Traverse City you can go to their website.