Me and my emotional support water bottle. Reusing IS sexy. #grammys #reuse #resusable #oliviarodrigo

My face when I finally remember my reusable tote and I can finally say “no bag please”.

We’ll go first! Our word is Rethink. So fitting. In 2025, we’re “rethinking” how to connect and create community outside of Instagram and Facebook. We’re happy to be here @bsky.app

Screenshot to find your eco-word for 2025. Post your screenshot and tag us!

So what did I miss? Scroll down to read about how The Refillery started and what we do. What questions do you have? Are you ready to join the #refillrevolution?

The climate crisis is here. However, I’m not under any illusion that refilling alone will solve the climate crisis but I know that shifting out mindset to refilling, reusing, & reducing our reliance on plastic is a piece of the puzzle. It’s time to choose community over convenience(and billionaires)

Q: So how do we do it? How do we curate local, ethical, sustainable, and non-toxic essentials?
A: The brands we carry are all other small businesses with ethical biz practices. We operate on a #closedloop which means we return all containers and drums to the makers to be sanitized and refilled!

There have been so many amazing moments over the last 4 years. Here are a few of my favs:
✨First time sending back empty 30 gallon drums(#closedloop)
✨Being a part of Pittsburgh’s 40 Under 40(2022)
✨Many segments on the local news to spread our mission
✨Refilling your containers & getting to connect

After a lot of ups and downs over the past 4 years, I am so grateful to have found a soft place to land with our Oakmont location. We’re located inside Today’s Organic Market so you can get all your grocery, home, and personal items in one convenient location!

After years of growing, it was time to pivot and right size. In 2024, we sidelined the mobile refillery for the season and decided to close two of three brick & mortar locations. It was a really hard decision. It felt like I had failed. But I knew I had to protect my work life balance as well.

And then…we grew and grew and grew over the next 4 years since that first pop up in 2021. What started as one brick & mortar grew to three brick & mortar shops as well as a mobile refillery (mini shop on wheels)! But…I was totally drained and the numbers didn’t work. So we pivoted!

We started small…I mean SO small. Looking back on these photos makes me cringe 😂 But we were laying the groundwork to fulfill our mission: reduce single-use plastic by making reusing & refilling easy, accessible, & affordable. We curate the best local, ethical, sustainable, and non-toxic options!

In early 2021, I resigned from my corporate engineering job to pursue The Refillery full time. I started doing outdoor markets and pop-ups. By October 2021, we were ready to open our first brick & mortar thanks to all the support and desire to refill!

Hi! I’m Larissa. I’m the Founder & Owner of The Refillery Pgh (est. 2021). I had been looking for alternatives to big box stores and wanted to stop supporting billionaires! But it was hard to find the daily essentials- dish soap, shampoo, etc anywhere else. So I decided to just do it myself…