After about a month of working at my local zero waste/refill store, Planet Renu, I’ve tried quite a few of their offerings. Here are all the things I got with my employee discount and what I think about them:
Huppy Toothpaste Tablets: These are surprisingly good! They have less chemicals than the conventional tube of toothpaste and they’re really easy to use (just break the tablets with the front of your teeth so you’re less inclined to want to swallow it). They also foam up pretty well and the aftertaste is minty (for the mint ones) without any artificial residues. I would 100% convert to just tablets except for the expense. At our shop, it’s a refill of $0.14 per tablet. So that comes out to about $8.40 a month if your brush twice a day. With my current budget, it’s pretty unfeasible but I will definitely purchase these when I need to go on a short trip and don’t feel like traveling with a tube of toothpaste.
Hay Straws: As I mentioned before, I got these for my toddler since she insists on drinking liquids with a straw. We have stainless steel straws (like these) but she tends to knock them and I’m not a fan of how sharp they can be (especially on the rare occasion when Emi jams them into our dining table). These Hay straws are made from wheat husks and even though are skinnier than a typical straw, Emi has no complaints. One pack comes with 100, and they’ll last about a day (I’ll rinse and dry between each cup). And I toss these into my outdoor tumbling compost when she’s done with it. Overall a great straw for a toddler.
Swedish Dishcloth: I’ve heard about Swedish dish cloths for awhile, so one of this was one first things I purchased from the shop. So far they’re great! They hold a ton of liquid and are easy to clean. I use this as a sponge replacement. I tried washing them in a dishwasher and it works but it comes out soggy (but then you can just squeeze and hang dry). You can also wash them in the washing machine and hang dry. I love the fun patterns they come in and the fact that they dry do thoroughly that bacteria doesn’t grow on it like it does on a sponge.
Silicone Food Covers: As much as I like the idea of bees wax covers, I’ve tried them in the past and they just don’t stay on (no matter how much I try to warm and mold them). I do have one very large Costco plastic wrap that I got probably 10 years ago or so (it’s still going strong because I rarely use plastic wrap—if it’s food I’ll put it in a container to store). But to make it to last for the rest of my life (hopefully), I got these silicone food covers. They come in 6 sizes to fit most things and are made of nontoxic BPA free silicone. They’re dishwasher safe and can be used in the freezer as well (though I haven’t tried it yet). The good thing about silicone is that it’s quite durable and at the end of life it doesn’t break up into tiny polluting microparticles like plastic. They fit my standard bowls and small bowls well and I’ve been using them quite often since I got them! I like them so much I got a couple more to give as gifts to friends.
Puracy Dishwasher pods: So you can get these packaged from Amazon too (though I’m able to get them package-free from my shop), and even though these are a bit more expensive than the Cascade ones I’m 100% a convert. I really hated the way the Cascade ones emitted a smell during the dishwashing cycle and then left a kind of soapy-smelling residue on everything (it’s especially pronounced if you throw some hot water into a ceramic mug freshly cleaned from the dishwasher). Well these Puracy have no smells and no after tastes. And they work just as well as the Cascade ones, but I feel so much better that there aren’t any soapy residues on my dishes.
Refills
And if you’re local, stop by and refill some of your daily products. These are the refills I have tried so far:
The lotion: This is what I refilled at Planet Renu before I started working there. So far I’ve refilled my fairly big jar with pump twice this year at about $15 per refill. The lotion is on the light side but works great and absorbs quickly.
The conditioner: My husband was out of conditioner so I refilled this for him. It came out to less than $10 for a whole bottle’s worth.
The dish soap: I refilled my small dish soap container and for $0.20 an oz, it came out to like a $1.50. This is by far the most popular refill at the store and I can see why (it’s cheap and works well).