How "Refillable" is Becoming a Greenwashing Term

This post first appeared as an email on January 11, 2023.

Okay friend. I know it's not our usual Thursday blog day, but I'm all sorts of fired up and I have to share this with you now.

Earlier today, I was scrollin' the 'gram (as I do), and I came across a reel from a fairly well-known influencer in the sustainability space.

She started off by sharing info that New York has implemented a new law that bans the sale of several name-brand laundry detergents and cleaners that contain 1,4-dioxane in quantities above an approved limit.

Okay, cool. That's important information to know, and a really good reason and opportunity to switch to a more sustainable laundry detergent. Great!

But then she continues...

"Lately I've been loving [brand name]. Not only is it refillable (which cuts back on waste!), but it also contains ingredients that aren't damaging to my health or the planet."

Now don't get it twisted - I'm glad the ingredients in this brand are safer for the planet. That's not the part that's got me all fired up.

I've talked about the importance of language and how sustainability buzzwords can lead us down a path of greenwashing. And this is a PRIME example.

Notice this influencer promoted the brand at least in part for its refillability and how it cut down on waste.

But here's the thing.

I've looked into this brand before. Their products are packaged in cartons. And you know my feelings on cartons.

So, curious, I commented on the post and I asked if the brand takes back the cartons to refill.

Spoiler: They take them back to recycle (*ahem* downcycle into things like tissues) but NOT to refill them.

"When I refer to refillable, I mean the glass container you purchase once. And then the cartons are the refills. It cuts back on some waste."

Okay back up back up back up.

BY DEFINITION - that is not refillable 💥

Something that is refillable can be refilled again and again.

💥 The glass container is 100% OPTIONAL.
💥 The carton has a plastic cap on it.
💥 It can be closed up and stored with the detergent inside of it on its own.

The glass container is totally superfluous. If you take out the completely unnecessary glass container, you're left with a 100% DISPOSABLE, hard-to-recycle, unrefillable product.

So like, really, we're actually ending up with MORE WASTE because glass is highly resource-intensive to make, the cartons are being DOWNCYCLED (if they even make it into a recycling stream at all) into things like tissues, and MORE CARTONS HAVE TO BE MADE to continue supplying these products.

Literally everything about this is absolutely not zero waste and it's so frustrating that even WITHIN the zero waste community we're seeing this type of greenwashing - and seeing it being promoted by people with some level of influence.

I'm so fired up. I saw this post hours ago and I haven't been able to shake it.

So I guess my plea to you is this:

Always remember the first R of zero waste: RETHINK. 

Pay attention. Ask questions. Be skeptical. And speak up. Use your voice to raise awareness and draw attention to these issues. 

Every one of us can make a difference.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

P.S. What do you think of all this? Comment below. Lemme know.