Saving the planet was the furthest thing from Deanna Taylor-Heacock’s mind when she got the idea to open Good Bottle Refill Shop, the first refill shop in New Jersey. What started out as a way to save time and money as a mom became a zero waste mission and business model to meet it. In a society where convenience is king, Deanna talks about how she’s educated herself on eco-friendly practices, sourced and developed products and processes, and built a circular economy - with the biggest hurdle being how to convince consumers to stop buying their trash.
Where the conversation went:
- Deanna shares how she didn't ever recycle until she was almost 30 years old and didn't much care about it, making her very less than likely to open the first ever refill shop in New Jersey.
- Deanna's aha as a stay-at-home mom trying to minimize trips to the store and how very much money was going out the door to big box stores became Good Bottle's main message: Stop buying your trash.
- Despite being the most densely populated state in the US, New Jersey did not have a refill shop until Deanna created one. We talk about the barrier of convenience being such a motivating factor in people's shopping experience and how refilling asks them to do something very different than what they've been sold in the past.
- In discussing the financial costs and benefits of refilling, Deanna invites us to consider what the cost to the consumer would be for non-refillable providers that we all use every day to take responsibility for the waste their product is creating.
- Deanna shares what it’s like building a business where there’s no one to really compare yourself to, as well as all the factors you have to figure out as you go with a new model of business.
- What it requires of a business to teach consumers a totally different way to shop and think.
Links mentioned in the episode:
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