Spotlight Questions- Without Co.
Tell us a bit about your business- what do you do, where are you located?
Without Co. is a zero waste store and refillery located in the Mission neighbourhood of Calgary. We refill everyday products like shampoo, conditioner, dish soap, and hand soap (and much more!) to eliminate household single use plastics. Customers bring in their existing bottles and we refill them, instead of them being used once and then recycled. We also carry a large selection of natural and low waste kitchen, cleaning and bathroom products.
How do local businesses like yours contribute to sustainability?
Without Co. contributes to sustainability by providing reusable alternatives to single use household goods. We refill over 200 customer bottles a week, diverting them from the landfill, and have helped thousands of customers make the switch to reusable products. We also support sustainability by sourcing all of our products and ingredients as locally as possible. We buy from over 100 local businesses, which greatly reduces the carbon footprint of our products.
What sustainability measures are important to the Calgary community?
Our community in Calgary is very focused on living low/zero waste. Having refillable options for everyday household goods is the main focus of our customers and our business.
Does your company have a formal sustainability program?
We have three main sustainability pillars in our manufacturing/wholesale, retail, and sourcing departments. In every business decision we factor in location, ingredients, and total waste, with quality being the top priority. By sourcing local, natural products, and by working with companies that share the same zero waste mission, we ensure that products made by us, purchased by us, and shipped to us, have the lowest environmental impact possible.
How do you measure your commitment to being sustainable, what indicators do you use?
We measure our impact by total bottles refilled each month and by measuring and monitoring the total amount of waste produced by us on a monthly basis. Our retail and wholesale divisions both operate almost zero waste.
What sustainability challenges does your organization face?
The main challenge we face is with the waste resulting in shipping. Most of our products are glass, instead of plastic, which means they need to be packaged safely for transport. We reuse as much packaging paper/boxes/wrapping as possible, and operate as zero waste as possible, but shipping materials accounts for the majority of our waste.
How can individuals support your sustainability efforts?
By shopping with us! Shopping at Without Co. eliminates household waste, supports local zero waste makers, and has a direct impact on how much waste can be diverted.
