I LOVE her suggestion and would definitely bring my containers in to refill.

great idea!

I actually make my own cleaning supplies just to avoid buying excess material!

I noticed Arm and Hammer has a similar idea that I think 7th Gen should definitely do!! I don't want to buy the Arm and Hammer product because I prefer 7th Gen. but they sell Refills that you just add water to! That is so much better! We don't need to purchase more bottles or more water.

Can 7th Gen do this? Please?

I think this is a wonderful idea.

Problem is going to be having the resources to have a representative come to the stores to refill the unites.
Although the stores could do it themselves (i myself would have issues with that). I like to know for sure what im getting.

Brilliant

I think an important issue, however, would be quality-control. I like refilling stations and "serve-yourself" type products, but I am always skeptical about the cleanliness of the container used to hold the bulk supply in and the age/quality of the product inside. If these issues could be solved, I'd be 100% on-board with this idea.

in todays world it would make sense! People would reuse bins and bottles <3 recycling it would make people like me love this world so much more.I am for this! Ohhh well ill lug around a few contrainers sure people did it for centuries !

I really think this should be researched. Heck, even most grocery stores now have those water filtration machines that you can refill bottles with. Why not something like that for the Seventh generation stuff?

As much as its a great idea and would be all about it, the cost may be too much.

Take in consideration the space needed in each store which cost money.
The start up cost just to get it going in major grocery stores.

How about setting up "re-use" drop off stations which would be located out side the stores and people would drop off their used 7G containers and 7G would pick them up periodically to have them refilled and sold again?

It's easy to establish the bins. It would be good advertising for 7G, good PR for the stores and less expensive if you subcontract the pick up or have a volunteer organization do it.

i would love a refill station and/or larger size refills you could use at home.

Not being able to refill my 7G bottles has been an issue for me, recycling of plastics is not available in my area & I hate the idea of the bottles filling up space in a landfill. I like the idea of "re-use" drop off stations. Right now the empty bottles are taking up space under my sink.

Restore cleaning products in Minnesota already does this. It looks like they are finally branching out and sharing the idea -- www.restoreproducts.com/Refill.html

They have a head start and patents so others will probably have to work with them. I actually mentioned the idea to Method on one of their blog posts and they loved it.

It should be a machine that can be configured to handle all liquid products, including eventually food and drinks such as milk, orange juice, yogurt, etc. such that eventually there should never be a case where one would need to buy, recycle, and dispose of a bottle or container.

I think its an awesome idea.There are alot of things that could be done this way.

This can be done easily - especially at small local stores - there could be a deposit exchange program OR people could just refill their own prescribed container (then they wouldn't have to worry about the cleanliness of containers). Trading of the large containers could be facilitated through the distribution companies that sell 7G products to the stores, as they have shipments going back and forth regularly, as well as sales reps that visit their stores. Shouldn't be too hard.

Our local grocery store, even though it's part of a local chain sells a brand of soap and detergent that customers just pay $1 depsoti for the container. The store collects the returned containers and they are picked up by the soap company (to be cleaned, sterilized and refilled) when they drop off a refilled order.

I am part of a group planning to open a chain of stores where people can "refill" their favorite products, from laundry detergent and cleaning products, to shampoo and even paper products. Not just one brand, many popular brands. If anyone wants more information, please write me at robertbilotti@comcast.net. Thanks, Robert

Hey, while you are working on the BRILLIANT idea listed above (I assume it will take quite a while to set all that up) could you please just sell larger size refills? Let's face it, we are all going to be using A LOT of this stuff over time, can you sell a larger quantity in a box (like wine-in-a-box) or something so we can refill our own bottles?

i am not sure why nobody has ever done it...
but why not sell 100% recycled paper napkins and even other paper products in a bulk format...a big metal bin...kind of like a bigger napkin dispenser...that can hold about 5000 napkins (or individual paper towel sheets)...
then a person can just pull out...or use a tong to be cleaner...as many as they need now!
this could be put in a recycled paper bag for check out and take home storage! bar code or price code on bags!
that way we don't buy more than we need if we need less than 150 napkins, and no plastic needs to cover it at all!

I only buy in bulk and have been buying other less performant products only to save on packaging. I am not interested in the liquid diswashing or laundry detergent, because the refill containers are usually small and are made of plastic. I tend to buy those in powder forms in large bins... PLease, PLease Seventh Generation: help the environment further and make your great products available in bulk!!!

There is a Laundry in Phoenix that currently sells all natural 3X HE laundry detergent, fabric softener, and Oxy powder in refillable packaging. They will actually come to you/groups and fill up you bottles. They have bunch of different scents that you can add to your products at point of purchase.

There products and refill stations are being put in at 20 different laundries and dry cleaners around the Phoenix area. All you have to do is go to there website and request that they sell there products in your area and they will make the contacts with the local laundry. They will even buy your bottle back if you are not happy and dont plan on refilling.

They also promote conservation with a very unique bottle. You can order online through the contact page. Pricing was better then any of the traditional detergents and the product was just as good if not better.

I have definitely had this thought before. I would buy green cleaners at the store if it didn't require me to recycle so many bottles. So, I make my own cleaners - just so I can reuse the bottles I have.

Hi Seventh Gen, We LOVE YOU and will love you even more if you widen your market to include commercial refillables - higher ed institutions for example - what a huge market group awaiting your help. Please consider!

Thank you for your support, love to know when our consumers LOVE US!!! We are looking into this but there are many challenges with refills that we need to investigate. We do understand why this is so important, so don't give up on us.

While we all would want an easy solution to reduce the amount of plastic bottles generated from buying ready-to-use cleaning products the simplest solution is to make every Seventh Gen product available in a super concentrate. But that would destroy their profit margin significantly as 90% of the volume of liquid in those Seventh Gen bottles is water. What you pay for is the cost to market, ship, stock & promote their brand or any brand for that matter. The ready-to-use cleaning product concept will remain in the retail sector forever. Now if you venture into a janitor supply closet in a school or office building, you will most likely see a dispenser that uses plain tap water to dilute/mix with the super concentrate cleaning product to make ready-to-use cleaners. In the commercial cleaning market for instance, it costs about .04 cents per quart to make a non-ammoniated Green Seal certified glass cleaner. See the difference and you might understand why retail is retail and "BULK" which is great for the consumer, is not so profitable for the manufacturer in the retail sector. I wouldnt hold your breath on that concept but the refillable bottle concept where you bring back your empty bottles is a brilliant concept.

I haven't used laundry detergents in over 6 years. Most people do not realize it isn't the soap that cleans your clothes it is the agitation of the water in your washer. Using soaps or any kind of detergents only leaves a soap scum on your clothes and this is what wears out your clothes. I also don't use cleaners. My main cleaner is white vinegar and elblow grease. No bottles to recycle or refill. Vinegar and water mixed together is an excellent cleaner for glass. Using vinegar to wipe off your counter tops cleans the germs and also makes your kitchen smell fresh. Using vinegar to clean your furniture doesn't leave a greasy finish on your furniture and dust doesn't cling as easily as it does to furniture poslish. Therefore less dusting and more time to do other chores.

It would be so great if this was truly an easy solution,,AND I am happy to share that we do have 2x concentrates in most sizes and scents across our liquid laundry detergents. We are working on the Baby and Delicate detergents. We will have a multi-surface concentrated cleaner available in half of the Target stores for mid-Oct. We do understand that concentrates are a great way to reduce water being transported, and this is a real goal for Seventh Generation.

I am soooo very ready to open up a refill station at my local co op so We can all stop throwing this plastic in the bins! I wish Seventh Generation had bulk soap like biokleen so we as everyday Joes can distribute this for them locally and in bulk, people can bring in whatever they want to fill up and be on there way. Kudos to any one doing this already. This could be a reality for anyone...

Thank you for touching base with us via this forum. While this is not on the immediate forefront it is an idea / concept that we've pondered in the past. There are many logistical challenges to this and too many to list in this forum. Regardless of those challenges, any creative idea has possibilities and we do not believe an idea is dead just because it is not easy. With that said, I would welcome you to e-mail us with your contact information if this opportunity comes to fruition in the future. http://www.seventhgeneration.com/contact-us)

I thank you again for your interest and all the folks that have added to this post since it started in August.