Via a simple scheme called 1% for the Planet, Northamptonshire based company FillRefill have kindly donated to our Trust. Signing up to this excellent scheme puts people and the planet over profit, representing a global network of businesses, individuals and non-profit organizations tackling the planet's most pressing environmental issues. The focus of 1% for the Planet is on six core issue areas: climate, food, land, pollution, water and wildlife, and it was these principles which inspired FillRefill to get involved.

Supplying a range of refillable eco laundry, household cleaning and personal care products in glass bottles and jars which look great and reduce packaging waste, everything is made at a family run factory in Finedon, Northamptonshire. The biodegradable ingredients create modern effective eco cleaning and laundry products - no dyes or harsh chemicals are used. “We set out to create the type of straightforward eco products that we wanted to use, in glass bottles that look great so get reused and won't get thrown away,” explains MD Phillip Kalli.

These products are being stocked and used increasingly at our Nene Wetlands Visitor Centre; manager Katie King explains: "Fill are a fantastic example of the sort of business we want to work with and support. They’re very local to us, they’re extremely committed to the environment and their products are helping people to live more sustainably. We started off just selling their hand soap, washing up liquid and kitchen cleaner but it’s proved so popular that we now also sell shampoo, conditioner and body wash. More and more people are switching to their products, which are a great talking point for our visitors. Customers can buy a filled glass bottle from us and, when it’s empty, come back and get it refilled. They can also bring their own containers to be refilled if they prefer. Fill supply their products in large 20L drums and, when these are empty, they come and collect them and use them again and again. They even collect their cardboard boxes to be reused so there’s pretty much no packaging waste generated at all- it’s brilliant!"

Expanding on their stance Phill says: “The climate crisis is serious. Really serious. Terrifying and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense. We all need to take urgent, collective and transformative action. Five years ago, before we really knew how serious things were, we launched FillRefill Co, although the idea had been in my head a lot longer. It was to be for everyone interested in a more responsible way to clean, without single use plastic packaging waste. A range of simple, intuitively refillable products, available in screen-printed glass bottles, so they wouldn’t ever get thrown away.
“Working with 1% for the Planet was part of this, having been inspired by founder Yvon Chouinard who explains that by acting positively to solve problems instead of ignoring them or finding a way around them, we are further along the path toward sustainability. We can all strive for reducing waste and reliance on single use plastic.

"Since then we’ve been making continuous changes to align our actions with our values - to be the most responsible maker/supplier we can possibly be. But there’s always a lot to learn and we’re nowhere near the finished article yet, we know that better than anyone, and even though we’ve eliminated the need for more than 1.5million single use bottles we recognise that any positive impact is tiny in the bigger scheme of things.

“We felt it was important to take positive action in choosing to support the Wildlife Trust through our membership of 1% of the Planet, it means we donate 1% of turnover from the sale of Fill products to The Wildlife Trust BCN as our nominated non-profit partner. We admire the Trust's work in protecting, maintaining and raising awareness of local natural habitats, and it felt important for a small organisation like ours, 32 people, to make this commitment. We hope it raises awareness and inspires other businesses to do the same.”