Refill business launches crowdfunder to invest in zero waste shopping

8 June 2023

An eco-friendly Penistone business is calling on customers and supporters to help it upgrade its popular refill and zero waste shop.

All is Good, based in Penistone 1, St Mary’s Street, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the investment it needs to make the refill section of its community store more accessible, user-friendly and cost-effective.

Green ‘dragons’ are being asked to ‘pledge’ any amount they can, which will enable the business to buy 18 giant 200-litre barrels of products such as shampoo and conditioner, washing-up liquid and floor cleaner.

Investors will get all their money back in terms of value of goods once the new barrels are installed, with an extra 10 percent on top for all investments above £20, and rewards such as coffee, cake and exclusive offers thrown in too.

Karen Close, who set up ‘All is Good Yorkshire’ with business partner Leanne Gill in October 2021, said: “Sales have grown and grown in our refill section and we’ve wanted to invest in making it bigger and better for a while now but have been stuck because of the cost of the initial outlay.

“This is fabulous way to help us cover our costs upfront and we will be very grateful for any support that existing and potential customers would like to give us.

“We love that we’ll then be able to pay everyone back, in full, through products and rewards. It will be our way of saying thank you for believing in, and supporting, our green business. It’s a win-win for everyone and we are very excited about this development.”

The All is Good campaign launches on June 13th and will run throughout the summer. The business needs to raise £18,000 to invest in 18 200 litre barrels of product from its UK-based supplier Fill/Refill Co.

These better-value barrels will replace smaller ones, cut the number of deliveries needed and enable the business to keep prices down and create a more clutter-free, accessible environment. Much more user-friendly pumps on the barrels will also make them ‘self-service’ so that customers, and young families in particular, can refill their own bottles.

All is Good sells locally-sourced food, arts, crafts and gifts; ethical brands and environmentally-friendly goods, as well as refill and zero waste goods.

Karen said: “Our refill area has grown from a four metre square corner of the shop to a 40m square room of its own in just 18 months.

“In that time, we’ve increased the number of refill products we stock from five to 20. We’ve doubled the number of zero waste dry goods we sell and added refillable wine, gin and rapeseed oil to our range too.

“Our customers have really embraced this new way of shopping which shuns single-use plastic packaging and helps reduce so much of the waste prevalent in conventional shopping. We look forward to investing in growth.”

Karen turned to crowdfunding for finance after being introduced to Our Pledge, one of the UK’s leading sustainable business consultancies which supports green start-ups and SMEs. CEO Rachael Castell set up the company to tackle the reality that many sustainable businesses, with excellent potential, fail in the early stages due to a lack of ready investment.

Rachel said: “Businesses like All is Good which champion zero waste shopping are the vanguard of the retail sector’s future. We have to adopt more sustainable models of delivery and packaging of goods to reduce our carbon footprint and we have to start right now introducing alternatives to the supermarket norm.

“Anyone who invests in All is Good’s crowdfunder will see good returns on their investment for themselves, in terms of a receiving a higher value of product on account, and also for the planet in terms of helping along a sustainable business which is exploring ways to live greener lifestyles.”

For further information, contact:

Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: pr@dransfield.co.uk