We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sydney Shoff. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sydney below.

Sydney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Sol Refill is on a mission to end unnecessary waste from most-used items and inspire sustainable choices in day-to-day living.

We offer the most used home, body, and pantry essentials without single-use plastics and excess packaging! We make low-waste living easy with convenient milk(wo)man-style service to drop off orders and pick up old containers. We clean, sanitize and reuse the containers.

Many values align which make me a good fit for this mission. I’ve always valued human connection, I appreciate beauty, good materials, and making meaning in life.

I did not grow up in a household that cared about the environment. It was not until after college that I started to pay attention to things like sustainability and the climate. I learned more about our broken plastic recycling system, and was alarmed to find a very very low percentage of plastic is recycled. So where does it go?

Plastic waste is littering our waterways, going to landfill where it doesn’t break down. It’s often burned, releasing toxic chemicals into our air. Sometimes plastic arrives in our oceans where it trashes our beaches, hurts the animals, or accumulates like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area twice the size of Texas and growing!

A disdain for plastic and longing for a better way is what initiated Sol Refill. I was so sick of plastic in my personal life and began working to remove it wherever possible. You may have heard of the term “zero-waste,” a lifestyle where people aim to use no plastic in their days. I learned this was not very accessible.

I wanted to create a model that helped bridge the gap between current habits, and the new ones I aspired to embrace (i.e. using less plastic and making more sustainable choices in my days).

Instead of zero-waste, I like to say “low-waste”. In the practice of low-waste living, you’re aware of your actions, but there is still space to learn, make mistakes, and show up (albeit imperfectly sometimes) to create new, sustainable habits.

Also, we live in a culture obsessed with things that feel shallow and unfulfilling. A lot of these “things” are made out of plastic and thrown away after one use, without care. You could also say we are on a mission to make caring cool. To inspire a life with less wasteful stuff, and more meaning.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Many people in my family own small businesses. My father, my mother, my grandfathers, my grandmothers, and my cousins, for example. I knew I would want to have my own thing someday! I’ve always admired the creativity and drive of small business owners.

I have a wide range of experiences. In college, I stacked classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then I’d work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is not to glorify overworking but to highlight my college job “try-out” to see what I liked and didn’t. And where my creative brain could fit in. My previous experience includes working for a large retail corporation to help create their in-store visual displays, a non-profit, and then landing in the art world for almost a decade. I learned some ins and outs of small business – from marketing to project management. I wore many many hats.

Meanwhile, I was teaching yoga through it all. I felt a deep care for helping people live with more presence. I am also now the co-owner of another business named Inspirit! It’s an online space to engage with other curious humans to deepen and expand the ripple effect of yoga.

I became hyper-aware of people and their impact. Impact on themselves, others, and ultimately, the Earth.

Then I learned more about recycling and how broken the system is. The plastic we toss in is not recycled most of the time.

Also, I love to travel! I found myself inspired by innovative ideas within the realms of sustainability, design, and retail in other cities such as Montreal, Vancouver, out West, and in the UK. Such as a refill shop concept! Always hoping someone cool would do it in Pittsburgh.

Realizing that I could be the person who starts it came over time. A conglomeration of my work experience, learning, travel, and deep care for people/the world led me to Sol Refill.

Sol Refill is a doorstep delivery service free of packaging and plastics. We offer pantry, body, and home goods in reusable glass containers.

Our goal is to make using less plastic as easy as possible. Customers order goods online in our virtual storefront by Sunday evening. We fill orders and then deliver on Wednesdays in Pittsburgh, PA.

The service also picks up empty reusable containers, like a milk(wo)man model, which are then sanitized and refilled. Each container returned earns the customer a $1 credit to use on their next order.

Our business model is not meant to be nostalgic. It’s to mix old and new ways of being. Can we remember how we used to live? Before over-consumption? Before we threw away a single-use item that doesn’t biodegrade for hundreds of years (if ever)? We’re bringing back an old model, but better. Throwaway culture is costing us, yet there wasn’t another way to shop…until now.

This leads to my motivation! I am inspired to reduce plastic use because plastic recycling is a myth. Yet plastic surrounds us. It’s way too easy to use. And it never goes away.

To me, Sol Refill is far more than selling sustainable products. We are sharing a different lifestyle – normalizing intention, care, health, and meaning.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

The “return factor” in the business model helps to foster repeat customers. Every one of our reusable containers says “PLEASE RETURN”.

The customer leaves out the empty reusables on delivery day. We scoop them up when we drop off their new order.

And here’s the kicker -customers receive $1 for every reusable container they return! It’s a true rewards system. Return 5, and get $5 off. They can easily access these rewards on our website to apply them to their next order.

Also, I enjoy writing our monthly(ish) newsletter entitled, “On the Rise”. The inspiration came from the idea that there are many things on the rise, not only the temperature. Things like new ideas and innovations. Inspiring art and stories. Helpers and happenings. It’s been a pleasure to share!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to stop labeling things as “easy” or “hard”. My previous full-time job was, in a way, easy for me. Not that there weren’t some hard moments, because there were. I was playing it safe. It was a comfy salary, position, and workload. Yet, I felt unsatisfied and hungry for more. It was “easy” but at what cost? I had to consider how “easy” can rob future potential and possibilities.

I started having “harder” more honest conversations. I began to make “harder” decisions to get serious about ideas that need action behind them. I began to feel more alive and engaged. Hard things became more fulfilling.

My boss exclaimed, “Finally!” When I shared I was quitting to begin my own thing.

Then came the part that surprised me! It was supposed to be “hard” to build a business. In creation mode, I was so engaged it felt “easy”. How confusing! People always say, “I don’t know how you’re doing all this.” And I shrug, thinking about how I feel more like myself than ever before!

Here are a few lessons:

1) Don’t let other people project and tell you how you’re “supposed to feel” in situations. Only you can discern and dictate your experience! Meet the moment as it is, true to you.

2) If you want to learn about yourself – start a business! I’ve learned countless lessons about self-trust, confidence, and how to lead a self-defined life.

3) Define your own metrics of success.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://solrefill.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sydney_allie/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/solrefill/