Zero-Waste Is Win-Win with Santa Barbara’s Two Refill Shops

What do toothpaste tablets, build-your-own straws and colorful little silicone pucks called food huggers have in common? Aside from being things you may have not known exist, they’re among the hundreds of eco-conscious items available at Sunkissed Pantry and Mission Refill, the South Coast’s only zero-waste businesses. By ditching plastic for reusable materials, both shops hope you’ll see one person’s empty jar of pasta sauce as another person’s treasure.

What does that mean? On top of housing the low-impact products above, Sunkissed Pantry and Mission Refill act as refill shops, where soaps, salts, sprays and more are stored in bulk and sold by the ounce. Here’s how it works: Bring an empty jar or bottle (glass is best, but anything works) and place it on the scale to tare it. Then grab a tag and press it to the screen on a connected device to scan the tare weight, attach the tag to your container, and you’re all set.

Don’t have a container? Both locations offer freebies that have been cleaned and sanitized, with the hope that you’ll pay it forward and donate one on your next visit. Containers can be purchased as well. Donations of clean, reusable items are welcome, and monthly and annual memberships reward customers with discounts and access to events.

Extreme as it may sound, both stores preach practicality. “I’m just happy to give people the option,” says Kiersten Ozhelevskiy, owner of Sunkissed Pantry, speaking of operating in a sea of traditional grocery stores. “I think people have this concept that it’s a really hard or expensive thing to do, but in the long run, this lifestyle saves a lot of money. The aim is trying to get good ingredients at a decent price.” 

Ozhelevskiy opened her doors in August 2022, and for more than a year, she boasted the only refill store from Ventura to Arroyo Grande. That was until Valerie Voorhees opened Mission Refill in November. She echoes Ozhelevskiy: “Making more sustainable decisions should be convenient for consumers, and I want this to be an entry into sustainable living. [Still], instead of asking why things are so expensive, ask why things are so cheap.”

Both acknowledge their collective hurdles — cost, convenience, education, and sourcing — and the need to stick together. Speaking of Ozhelevskiy and others, Voorhees is proud that “most refill stores are single-owner women. We rely on each other, and I consider her a friend. She’s helped me out, I can help her out, and that’s great.” Ozhelevskiy agrees, adding, “To be able to work with someone who’s on the same page as me, who wants to build a bigger community, is important. I’m very thankful that we have each other to lean on.”

Refill shops have taken off in California’s big cities in recent years, though Santa Barbara is no stranger to them. The Refillery was an early yet short-lived example on De la Vina Street. Now, Voorhees and Ozhelevskiy are leveraging their skill sets to connect consumers with less-consumptive habits. Voorhees, a former marketing executive, credits her California upbringing and time at UCSB with an exposure to environmental sciences, while Ozhelevskiy, an SBCC grad and longtime pastry chef, began her own line of facial care and cleaning products under the Sunkissed Pantry name. For both, this business is personal. “Growing up, my parents were business owners, and I always wanted to have my own business,” Ozhelevskiy muses. “My mom passed away from breast cancer, and during that time, my sister and I were learning about harmful chemicals in the beauty industry. We were really shocked by that and started making our own products. Educating the youth is another driver — what can I do for my children?”

Poking around both stores last week, I was struck by how chic waste-free shopping can be. Trailing plants and bespoke home goods fill the spaces between Sunkissed Pantry’s wall of loose-leaf teas and a clothing nook, kissed with natural light, while at Mission Refill, a crisp, Corporate Memphis–styled scene with smart colors and glass cauldrons of soaps with corkboard lids awaits. There’s a handful of recognizable local products at both, from Sideyard Shrubs fruit vinegars to Golden Arrow Goods soy candles and soaps.

Voorhees and Ozhelevskiy pointed out the few unavoidable places plastic sneaks into their shops, namely in pump tops, sunscreen bottles, and covers for local art prints. (I asked Ozhelevskiy if local artists are working with reusable materials, and while we need to look deeper into that one, she spoke highly of a workshop where she made her own paper. What a world.) Neither refuse plastic containers — “no judgment, just less packaging,” as Voorhees puts it. “There’s a famous quote: ‘We don’t need one person doing a million things. We need a million people doing one thing.’”

Of course, if there’s one thing for most customers, it’s price. One 32-ounce bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap from the company’s website costs $16.99. For comparison, the same amount at a refill shop goes for about $21, though a membership at either business can shave that price down to under $20. Maybe not a big difference when it’s all said and done, especially after considering the local element and less plastic consumed. And if we’re really talking economics, the dilution of mass-produced detergents and soaps means we’re running out to buy them much more than we should. In this world of watered-down wares, tapping into Sunkissed Pantry and Mission Refill’s jugs of concentrate is a smart choice.

Naturally, all this is difficult to distill into an elevator pitch, but Voorhees did just that as a passerby meandered into the shop before opening hours. “So, what are you?” the woman asked. “We’re a refillery,” Voorhees said. “We have all of the household items you would usually find at other stores, except they come in sustainable packaging, and we also sell these items in bulk by the ounce.” The woman thought I was interviewing Voorhees for a job, not a newspaper. “You should hire her,” she told me. Ma’am, I’ll put in a good word.

Visit Sunkissed Pantry (31 E. Canon Perdido St.; Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.) and Mission Refill (5733 Calle Real; Fri.-Wed., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.). See sunkissedpantry.com and missionrefill.com.