A new zero-waste refillery in northeast Baltimore hopes to inspire residents to shop more sustainably for their household goods and personal care products. Located at 4717 Harford Road, Market Goods sells everything from citrus hand soap and bathroom cleaning fluid to reusable freezer bags a nd cloth alternatives for paper towels. They have ditched plastic packaging for paper, and encourage customers to bring their own reusable containers to refill.  The store will host its grand opening Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Market Goods owner Hailey Graef grew up in “a really rustic household” in Arkansas, where her family regularly grew, canned, and preserved their own food. When she moved to Baltimore, she was taken aback by what she saw in grocery stores. Rolls of toilet paper wrapped in colorful patterned paper packaging, instead of the plastic packaging one would likely find in other stores, are among the products for sale at Market Goods. Photo credit: Marcus Dieterle. “Everything’s covered in plastic, and it made me really aware of it,” she said. But she also saw what was possible for a more sustainable shopping experience through her time working at MOM’s Organic Market, which encourages customers to bring their own containers and buy in bulk. In 2018, Graef founded Zerra Co., a zero-waste beauty brand that sells vegan and cruelty-free makeup and skincare products, like lip balm in paper tubes or lip gloss in glass and wood tubes. After the storefront on Harford Road (previously home to shops like Tortuga and Habitual Workshop) became available, Graef jumped on the opportunity to open Market Goods. Customers will find products from Graef’s own Zerra Co., local businesses like Mount Royal Soaps, and other companies that Graef has sourced zero-waste items from. They even have some unscented or fragrance-free options for customers who have sensitivities. Graef said she welcomes suggestions for other products or types of items that customers would like to see in the store. Customers can refill their containers with facial oil, makeup remover, and other products from jugs on the countertops at the new Market Goods store at 4717 Harford Road in northeast Baltimore. Photo credit: Marcus Dieterle. Graef’s landlord, Sam Polakoff, admits he didn’t quite understand the concept at first. But once Graef explained her vision, he was fully on board. “I totally dig it. It’s amazing,” he said. The neighborhood – and Baltimore at large – is in great need of a store like Market Goods, Polakoff said.  “Plastic is obviously a major problem. It’s all over our streets and everywhere else,” he said. “Hailey does an incredible job. She’s a real professional. I think that it’s a perfect fit for this neighborhood and this community as well. There’s a lot of civic-minded, progressive people here.” Market Goods finds itself among a growing number of businesses cutting out plastic packaging and containers that would otherwise often end up in landfills or polluting neighborhoods and environments. For customers who do not bring their own containers, Market Goods sells various reusable bottles. Photo credit: Marcus Dieterle. Although reusing and refilling containers is far from a new idea (think: the milkmen who delivered glass bottles of milk upon doorsteps or in milk doors, and collected the empty bottles for reuse), there is a rising movement to reduce waste from single-use containers and packaging. Limitless blogger Celia Ristow told Civil Eats that there were fewer than 10 zero-waste and refillery stores in the United States when she started tracking these businesses in 2015. Since then, their numbers have exploded. Now, there are more than 600 refilleries and bulk shops across the country, according to Life Unplastic, one such business in Gainesville, Florida. For those yet to be initiated into the world of refilleries, here’s how they work. Market Goods customers will bring their own container to fill with the product of their choice. The empty container is weighed first, then the customer fills it with the product they want to purchase. The container is then re-weighed with the product, and the empty container weight is subtracted from the total so the customer is only paying for the product. Reusable non-paper towels, made out of cloth, are among the products for sale at Market Goods. Photo credit: Marcus Dieterle. There’s no need to go out and purchase brand new, aesthetically pleasing, social media-curated vessels to hold your household wares; in fact, Market Goods encourages using what you already have on hand, whether it’s a mason jar or an old laundry detergent jug. Just avoid containers that once held items with strong scents, or at least clean them very well before reusing them for certain purposes, advises Market Goods manager Clover Hurley. “You have good intentions with something like pickle jars, but they hold a lot of smells,” they said. “So then you get a nice skincare product, you’re really excited to try it, and then it doesn’t work the way you want because it smells like pickles.” Market Goods does offer containers available for purchase that customers might not have at home, like spray bottles for cleaning solutions, as well as funnels to make pouring into bottles easier. Customers can scoop detergent tablets to refill their container at Market Goods. Photo credit: Marcus Dieterle. At most stores, customers have to commit to buying a full bottle of product before they even have a chance to try it. “If you go to CVS, you’re stuck getting this big bottle of lotion that you might hate or might have a bad reaction to,” Hurley said. But Market Goods allows customers to buy as much (within reason – no more than a gallon) or as little as they want. Hurley suggests saving travel size bottles of shampoo from hotels to use to refill as samples. “You can come and buy one ounce, go home, and then in a week you’re like ‘Yeah, I actually really like that,’ and then you come back and commit to the product,” they said. Graef is hopeful that Market Goods can demonstrate that sustainable shopping is not just possible, but accessible. Market Goods sells multi-surface cleaners with various scents. The store also has products with unscented or frangrance-free options. Photo credit: Marcus Dietelre. “Even if they don’t buy from us and they buy elsewhere, I hope it gets people thinking about their impact and how every little action really adds up,” Graef said. For anyone unsure where to start, Graef said her store is here to help. “There’s no such thing as stupid questions here,” she said. “If you are anxious or nervous, like ‘I don’t know how any of this works,’ walk in and ask questions…. Give it a try. You might just be surprised.” ...read more read less