“Only 9% of everything that’s put into recycling bins all over the world ever gets recycled. That means 91% of what we put into a recycling bin gets dumped into a landfill and 25% of it ends up in the ocean.”
This fact inspired American Michael Hytinen to establish a string of environment-friendly shops in Vietnam called Refillables, the latest one being a cozy shop at 25 To Ngoc Van street in Hanoi which offers more than 200 chemical-free household cleaners, personal care products, food items, spices, and eco-friendly cleaning tools at affordable prices.
Refillables encourages customers to bring in their own containers to be refilled with everyday products, reducing single-use plastics, which experts say take more than 500 years to decompose and pollute water sources and landfills with microplastic particles.
 Refillables Hanoi encourages customers to bring their containers for refilling everyday products. (Photo: Hong Nhung) |
At Refillables Hanoi, spices and other items are sold in refillable glass containers that ensure their freshness while avoiding the chemical absorption from plastic containers that can cause cancer. Hanoi produces 280-400 tons of plastic waste per day, which is why Michael brought his Refillables model from Hoi An to Hanoi .
“We focus on things that are all-natural with no chemicals. Most of our products are produced without pesticides, the main chemicals people are concerned about. The worrisome chemicals are not just petrochemicals but what we call ‘forever chemicals’, which means they can never be cleaned out of your body, the land, or the water. Lots of them cause cancer in humans and other very, very bad illnesses,” said Michael.
 Refillable jars are stacked in buckets at the store. (Photo: Hong Nhung) |
Contrary to the belief that eco-friendly products are more expensive, Refillables’ items are affordable for an average Vietnamese family. At Refillables, customers can buy products in bulk to save money. And the prices are lower because there is no packaging cost.
“When people come to this shop for the first time, one of the things they say is, I thought you were going to be really expensive. Because my business partners and I have a different philosophy, we believe a healthy lifestyle should be affordable for everybody,” Michael said.
Refillables Hanoi has tried to keep prices down by using word-of-mouth instead of expensive advertising. A positive customer experience is the best marketing strategy, Michael said, adding that he hopes his business will grow.
“I know we have a lot of potential to work with great restaurants and great businesses who are concerned about how they take care of the community and the environment. I know there’s a lot of potential there and I’ll be focusing a lot on that this year. Think about it – if tiny Hoi An can have 70 businesses, then giant Hanoi should be able to have hundreds of businesses. So I’m going to work on that this year.”
 Refillables Hanoi is attractive both in concept and design. (Photo: Hong Nhung) |
Michael says deep concern for future generations and the urgent need to address the plastic waste crisis will continue to tie him to Refillables.
“You should take responsibility by using products that don’t pollute the earth and don’t pollute the waterways and don’t pollute the food supply. Start with yourself. I have a feeling that you don’t want your children to live in piles of garbage. I have a feeling that you want a clean, healthy place for your children to grow up. What you do today determines how this earth will look tomorrow for your children.”