OUR PROCESSES

We do things differently here at Pretty Clean Shop – we strive to be change-makers in the way we operate our business on the daily! At Pretty Clean Shop, all of our processes as a team are in alignment with our pillars and standards (see our pillars and The Pretty Clean Standard), which help us to move towards a more sustainable world. See below to learn more about our various processes and, as always, let us know if you have any ideas or feedback for how we can improve!
MINIMIZING WASTE IN-STORE
Our goal here at the Pretty Clean Shop is to reduce waste as much as possible in all of our practices as a team. We reuse the packaging that we get from our suppliers for packing our own shipments to customers, storage, and upcycling-purposes (such as our lovely cardboard holiday window display!). The tape we use for shipments is recyclable paper tape with water activated adhesive, but any plastic tape we receive on shipments is reused in-store. We receive our rubber bands by donation to be used in packaging. All of our refillables for home cleaning and body care come in 20L jugs that are returned to our suppliers to be refilled and reused. All of the props and furniture in our store has been repurposed from other uses (oftentimes, our furniture is found on the side of the road, and we love those curbside finds!). In addition, our staff uses reusables for our personal food and drinks.
REUSING PACKAGING
We reuse the packaging from our shipments whenever possible for storage and order shipments, including any cardboard boxes, paper, tissue, and corn-based packing peanuts. For our bulk goods, we return all tubs that we receive in order to be refilled and returned to our store. 
We are working hard to ensure all our suppliers adhere to shipping plastic-free to us and we can say that the majority does! However, sadly there are still certain products that arrive at our warehouse with plastic packaging. We keep those materials and reuse them when certain fragile items are travelling very far away from us. We often donate them to members of our community in need of moving supplies. 
Anything that cannot be reused or refilled is repurposed, donated, recycled or composted whenever possible.
PRODUCT REFILLS 
We offer hundreds of refillable products. And our collection keeps growing!
Our refills model works through bottle swaps: Buy a pre-filled product in a mason jar with a small deposit. Go home, do what you need with it and bring it back (with a lid please!). We will give you a new one full of the product you desire. Pay for the cost of the product excluding the container. We clean, sanitize, and refill the containers over and over. 
For the time being, we have paused the option to bring your own containers to refill in the store.  In light of the pandemic, and in compliance with health and safety guidelines related to COVID-19, we have had to make some temporary alterations to our refilling procedures. This change is mostly due to our limited floor space available and some other operational challenges. Why? Our store is very small, and this is the best way we can ensure proper cleaning, sanitization and drying of containers before refilling them. We also minimize touch points with the customer, and the checkout process is faster, which means less time in the store waiting for refills. It allows for a better customer experience and flow. We continue to evaluate the options to reinstate BYOC. 
MATERIAL DONATIONS
Do you have any of the below  that you are willing to donate to the store?
  • scrap printer paper (with one side blank)
  • elastic rubber bands
  • old newspapers 
We love receiving donations for these materials to repurpose the waste from our community to use for our daily processes. If you have something you think we could reuse in-store, give us a call or send us an email – thank you so much!
RECYCLING SERVICES
We recognize that there are some products we sell that are difficult to recycle, so we are committed to providing free recycling services to help you recycle responsibly. The list of items below can be brought into the store at any time to be disposed of properly through our community partnerships:
  • Razor Blades: Used razor blades from safety razors should not be recycled in your usual recycling bin for safety reasons. Bring them to the store to be recycled properly through Terracycle!
  • Mascara Wands: We have partnered with Wands for Wildlife to repurpose your used mascara wands to be used in the care and treatment of wild animals.
  • Small Children’s Toys: We have partnered with Tiny Toy Co. to collect your unused small children’s toys to be upcycled into a wide range of original learning toys, games, and activities to create literacy instead of litter!
  • Routine Packaging: We have partnered with Terracycle to collect your used Routine brand deodorant containers to be recycled properly.