Many are concerned about plastic pollution and waste but get overwhelmed thinking about what can be done about it. Plastic and other kinds of packaging are so pervasive in modern life that it can seem impossible to do without them. But as chef Anne-Marie Bonneau has said, “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” This is the motto for Shara Ertel’s Fulfilled Goods store, a “low-waste market and refillery” that sells pantry staples, dry goods, personal care items, and household cleaning products.
Fulfilled Goods is located at 612 Washington Street in Newtonville. Fig City News readers may have read about Ertel’s store when it opened in 2022, or about Ertel herself, as she has worked on the recent Newton ordinance banning single-use disposable takeout items.
Many items in her store are sold by weight, in containers that customers bring to the store — or in “community jars” that have been donated and then carefully sterilized. The packaging of the other items is either recyclable or biodegradable, as are the products themselves. A new customer looking around will find a wealth of alternatives to common items that fill trash bins, and Ertel is ready to offer suggestions for a few to try. “This is a judgment-free zone,” she says, as she is focused on helping people “start where they are.”
For all who are guilt-wracked about throwing away plastic toothbrushes every few months, Fulfilled Goods has new ones made out of bamboo with castor bean bristles, all of which will biodegrade. Ertel even accepts from customers their used brushes and collects them with many other kinds of small plastic items (such as bottle caps) to send to a small New England recycler that can use them (since most larger recyclers cannot). For those anguished about discarding toothpaste tubes, Ertel offers toothpaste tablets in a metal jar – mint-flavored, with or without fluoride. For flossing, the shop has little metal jars filled with charcoal thread.
For the kitchen, Fulfilled Goods offers Swedish dishcloths to replace sponges and paper towels. They last at least six months and can then be composted. For laundry, there’s a slim flat package of laundry detergent eco sheets, good for sixty loads of laundry (replacing at least two thick plastic jugs).
For the pantry, Fulfilled Goods carries over 250 products, including red lentils, maple syrup, honey, coffee, pasta, grains, oil and vinegar, and 80 spices.
There is a Refill Bar of sustainable personal-care and cleaning products sold by the ounce.
Throughout the month of April, to celebrate the Earth, all of the store’s bulk (“refillable”) goods are discounted by 10%.
On a recent visit, a shopper rejoiced that amaranth was back in stock, while another compared sustainable shampoos. One also brought in plastic mailers she had been saving for years, delighted that Ertel can accept those for recycling, too. Fulfilled Goods has become an important part of many Newtonians’ eco-friendly routines. April will be a great month for new customers to discover it as well.
