Fillaree grew out of life changing events. Alyssa Cherry started her journey toward Fillaree when her mother was diagnosed with cancer and her 4-month-old son was discovered to have a tumor that required surgery. Life felt out of control, so Alyssa began searching for ways to bring order to the experience of disorder. She asked herself tough questions, like, “Where does cancer come from?” and “Can it be prevented?” She concluded that toxins are everywhere in our environment, where we work, live, and play. She made a conscious decision to dedicate herself to a non-toxic home and a
sustainable, healthy lifestyle where her actions reflected her values. As her family grew, the time commitment required became harder to handle. She had reduced her family’s trash from four bags a week to one single bag – but with a one and a three-year-old it was hard.
On a family trip to Ventura, California, she found a catalyst to a new way of life. She had always found it so frustrating that she had to purchase a new plastic bottle so she could avoid buying more plastic bottles. She had often said she wished she could just simply refill the bottle herself. In California she stumbled across a place that did just that – and the path to Filaree began.
After lots of reading, study, and stirring up over 80 recipes for liquid soap, she sold her first bottle of soap on the first Saturday of April in 2014. She sold her first refill at the South Durham Farmer’s Market the second Saturday. Since then, Fillaree has established relationships with over 50 refill partners in small community businesses that align with their values all over the country. Fillaree aims to keep their refills not only out of the landfill – but out of any waste stream. Their closed-loop system prevents their containers from entering the landfill and recycling streams – which they believe does not have the success rate to be a good option. They also work with local farmers to create closed-loop systems for some of their raw material as well, thus continuing the good work up the supply chain.
Weaver Street Market is excited to join Alyssa in her next stage of the journey. Purchase Fillaree refillable containers and 64 oz. at-home refills at Weaver Street Markets. The containers can be re-filled again and again and the 64oz. Closed-loop, re-fills are plastic-free and can be sent back to Fillaree, postage paid, to be sanitized, refilled, and put back to work –thus keeping it out of the landfill! Alyssa and her team work to have fun, think consciously, and stay clean at Fillaree.