Homebody Refill Market opens its Earth-friendly Northfield doors

An Earth-friendly business aimed at reducing plastics in area landfills has opened a cozy, clean and conscious store in downtown Northfield.

Homebody Refill Market, 211 Division St. S., is a marketplace for refillable, low-waste cleaning products and personal care goods. Co-owners Leslie Davila and Kim Kocak, who opened the unique store earlier in April, designed the small shop to be “clean and green” to reflect a warm and homey shopping experience.

Davila and Kocak said they first became acquainted as mothers of Spring Creek Elementary School students, and through their youngest kids, who take lessons at the same dance studio, Northfield Dance Academy. The women’s friendship formed after discovering a shared belief in environmental accountability and action.

They formed a business partnership after having a serious discussion on limiting the nation’s heavy reliance on plastics.

“As parents, we are invested in the health of the planet,” said Davila.

The concept behind the products at Homebody Refill Market is that customers either bring in their own already used container or borrow one from the store’s community vessel shelf to refill personal care or home cleaning products. The store also accepts donated glass or aluminum vessels of any shape and size that are clean, dry and labeless.

“We are here to help any customer ready to embrace this concept,” said Kocak.

Both women and their respective families are relatively recent arrivals to Northfield, and they both said they were looking for a smaller community. Davila, who moved here from Rochester, and Kocak, who moved here from Mesa, Arizona, said they were attracted to Northfield’s “vibrant downtown” as well as the community’s concern for a clean and healthy environment.

Target market

For customer Megan Hamzawi, who has lived much of her life in larger east coast cities and was already familiar with the idea of refill shopping, she said she was “thrilled” with the newly opened local store.

“My family is very environmentally conscious,” said Hamzawi. “My 6- and 9-year-old kids both want a cleaner world. Plastics are a huge sore spot for the one who wants to be a marine biologist and get rid of all plastic pollution in our oceans.”

Hamzawi said her children expect a future with a greater accountability toward pollutants.

“They care more about our world,” she said.

With the mindset of reducing plastic consumption, she joked that she represented the earth-friendly store’s “target market” as someone who isn’t a big box Target store shopper.

Full shelves

The new business’s website reads, “Homebody Refill Market is a space encouraging waste reduction and better care for our earth through refillable and low-waste options. We provide quality, effective, and eco-friendly products in an inclusive, community-based environment.”

The store is sourcing from brands that are conscious about providing products with a low impact on the environment. The three product areas are cleaning, personal care and home essentials. Cleaning supplies include all-purpose cleaners, laundry detergent, dish soaps, bathroom cleaners, floor cleaners, scour cleaning pastes and toilet bowl cleaners.

Personal care items include shampoos and conditioners, face washes, body washes, lotions, deodorants, toothpastes and hand soaps.

Home goods include wool dryer balls, Swedish dishcloths, scrub brushes, reusable “paper” towels, soap dishes, market baskets and totes.

Customers can fill their containers, then weigh the amount on the small scale on each of the three wooden tables, one of which was purchased from Fate Furnishings of Northfield. Davila’s father, a retired teacher in Nebraska, designed the peg board tracks, while her mother, also a retired teacher, sewed the cotton and linen aprons.

The business partners said their goals are to try to include products made by as many local vendors as possible, and to always include unscented items for those with sensitivities.

Davilia, who admitted she initially wanted to be a fashion journalist, is now using her home kitchen to experiment making new products.

“I’m like a mad chemist,” she joked.

Any products sporting a blue label are homemade here in Northfield.

While some may have the notion that Earth-friendly products are more expensive than regular store-bought items, Kocak said that Homebody items are competitively priced, if compared with Walgreens or Walmart.

For example, a cleaning bomb to be used once a week is $1, while 8 ounces of hand soap, either bathroom or kitchen, cost $3.44. In the personal care area, 8 oz. of sunscreen that uses no harmful minerals or additives is $10.08.

Not only do Davila and Kocak want their customers to feel good about their Earth-friendly purchases, they want them to embrace the idea they can now shop locally — and do so guilt free.

Homebody Refill Market is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Sunday, the store is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Thursday, the refill market is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The store, located at 211 Division St. S. is closed Mondays. For more information, go to homebodyrefillmarket.com .