Get the refillable containers ready. Fillagreen is coming to downtown Fredericksburg next month. The store, which specializes in sustainable products and bulk refills, will move into 716 Caroline St., between Duly Noted and 718 Venue. The address is the former home of Collage Market, which has moved to the spa’s location at 804 Charles St.
This will be Fillagreen’s second location. Owner John Hicks, who also operates a store in Manassas, said he is happy to return to Fredericksburg.
“My family moved there in 1983, and I went to elementary school and high school in Stafford County and graduated from UMW back when it was Mary Washington College,” he said.
Beverly and John Hicks in the Fillagreen store in Manassas.
“Opening a store here just feels like coming home. We are excited about being involved in the community.”
Hicks and his wife Beverley started their refill business out of their garage during a transition time in his career.
“This started as a thought exercise between my wife and I after I left the corporate world,” he said. “I had two choices: stay on the path I had been on for 25 years or strike out and do something new.”
The Hicks knew they desired to work for themselves but wanted to pursue a concept that wasn’t a franchise. “We knew the idea had to be worth it,” John Hicks said. “We didn’t want to take a re-baked, repackaged idea. We wanted something uniquely ours.”
The store sells personal hygiene products — shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste — and home care products, such as dishwashing liquid, brushes, household cleaners and laundry detergent. Many of the products are sold in bulk by the ounce, while others are an alternative to plastic bottles and wasteful packaging.
“We encourage customers to bring their own containers,” Hicks said. “Fill it with our product and that’s all you pay for. You aren’t paying for the container, the added water or the extra marketing and labels.”
Fillagreen’s motto is: sustainability, done imperfectly.
“We aren’t going to judge you if you can’t go fully zero waste or completely plastic free,” Hicks said. “We are here just to help you find some alternatives. Everything we offer is sustainably sourced, tested and sampled by our family and friends.”
Hicks’ favorite sustainable swap has been his Leaf Razor. He said there’s “a lot of real estate to shave” on his head and face.
“I used to be in one of those subscription clubs but I was going through a cartridge a week and that business model is to sell you only their proprietary blades that only fit their handles,” he said. “The Leaf system gives me everything that the subscription club did, but I can use regular razors. It’s comfortable and effective and I get a better shave than I’ve ever gotten with other razors.”
The Fillagreen store in Manassas sells bulk items and zero waste alternatives to common products.
Another favorite swap is using Swedish dishcloths instead of traditional paper towels.
“These things are amazing,” Hicks said. “The fact that this one piece of cotton and wood pulp can replace 17 rolls of paper towels? And then when it gets dirty or dingy you can throw it in the dishwasher and it’s good to go. It’s a zero-waste option that is so easy.”
Fillagreen aims to dispel the myth that sustainability equals sacrifice. “It’s not about deprivation,” John Hicks said. “You don’t need to sacrifice quality to make eco-conscious choices. It’s about innovation and thinking about everyday issues in a slightly different way.”
Fillagreen opens in Fredericksburg on Sept. 20. Find them online at fillagreen.com and on Facebook and Instagram.
