Central New York’s First Refill Store

Evolve Gifts is a zero waste shop and refillery in Whitesboro, NY. We opened as the first refill store in Central New York, and the idea is still the same: buy only the amount you need, bring your own container, and skip the plastic bottle you were going to throw away anyway.

Our refill station carries household and personal care basics like laundry soap, dish soap, hand soap, shampoo and conditioner. On the shelves you will find plastic-free swaps for the kitchen and bathroom, recycled paper gift wrap, and a growing wall of products made by makers from the Mohawk Valley and the rest of Upstate New York.

Shop online below or stop in the store. Orders ship from our Whitesboro shop, and we reuse clean packing material whenever we can.

Holiday Baking Supplies

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Zero Waste Gift Wrap

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Zero Waste Stocking Stuffers

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How Refilling Works

First time at a refillery? It takes about five minutes, and you only pay for the product, not the packaging.

  1. Bring a clean container. Any jar, bottle or jug works, as long as it is clean and dry. Forgot yours? Glass jars and bottles are also sold in the shop.
  2. Weigh it empty. We weigh your container at the register first so the weight of the jar comes off the final price.
  3. Fill what you need. Pump or pour as much or as little as you want. A small bottle of a new shampoo is a good way to try it before you commit.
  4. Pay by weight. Bring it back to the counter, we weigh it again and you pay for the ounces you took home.

Refilling the same bottle of dish soap or laundry detergent a few times a year keeps a surprising number of plastic jugs out of the recycling bin and the landfill. Most of our customers start with one product and add more on each visit.

Locally Made Gifts & Easy Swaps

A good part of the store is stocked by people who live close by. Handmade soap, candles, art and small-batch treats come from local makers, so buying a gift here keeps money in the community and cuts down on shipping miles.

If you are just starting to cut back on waste, these are the swaps our customers buy most often:

  • Bathroom: bamboo toothbrushes, toothpaste tablets in a travel tin, biodegradable lip balm and reusable makeup remover pads.
  • Kitchen: wooden spoons, straw cleaning brushes, reusable straws and a soap saver bag for the last slivers of bar soap.
  • Gift giving: recycled kraft wrapping paper, paper tape you can recycle with the wrap, and reusable fabric gift bags that skip tape altogether.
  • Baking: upcycled cookie mixes, dye-free sprinkles and metal cookie cutters that last for years.

Have something you make and want to sell? We are always looking for new local makers. Use the link in the footer to tell us about your products.