Allison Burgund’s sustainability story began at a very young age. Her father was an attorney for an environmental protection agency, and she has aunts, uncles and much more of her family invested in this line of work in some way, shape or form.
Photos by EJ Dilly Photography
Her renewed vigor began when she visited a recycling plant with her second-grade daughter for a school trip. At the facility, guides explained that China was not buying the recycling the plant produced, so the trash was compacted and stored there. Burgund then realized that recycling had become a business before it was a way to save the planet. When she returned home, she started a one-month trash audit of her family, during which she saved every piece of trash her family of four generated. The results shocked her and were the final push she needed to open her business in an effort to give back to the earth and her community.
In 2019, Burgund launched Fill & Refill in Edwards, Colorado. Burgund recently relocated the shop into Riverwalk at Edwards. The business identifies itself as “an unpackaged store dedicated to reducing single waste plastics” by providing “refillable, eco-conscious, sustainable, bath, body and home products.” They sell hand soap, laundry soap, shampoo and conditioner, dish washer soap, cleaning products, lotions and DIY ingredients, such as argon oil and rose hip seed oil, to name a few. All of Burgund’s products are sourced from local vendors.
“You save energy by using local products,” she explains. Every bottle and product needs to come from somewhere. Using local products saves gas, lowers production costs and supports the community. Burgund says one of Fill & Refill’s vendors, Solandra, uses locally-sourced ingredients to craft her hand soaps. “It gives you a wonderful, silky feel and is all natural — a win all the way around,” she adds.
