Get Vocal About Local
Local is derived from the Latin word Localis; meaning “belonging to a place.”
When I sit with that statement I feel a wave of emotion. I’ve been extremely fortunate in my life. I’ve travelled around the world and lived among the locals in many communities. I have been given and have been able to provide the people of those communities support and connected with the diversity of the lands. But no matter where I go I have always felt called back to my home town.
Giving Back
I love knowing my community has my back and is looking out for me and my family. Naturally, I am drawn to give back in thanks. My goal with opening Bare Refillery is to show my community how fortunate we are to be surrounded by local talent and to have access to clean, safe products — unlike many places that are not so lucky. I hope to bridge the gap between affordability and accessibility for safer products and push other companies to do the same.
A Place of Privilege
We live amongst a lot of privilege here in the Lower Mainland but not everyone has the resources and/or education to put their family’s health and wellbeing first. Choosing safe, organic, natural products can be expensive and difficult to access. It frustrates me that there are companies harnessing the power of our natural resources and placing a monetary value on it that makes accessibility impossible for those that truly need it. We all have the power to respectfully harvest what we need from our Earth without jeopardizing the fragile balance. The Earth literally gives us all we need to survive, and yet we, as a society, often that for granted and make it about money.
A Circular Value System
My own journey has taught me that, just because we have the ability to use natural resources available, doesn’t mean we need to exploit them. Buying things from small batch local makers means you are supporting sustainable production systems and removing the layers of profit added on by big box stores. This means the maker goes home with a higher profit to feed their families and invest back into their local business and community. It also means you’re fighting the distorted view of how much something costs — when you think about it logically, if a t-shirt costs $5 here in Canada, someone, somewhere in the world is being taken advantage of (and it is probably causing dramatic, unseen environmental damage as well). Choosing to support local means making the conscious choice to keep your money circulating in your own community — not going straight into some wealthy CEOs pocket.
A Community Works Together
As I create more of my own products, I often get excited and start thinking about how I could handmake all the products I sell. Then I take a breath and remember — that is not how community works. Not only would I quickly get overwhelmed, but I also wouldn’t be supporting all the amazing small businesses that make up the fabric of our vibrant community. In this community, we work together, supporting one another and making the things that fill us up and create harmony. It has been an absolute joy to have this space in Delbrook Plaza for the Winter and share my favorite local makers with the community. Being able to bring people together to learn from one another at the same time has been a huge goal of mine for Bare and it’s been beautiful (and tough at times) to see it slowly start to happen. We have a great line up events coming up this March that will nourish us and give us the tools to take our health and wellness back into our own hands. Please check out the events section to see what’s up next.
Be A Vocal Local
Doing your part to shop local and move to zero waste is incredible — and I thank you deeply for your efforts. This Spring, I have a challenge for you. Let’s start getting more vocal about local! We have all voices, social media platforms, friends, family and business partners we connect with daily that may not know how passionate you are about your commitment to the environment and being conscious consumers. I want to ask each of you to start bringing these topics into your daily conversation, start voting with your wallets, and take the time to seek out local options for the things you need.
Finally, I have an ask of all of you amazing people. The BC Small Business Awards are coming to a close and I would love your support and vote for Bare Refillery. You can cast your vote here and share the link with friends and family (please make sure to confirm your vote by clicking on the link they will email you). The contest closes February 28th, 2022 and the winners are announced at the end of April! Thank you all for your ongoing love of local.
— Camille