Sorry – I don't usually have a rant on here, but I'm afraid today I'm so stunned by something that I'm going to do just that.
I'm quite a recent convert to Ecover products, but so far I have been pretty impressed with them all. The laundry detergent gets things clean and leaves a lovely fresh smell on our clothes, the delicates washing liquid isn't harsh on the hands when hand-washing wool, the washing up liquid is equally hand-friendly and the stain remover has been brilliant at removing even some of Little Miss C's worst stains.
It therefore seemed obvious to me that I should get the bottles refilled when they were empty. After all, part of the reason for using Ecover products in the first place was to be more kind to the environment. Finding somewhere to get them refilled was a tad difficult as that page on the Ecover website seems to have been broken for a while (despite me e-mailing them to tell them). I did happen to see a sticker in a health food shop window though so today LMC and I set off with the buggy to get our laundry detergent filled up.
It all started so well. We went to the shop, waited patiently whilst the helpful man behind the counter helped two other customers and then handed over our empty bottle and the man took it into the back and filled it up. He brought it back, handed it over, I put it into my bag and got my purse out. Then it all went a bit wrong. £5.95! To fill a 1.5l bottle of laundry detergent. It only cost be £4.57 originally, and then I got the plastic bottle thrown in for free! I know that "saving the planet" and not using excess plastic is what matters here, but in these cash-strapped times I'm completely agog. I can't afford to pay an extra £1.38 every time I finish a bottle of washing liquid.
I have no idea if Ecover set a price for refills and I'd love to hear from others around the UK to hear your experiences. It may just be that this one particular shop is a bit pricey, but for the time being I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Obviously large supermarkets can afford to discount things and undercut small independent shops, but I'm still amazed that this would mean a 30% increase in price. And if anyone in St Albans or nearby knows somewhere cheaper then I'd love to hear about it!
That is ridiculous (and similarly berating the cost of ebooks which aren’t cheaper than paperbacks on my blog today) – how can they justify that
And as for making it difficult for you to do well blah!