Reduce, reuse, reserve: Bettendorf shop encourages sustainable shopping

Kelsey Pisel is on a mission to help sustain her community.

Her store, Zero Waste Reserve at 5015 Competition Drive in Bettendorf, has been around for about two-and-a-half years, but started closer to home.

Literally.

"We weren't sure how the Quad-Cities would take our type of business. It's a new idea for a lot of people," Pisel said. "So our business started out of our house. That was 2022, and then we slowly got into farmers markets and TV features. That was a nice way to help grow, too, kind of exposure here and there."

Pisel's shop reflects its name in that all products are designed to be purchased in bulk and in reusable containers, minimizing the amount of waste the products have when finished. Everything from shampoo to body lotion to laundry detergent to dish fluid to oven or toilet cleaner and even toothpaste can be purchased in Pisel's store.

Customers are encouraged to bring in their own containers, like a Mason jar, and fill them with as much or as little of the products offered as they want. The jars are then weighed and the customers pay by the ounce for the goods.

For customers who don't have a jar, Pisel offers a recycling program where customers can purchase one of hers. She said the idea came from a reflection of her own life and research into the recycling process.

"I've always been really observant about the recycling process and what goes in the trash versus recycling, so it's already, kind of like built into my DNA," she said. "I was very interested in it, and then (after) doing some research I discovered that recycling is not the answer."

She grew concerned about the lack of efficiency in recycling and found a better alternative in reuse and zero waste.

With the decision made to start the store out of her home, Pisel then had to get creative with her marketing strategies. Social media helped with the growth, she said, but friends and family who were the core customers at the beginning helped her sustain the business.

"We were making local deliveries to people who were doing online orders and my husband let me convert our living room into a makeshift shop. I was even open on Sundays," she said.

Her store is now open six days a week and closed on Mondays. Even the products inside the containers are eco-friendly, she said, because it helps both the client and the community.

"When it comes to eco-friendly, that's ultimately better for us as well, because our makers are very conscious about what goes into our environment," she said. "What gets washed off our bodies gets washed down the drain into the environment. It really goes hand in hand, but all of our products are better for us and better for the planet, both when it comes to ingredients and packaging."

Pisel is part of a zero-waste store owners group and shares ideas with other like-minded shop owners, but also uses her own expertise to choose which products to stock. That translates to helping customers, too, she said.

For the majority of first-time customers, their initial visit to the store is purely educational, she said. It can be overwhelming to see the amount of swaps available and she wants to allow customers to take in all the sustainable options, ask questions and think about what swaps they're able to make.

"We always encourage people use up what you have, because if you take home a bunch of dish soap from us and throw your other container away, that's not sustainable at all," she said. "So we say use up what you have. Once you run out, come back, and we'll start there. But a lot of people slowly make little swaps at a time."

Those small swaps have added up over time, and Pisel has kept track. On one of the walls of her shop, she keeps a running count of all the plastic containers customers have saved from the landfill, just by using reusable containers.

"It's tedious, but I pick one day a week where I go through our transactions and I know everyone who's come to refill, so those all count when they're not getting a new container and they use their own ... but I also count things that come in zero packaging like shampoo and conditioner bars," she said. 

A couple years in, and the community is responding well to the idea that the number of containers saved continues to increase, Pisel said. The Zero Waste Reserve even has an online store where customers can order or check out products before they come in.

Looking ahead to the future, Pisel said, the goal it keep up the sustainability and eco-friendly efforts. Minds are slowly changing about preserving the world we live in, she said, and that is a huge help.

"People want to make a difference," Pisel said. "I think people are looking for positivity when it comes to their lifestyle and just the world in general, and I think we offer that here."