Help Keep Burlington, VT Plastic-Free!

Hi everyone!

My name is Marina McCoy, and I am the Founder of The Restock Shop, a zero waste refill shop in downtown Burlington, Vermont. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my GoFundMe!

Over the past few months, I have debated starting a crowdfunding campaign, but after running some numbers, it became apparent that I need help keeping the shop open.

For some background, The Restock Shop opened up just over a year ago, in November 2021, with a vision to help individuals reduce their overall waste consumption. We have over 100 home goods items ‘on tap’ for you to refill to avoid unnecessary packaging, especially single-use plastic. This includes laundry detergent, dish soap, all-purpose spray, toilet bowl cleaner, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and so much more.

We also have hundreds of zero waste products that you can buy to further help you live more zero waste, including reusable to-go utensils, reusable cloth wipes and napkins, bidets, zero waste makeup, stainless steel razors and much more!

We have helped over 3,300 individuals reduce their overall waste consumption to date! We want to continue to help thousands of people in Vermont, but we need your help.

As all of us know, inflation is a very real thing. On average, our vendors have increased their prices by 25%, forcing us to increase our prices.

After running some numbers, unfortunately, we discovered that our refill section of the shop (the most significant part) barely breaks even. This is because of several things but primarily the shipping costs. We could order $1,000 worth of soap and have the shipping be almost half of that.

We try to keep our prices reasonable but acknowledge that we have a higher price point than store-bought brands. With how high shipping prices have been, it’s impossible for us not to increase our prices.

I have been bootstrapping the shop through my savings and picking up zero waste consulting gigs, but that is unsustainable. With our high expenses, we haven’t been able to break even yet.

With your help, the $60k would go towards our operational costs, payroll and marketing for the next six months, along with paying off some debt from inventory ordering.

We know that marketing plays a role in the longevity of our business. Because I have been bootstrapping the business myself, I haven’t been able to spend the extra money marketing, as I need to prioritize paying payroll and the rent for the shop.

With the holidays approaching, I know that many of us are strapped for cash, but if you can do so, I would greatly appreciate your donation, no matter the amount. If you are not in a place to donate financially, please help spread the word by sharing this campaign.

We are currently re-evaluating our business model. We are exploring turning into a nonprofit or some community-shared model. But with both of these options, it will take some time, and we do not have the financial resources to continue to operate as we figure this out.

Unfortunately, if we do not raise enough funds, we will be closing our doors come March 1st, 2023, which is something we do not want to do, but I can’t continue to deplete my savings.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.

I am also open to the conversation of selling The Restock Shop.

Sincerely, Marina M. McCoy