Ecostore will expand its refill station offering into five further New World locations after a successful trial in New World Durham Street in May. 

The new stations are already available in New World Wanaka, Christchurch’s St Martins, Northwood and Fendalton. The upcoming New World Three Parks in Wanaka will also feature a refill station. 

The supermarkets will offer a free, recyclable starter bottle at the refill stations, which are designed to be used multiple times. Customer will be able to fill these bottles with laundry liquid, dishwashing liquid, shampoo and conditioner, and body and hand wash. 

Ecostore chief executive Pablo Kraus said the team has been blown away by how quickly Durham Street customers took to the initiative. 

“We knew the number of people becoming conscious of their environmental waste footprint was on the increase, but the fast take-up of the refill station in Durham Street has shown us that Kiwis have been moved to action, and that refill stations are the way of the future,” Kraus said. 

Foodstuffs South Island chief executive Steve Anderson said the chain is committed to implementing more refill stations across the wider business, as part of a growing sustainability strategy.

“The refill station at Durham Street was the start of this commitment, and with five more being established, it is a positive step towards achieving our goal of all packaging being reusable and recyclable by 2025, as per the Plastics Packaging Declaration signed by ourselves and ecostore,” Anderson said.

Earlier this year, Ecostore was named New Zealand’s most authentic brand, according to research conducted by branding agency Principals, and analytics firm The Navigators. 

The business also stated its plan to be carbon neutral by the end of 2019, and is investigating ways to reduce electricity, LPG and fuel use, water use during manufacturing and freight emissions from the transportation of goods. 

“Businesses need to step up and recognise that they can and must be a force for good,” Kraus said.