In October 2020, 23-year-old Alexa Hexel officially opened Clean Refillery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clean Refillery in Lansing is an eco-friendly “low waste” personal goods store where you can refill products like laundry detergent and shampoo, and recycle frequently purchased bottles and containers. By bringing your own containers or purchasing reusable containers from refill stores, you can avoid excess waste from packaging while still purchasing products.
Hexel started Clean Refillery in October 2020 in the basement of her mother's house. She started delivering locally to people in Lansing and opened her store six months later in April 2021.
“In the middle of the pandemic, I was working in real estate. I had wanted to open Refill in some capacity for a while, and I thought, 'Okay, there couldn't be a better time.' thought. There’s no time like the present to do that,” Hexel said.
Soon after, Hexel was able to hire employees like Anna Szabo.
“We helped install the gutters and everything else,” said Szabo, a refilling specialist at Clean Refillery. “Alexa was very receptive to suggestions.”
The opening of Hecksel's Refillery was inspired by her father, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2017. Her father referred to the people around her as “invisible people.” Her determination to impact them through her acts of kindness inspired her business. After her father's death, Hexel began thinking about who her invisible people were to her and how she could influence them.
“It's the people you meet every day, and they're around you all the time, but you never really take the time to spend time with them,” Hexel explained. “For me, I was trying to think about who are the invisible people? They're the ones who make our clothes, and they're actually the next generation before we leave the planet. I realized that.”
Since childhood, Hexel has had a passion for living a low-waste lifestyle. She wanted to create a resource that would allow others to participate in a low-waste lifestyle.
“If you went to the grocery store, you could usually get food without extra packaging, but things like personal care and cleaning supplies weren't available,” Hexel said. says.
Hecksel, who had no experience running a business, experienced a learning curve in creating Refillery.
“I don't have a business degree, so I learned a lot on the job,” Hexel said. “But that's why I started it, because I wanted to leave Earth in better shape than when we found it,” Hexel said.
At Hexcel, we believe in creating a sense of community within your business. She values building relationships and collaborating with others.
“All I can say is one thing [Hecksel’s] Values are more human than profit. She truly embodies that in her work and the environment she has created with her shop,” said Clean Refillery Manager Sam Stiles.
As for the future of clean refills, Hexel hopes refills will become more accessible so more people can participate in a low-waste lifestyle.
“I hope Target puts me out of business. I wish Target had a refill section,” Hexel said. “It's not because we don't want to run out of stores anymore. It's because we want refills to become the norm and become more accessible,” Hexel said.
