Biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes are nestled beside jars of orange clove and peppermint tooth soap, a tincture that foams with brushing. Jugs of cleansers and empty amber glass bottles reside along the rows of vast, white shelving. A genuine ostrich feather duster is perched on an ornate wall mount. Daily cleaning has never looked so appealing.
The Soap Dispensary, founded by husband and wife Stewart Lampe and Linh Truong, is a refill store specializing in eco-friendly household cleaners and body care products. A gentle citrus-herb aroma lingers, but its source is indistinguishable. Body wash? Counter spray? It’s impossible to tell. Given that every item in the store is “gentle on flora and fauna”, aspiring to meet the David Suzuki Foundation’s nontoxic cleanser principles, many swing both ways.
When the duo relocated from Victoria in 2009, they had trouble finding a suitable selection of products to refill their empties. Rather than compromise their lifestyle, they launched this unintentionally artistic, but practical, emporium—the antithesis of the supermarket cleaning aisle. “We carry four lines of natural cleaning products and three lines of natural body care products, all of which are sourced close to home, whenever possible,” Truong says. “And we only bring in products that we can refill. That’s our mandate.” Clean, green, and congenial.
Photo: Andrea Sirois.
