Dawna Mirante is the co-founder of Refill Mercantile, a thoughtfully curated low waste shop and refillery in downtown Petaluma, California. Refill Mercantile started online in March of 2021 as a way to provide low-waste everyday essentials all in one spot without having to scour the internet. In November of 2021, Dawna and Rob opened the brick-and-mortar location with a refillery in Petaluma, California. Each product brought into the store is researched for the brand’s values, such as a closed-loop system, paying fair wages, B corporation certified, and the ingredients are run through the Environmental Working Group to ensure they are clean. Then the testing begins. Every single product in the store has been tested by Dawna and Rob, and most are used daily in their own homes.
Dawna and her husband and co-founder Rob Mirante met while working at Patagonia in 1998, which is when their low waste journey kicked off. Low waste is a journey and a commitment. They aren’t always perfect but strive to do their best and are constantly learning. Dawna is an accountant by day, and Rob is a warehouse manager and refiller extraordinaire. Their goal is for Refill Mercantile to be a local community hub where people can come together and learn more about low-waste options to conveniently make the switch from single-use to refillable, reusable, and compostable products.