Love Thy Nature Refillery
The first thing I notice as I walk into Love Thy Nature Refillery, in Medford, NJ, is how amazing it smells. The space is so welcoming and well laid out, and I immediately want to try out everything. “People tell me it’s like a candy store,” says owner Dana Jeffas.
Everything you walk away with is reusable, recyclable, or compostable. Including the business cards. “They’re plantable,” remarks Dana. “They are made out of seeded paper. They grow wildflowers.”
Dana’s journey to starting her own zero-waste retail store was an unexpected one. Only a few years ago, after 13 years of climbing the corporate ladder, she achieved the impressive status of National Field Sales Manager for Sephora. Her entire career had revolved around being on the road, flying and driving constantly for the world’s largest beauty retailer. But starting in 2018, she felt like she was living a double life. She had been struggling with her health, especially with her hormones. She started looking into the effects everyday products could be having on her body, and she was dismayed to find that the beauty industry was guilty of carrying some of the most concerning products when it comes to endocrine disruption. “And yet here I am, immersed in it, right?” She started switching over to cleaner products in her home. She educated herself on plastics, and the harm of single use plastics, as well. “I started getting rid of everything I could.” 
Inspired by this conversation with Dana, I wanted to learn more about the concerning aspects of mainstream beauty products and what the research supports. I quickly found a review of the literature published in "Frontiers in Public Health” in 2024 entitled, “The dark side of beauty: an in-depth analysis of the health hazards and toxicological impact of synthetic cosmetics and personal care products” by Abdullah M Alnuqaydan. In this article, the author describes several studies that highlight the association between the chemicals in many beauty and personal care products and health issues such as hormone imbalances, reproductive struggles, and even cancer. He states that given how regularly these products are used in our modern world, it is important that we pay attention to the effects that this cumulative exposure is having on our health. He points out that the American Academy of Pediatrics even stresses on their website that “families should select products carefully, as common chemicals found in these products may impact health… Several compounds in personal care products, including phthalates and parabens, are known to interfere with the endocrine system. Reducing exposures in children and pregnant persons is particularly important.” He concludes by saying that “consumers should educate themselves and look for natural and organic alternatives whenever feasible, and regulatory agencies should strengthen safety regulations.” It is concerning to read these recommendations and juxtapose them with the current popularity of beauty influencers and the increased interest in purchasing and using mainstream beauty items, especially among children.
Understandably, as Dana began the journey of pursuing cleaner living at home, her life began to feel incredibly unbalanced. “On the one hand, I had the facade of beauty and Sephora. On the other hand, at home, I was like, ‘No, we need to choose cleaner products.’" This conflict began taking even more of a toll on Dana’s health. In early 2020, a month after having COVID, she was hospitalized with Bell’s Palsy symptoms. “My body was shutting down. I knew I really needed to shift. But I couldn’t afford to shift.” She spiritually put her struggle out into the universe, hoping that something would guide her in the right direction. Eventually, in 2022, despite having just gotten the approval to grow her team at Sephora, she found out her position was changing, and she was given an ultimatum: either choose a different role with the company or leave. Dana says that this sudden decision was very rough on her. “This was the only career path I knew at the time. It was a really hard shift. But something else was calling me.”
Dana immediately catapulted herself into trying to grow her own business. Within 15 days of finding out that her career was ending, she had come up with the name for her store. She had been following refill stores for years at this point, and they had been a source of inspiration for her. Dana explains that the refill store concept is nothing new; it has been around for centuries. She knew that this is what she wanted her store to be; a refill store with a focus on beauty and skincare. “I could envision it.” She wrote in her planner, “I want a storefront on Main Street in Medford. I can’t see myself anywhere else.”
Dana’s first transition after Sephora was learning bookkeeping while working with her husband and family friend at their accounting firm. This ended up being beneficial for her as she launched her business. As she began to build up her branding, she started going door-to-door to the storefronts in Medford, with the message, “If you know of anybody who is wanting to rent, please let me know; I’m looking to get a space.” Thanks to a connection with Erica from Ted’s Terrain, she landed in the spot she is in now.
Dana had a specific vision in mind for her space. “I wanted the store to represent sustainability but also be beautiful. I’m a Libra rising, and Libras are very much known for appreciating harmony, beauty, and balance. Having a beautiful space from a visual standpoint is important to me. I want people to feel like they can leave their stress at the door when they walk in. I want them to enjoy spending time here and feel like they can connect to what is important to them.” Dana also credits her dad for being her “inspo for all things design. He has enjoyed redecorating for as long as I can remember. He pays special attention to detail and has always liked repurposing furniture from the marketplace and going thrifting. He still does it to this day."
Dana says her entire family played a big role in making her vision for Love Thy Nature come to life. “My brother hung my signs, my husband did the heavy lifting; he built my tables and built my furniture. My brother-in-law anchored and hung everything.” Dana’s mom helped her with product testing, ensuring that everything on the shelves was high-quality and effective. She also helped with scent selection and pricing research. The beautiful graphic art seen all around the store is thanks to the creative talents of her cousin, Julie Clark. “She is a graphic designer, and she came up with every single graphic you see branded to me. She also designed my labels and hand-painted all of the artwork in the store. She painted that back wall freehand. My mom, my dad, my siblings… my entire family really had their hands in here, whether it was helping to paint or helping with furniture - whatever was needed. I’ve had a lot of support. A lot of love went into this.”
Love Thy Nature Refillery has impressive sustainability initiatives. The first is that the majority of the products Dana sells in her store are closed loop. “This means that we collect the containers back to be sanitized by the manufacturer and reused. It’s a circular economy. We do this with bulk packaging too. All of my 1 gallon jugs and 5 gallon buckets go back.” She says that she has recently been connecting with more local makers to start doing bulk and closed loop work with them. “It would cut costs on packaging supplies and also support local businesses. It’s a win-win.”
Dana’s second sustainability initiative is composting. “We sell a lot of sustainable goods, but you can’t just throw them in the trash. They won’t break down. So I really wanted to have a service - a free service - where people can bring back anything they bought from me and I’ll find either composting or recycling for it. We collect back all of the bamboo products; our loofas, our sponges… they all get composted through Garden State Composting. Their business is right behind me in Medford, though they service many towns in South Jersey for home composting.”
Dana shows me the process she goes through to break down returned items into compostable and reusable parts. Items made out of bamboo and coconut fibers get cut into pieces. Deconstructing brushes is a little more complex; the compostable bristles need to be hand-separated from the metal prongs holding them in place. Dana demonstrates this with pliers. The bristles get composted, and the metal bits get turned into scrap metal. All of this is free for her patrons. Dana says she finds the process “kind of therapeutic.”
Recycling is her third sustainability initiative. “For recycling, we partner with businesses such as Lower Forge, Freedom Park, Wild Bird Oasis, and Brinkleys.” Outside of Love Thy Nature is a collection box, where anyone can drop off flexible plastic. (These are plastics such as Ziploc baggies, grocery bags, and Saran Wrap - typically harder to recycle items.) The plastic gets turned into community benches. Ultimately, Dana hopes to have a different type of recycling collection every month.
Dana says that she wants to do her part in making these environmentally conscious options easy and convenient for the local community. “We try to create a sense of fun around it. Customers can come in with their own container, as long as it’s clean and dry, or we have prefills ready to go that they can just keep refilling. We do all the refilling for them, but we also teach them how to do the refilling in case we are busy or have a line and they don’t want to wait. It’s a full-service shop.” You only pay for the amount of product you fill.
“I always recommend that if people are overwhelmed when they come in, they should not buy anything they don’t need right now. I say, ‘Just start with something you’re running out of.’ One swap at a time is the best way to go.”
That said, it is very tempting to try out all of the items she has to offer. The store is split into sections: there is a cleaning and laundry area, where you can find things like dish soap, toilet bombs, all-purpose cleaner, bamboo paper towels, kitchen cleaning tools, stain removers, dryer balls, and plantable greeting cards tucked away in the corner. In the next room, there are personal care and bath and body items, such as hand soaps, dental care, feminine care products, deodorant, and hair and skin care. I ask Dana what some of her top selling personal care items are. “Our shampoo and conditioner bars are very popular. They are salon-quality, top of the line. They’re made by a small business in New Jersey. They’re my number one.” The brand is called Dip. She mentions that the shampoo bars typically last three to four months, and the conditioner bar can last for an entire year.
Dana also sells items such as cosmetic bags, bamboo stickers, and jewelry. Every brand she has chosen to partner with is environmentally conscious, and every item has a story behind it. Green Mandy is a local creator who was previously an architect. She takes donated and remnant fabric from different companies and repurposes them into toiletry bags and cosmetic bags. Even her tags are environmentally conscious. “They are repurposed greeting cards that she receives and embosses.” The jewelry Dana sells is created by a Medford local as well: Nicole Savaiano-Kramer of Sierra Kai Designs. “The gemstones are ethically sourced from US mountains, and the shells were collected when she lived in Hawaii. Everything is 14 carat gold filled so it lasts a lot longer than plated gold that tarnishes.” Recently, Dana organized an Espresso Martini collaboration that included brands like Pua Skincare and Simply Nestled. “I love Braddock’s Tavern espresso martinis - they’re known for them. The scrubs are by Pua Skincare, and they actually have Braddock’s espresso grounds repurposed to the scrub. It's pretty amazing. The entire collection is invigorating!”
In all of Dana’s efforts, it is clear that she is passionate about connecting to her surrounding community in meaningful ways. “We have Girl Scout classes where we talk about our sustainability initiatives. The Girl Scouts get to refill their own body wash and then plant a seeded paper business card. But before they plant it, I have them write one thing they love about themselves on it so they can watch it grow.” 
Leaving Love Thy Nature with my own bag of goodies to try, I felt excited to go back and genuinely couldn’t wait to spread the word about this spot. Dana is succeeding in making sustainability easy, fun, accessible, and exciting. It truly felt like walking out of a candy store. “It’s a candy store you can feel really good about.”