Bring a container to fill up with your favorite products.
Kelly Hawaii in her South Tampa store. Their first store is in Seminole Heights.
The Hawaiis tr y and source locally for their organic skin care products.
TBP: IS IT EXPENSIVE TO DO THIS?
KH: No-if you refill all of your household cleaning products, laundry, all of those products, you would spend the exact same amount of money as you would at any normal store you would go to. Our price points are super competitive because we want it to be a no-brainer. Just come to the Lufka store [and] refill your products. You get the same products, and you get better quality products.
TBP: TO BE ON THE FOREFRONT AS A ZEROWASTE STORE—ARE YOU SURPRISED? MAYBE WE JUST HAVEN’T GOTTEN TO THE POINT IN OUR COUNTRY YET TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH WASTE WE PUT OUT?
KH: I feel like we haven’t gotten to the point yet because we don’t really have anyone pushing us to be more environmentally friendly. A lot of communities don’t even offer recycling because it hasn’t been profitable. We have to on a societal level make it a priority, otherwise individuals aren’t going to be incentivized to do it.
TBP: IS IT OKAY TO BRING THE KIDS IN?
KH: Absolutely! We are a kid-friendly place, and your kids can come in and actually make a product or make candles with me. I love it when I have little visitors come because I’m a mom, I love kids and I love their energy. They already know about plastic … they know a lot of things that we as parents didn’t know when we were kids. They’re the future, so instilling this in them now is a great way to ensure that beautiful future.
TBP: LET’S TALK ABOUT THE PANDEMIC. IT HAPPENED NOT LONG AFTER YOU OPENED FOR YOUR FIRST STORE, AND THEN YOU OPENED UP YOUR SECOND LOCATION HERE IN SOUTH TAMPA DURING THE PANDEMIC. WHAT HAS THE EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE FOR YOU?
KH: So many people have been at home [that] it’s really raised people’s awareness. A lot of people now are into minimizing. This is totally part of a minimalistic lifestyle and it’s so aesthetically pleasing having just one beautiful aluminum container inside of your shower versus having five different plastic bottles. Also of course we have beautiful hand sanitizers, disinfectant sprays and beautiful hand soaps, so all of those products really became a big priority—especially hand sanitizer. We offer an organic hand sanitizer that has a cosmetic grade ethanol alcohol that comes from cane sugar. Your skin actually wants to absorb that alcohol versus isopropyl which comes from a synthetic source. Our hand sanitizers are really popular right now.
TBP: WHAT INSPIRED THE NAME?
KH: Our Lufka washcloth—when it’s open, you can wash your back with it. It’s a total body exfoliation and they’re all handmade in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, so we have 20 women who make Lufkas for us who live there. All of the benefits and proceeds go to those ladies. [A lufka] will last you at least one year. It cannot get moldy or grow any bacteria so when you want to replace it you can just compost it. Plant it in your garden; it’ll just go right back to the earth. This Lufka embodies the values of our company: good for you, good for the planet, good for the people who make it. At our South Tampa store, we have a little garden in the back. I’m making it into an actual herb garden and we can do classes out there. We really want to make this a space for our community, for like-minded people to come together to create something and find that creative spark within them.
WHERE TO FIND A LUFKA REFILLABLES ZERO WASTE STORE: SEMINOLE HEIGHTS: 4222 N. FLORIDA AVE., TAMPA, FL 33603
SOUTH TAMPA: 4217 W. BAY TO BAY BLVD., TAMPA, FL 33629
WWW.ORGANICLUFKA.COM | INSTAGRAM: @LUFKA_US | FACEBOOK: @ORGANICLUFKA APRIL 2021 TampaBayParenting.com
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