Tiffany Grandstaff still remembers the moment it all clicked.
“I saw the video of the turtle with the straw stuck in its nose, and I thought, ‘That could have been my straw,’” Grandstaff says. “That was the moment I realized we needed to take how we’re treating the planet more seriously.”
That personal wake-up call set Grandstaff on a path that would eventually lead to Full Circle Refillery, Chattanooga’s first dedicated low-waste refill shop, which opened its doors July 12 at 2312 East Main Street.
For Grandstaff, the store is more than a business – it’s a way to help her community rethink consumption, reduce waste and make sustainability accessible.
A different kind of shopping
You won’t find rows of plastic-packaged products or endless disposable goods when you walk into Full Circle Refillery. Instead, you’ll find carefully curated shelves of refillable, reusable and eco-friendly essentials: shampoo and conditioner bars, toothpaste tablets, all-purpose cleaning refills, non-paper towels, dish soaps and bamboo brushes.
The store operates on a simple but transformative model:
Customers begin by weighing their container – whether it’s one they bring from home, purchase new, or select from the shop’s free-with-purchase donation library – with help from the staff to record the empty (tare) weight. They can then fill it with as little or as much as they like from the store’s wide range of bulk household products. Once filled, the container is weighed again with the lid on, and the customer is charged by weight.
“You can bring in a gallon container and put an ounce in it,” Grandstaff explains. “We want to be flexible, whether you’re trying something new or stocking up.”
The store also offers bulk discounts for local businesses that want to boost their sustainability efforts.
More than eco-friendly
For Grandstaff, it’s not just about swapping out single-use plastics for reusable alternatives – it’s about shifting mindsets.
“I’m not Target and I’m not Walmart,” she says. “You can’t just swing by here while you’re out getting other things. It takes time and effort. But I hope it changes the way people think about how we consume.”
That honesty extends to the language she uses.
“Words like ‘biodegradable,’ ‘non-toxic’ and ‘zero waste’ can be ambiguous or misleading,” Grandstaff says. “We prefer ‘low waste’ or ‘refillery.’ We’re always trying our best, but until we’re truly net zero, I don’t want to throw those words around casually.”
Most of the products at Full Circle come unpackaged or are designed to be home compostable, and many of the brands operate on a closed-loop system, with Grandstaff returning empty bulk containers to manufacturers for reuse.
Aware of the prevalence of greenwashing in the marketplace, Grandstaff emphasizes that she wants customers to feel confident in the store’s offerings.
“I want customers to feel like they can trust what we’re offering here.”
For customers like Elena Johnson, a local artist browsing the shelves for dry shampoo, the arrival of Full Circle Refillery is more than welcome.
“I’m excited we have a store like this now,” Johnson says. “I’ve been trying to use sustainable products for things like laundry detergent and shampoo, but I still had to ship them to my house. Now I can just come here, which cuts down on environmental impact. Plus, Tiffany carries really good brands.”
Behind the counter
The road to Full Circle Refillery’s brick-and-mortar opening wasn’t quick or easy.
Born in McMinnville, Grandstaff describes herself as having “come from all over” – Tennessee, Mississippi, Michigan, Georgia – but she says, “My heart lives in Tennessee – and specifically Chattanooga.”
Her background isn’t in sustainability or retail entrepreneurship. For a decade, Grandstaff worked in consumer finance, with earlier experience in retail and food service. But after moving to Michigan and discovering refilleries through TikTok and in person, a passion was kindled.
“I always tried to be as sustainable as I could, but it’s hard to get other people into it,” she recalls. “I wondered, ‘How can I share this with people? How can I get people to buy into it?’”
When Grandstaff and her husband moved back to Tennessee, she began experimenting. For two years, she ran pop-up refill stations around Chattanooga and even converted the back half of her long garage into a makeshift storefront.
“It was terrible,” she laughs. “There was no climate control. We had bugs. But people could make appointments, come by and get their refills.”
Grandstaff was working full time, raising two children, managing family life and spending one to four weekends a month running pop-ups. She says the pace was exhausting, but as more people discovered her business and grew familiar with the refill concept – especially with many new residents arriving from out west, where such shops are common – she began to feel comfortable with taking the next step.
With the store now open, Grandstaff still marvels at the journey: “We were able to sustain the business on its own two feet for two years. And we didn’t have to put extra money into it until opening the storefront.”
A mission rooted at home
At the center of Grandstaff’s mission are her two children – and the future she wants for them.
“My low-waste journey has been a bigger task than I ever thought possible,” she admits. “But I’m excited to face it head-on and instill these values in my kids to help pave the way for a better future.”
Grandstaff is quick to reassure customers that perfection isn’t the goal.
“Some people are trash-in-a-mason-jar level committed,” Grandstaff says. “Others just bought their first reusable water bottle. Wherever you are, that’s OK. Progress over perfection is what matters. Jumping in all at once is overwhelming, so take it slow and then move on to the next thing when you’re ready.”
Building a local green network
Beyond selling products, Full Circle Refillery aims to serve as a resource hub, connecting customers to local composting programs, recycling drop-offs, secondhand shops and other businesses offering greener solutions.
“I have a commitment to a circular economy,” Grandstaff says. “I want to keep as much of our dollar in the community as we can. There’s enough talent and resource here – I want to put it all in one place for people.”
And she’s hopeful that leading by example will ripple outward.
“All we can do is what we can,” Grandstaff says. “Lead by example and hope that what we do is seen and empowers others to make changes in their lives, too.”