Soapy Soundings

One of the original ideas behind this blog was to find and list locales where we could buy things in bulk, thus eliminating packaging and allowing us to reuse bags or containers again and again. A particular area where we have encountered frustration is with refilling liquid soap bottles, namely body wash and dishwashing liquid.

Two locations near us provide bulk products: the 4th Street Coop—obviously on 4th Street, but between Bowery and 2nd Avenue; and Commodities Market, on 1st Avenue between 10th and 11th.

We are not members of the Coop, but it might be in our best interest to consider how it could benefit us financially, as well as encourage community. Here is the list of memberships:

Membership Dues

public (non-members): $0
summer working members: $0
working members: $10 your first year, $25 each year thereafter
shared membership working members: $20 your first year, $35 each year thereafter
nonworking members: $35 each year

Membership Discounts

15% - Shared Membership Working Member (members sharing a weekly shift of 2.25 hours every week, coordinating amongst themselves)
20% - Weekly Working Member (2.25 hours per week)
25% - 2+ shift Member (signed up for and committed to work 2 or more shifts, i.e. 4.5+ hours, every week)
8% - Non-Working Member ($35 annual contribution)

Other Discounts

8% - senior
5% - paying with EBT, disabled or tenant of Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association
3% - student or member of another co-op

Even as a nonworking member, there is a chance we could save ourselves $35 a year. Imagine having the time to work 4.5 hours a week, and receiving 25 percent off groceries.

Commodities does not have memberships or discount prices, so I will use their pricing as an example. Recently we refilled a large Dr. Bronner’s bottle of Sal Suds soap, and the price was $3.50 a pound, which has now been raised to $4.50 a pound. We discovered that our bottle holds about two pounds of liquid soap, which, at the new price, costs $9, which is more than it would cost to buy a new bottle; plus all they are doing at Commodities is filling ours from a gallon jug. I found some gallon jugs on sale for less than $25, which is a savings of a few dollars. However from the Dr. Bronner’s site the prices are more, so the refill then becomes a bargain. But I can hear the Chicken asking where all of these large bottles of soap are going to reside in her “300 square feet.”

How do we compute the cost of buying products in different ways? If I were to buy online a gallon jug of Sal Suds, I would get the best price, but then I have to factor in shipping costs, plus the unforeseen cost to the environment. But Commodities would have to have it shipped to New York anyways, and by buying from them, I am supporting a local part of the economy, instead of cutting out the middleman, which the internet has done so infamously. There are many questions I have to ask myself as a consumer, and I have yet to figure out the best answer to the soap conundrum, but I do enjoy knowing that we have used the same soap containers since January, which I have to believe has saved a relatively significant amount of energy—at least enough to know we are heading in the right direction.