About
Louise & Sarah stood outside the Lil Refill shop in 2021
Lil is female-founded social enterprise supporting everyone to live their best low-impact life. We’re working to change the way we all use our resources and support each other in our communities. We truly believe that when we all pitch in—using less, sharing more, supporting nature (that includes us!) and reducing waste—we can help our communities and the planet flourish together. Our approach is all about being welcoming, upbeat, and hands-on, because we know everyone has something amazing to contribute!
It all started when…
Louise & Sarah met working at the Heritage Lottery Fund (as it was called back then) and subsequently worked together on consultancy projects. They found a shared passion for the environment & community and a desire to do something positive for both - Lil was born in 2018.
“We envisage a future where we all use less and share more, a place where nothing is wasted, including opportunities; we all live as part of thriving communities in a thriving environment.”
We believe that nature & nurture go hand in hand: coming together to live a planet-positive life builds bonds that strengthen our communities, generate and retain wealth and grow opportunities for everyone. We:
Encourage ‘Less’ and ‘Share More’: Educate and inspire everyone to use resources wisely, cut down on consumption, and actively participate in sharing goods, services, and knowledge within communities.
Move Towards Low Impact: Promote and support low-waste & low impact practices across all areas of society, from households to businesses.
Strengthen and Protect Communities: Build strong, connected, and resilient communities while restoring and safeguarding the environment and its biodiversity.
Innovate and Collaborate for Change: Foster sustainable innovation and partner with diverse groups to drive impactful, systemic change
Lil is a values-driven organisation. Values guide how we operate:
Fun - We try to make things fun amidst the seriousness of what is happening to our planet. Change can be fun. Having fun is also a good way to bring people together and involve them in our mission. We care about building a strong and happy community that supports nature since it’s all part of the solution. Remember that it's not only children that want change to be fun!
Inclusive - We try to include everyone in our campaigns as all people have an important role to play in adopting habits that help protect the environment. The health of the planet concerns everyone who lives on it, but people are not equally impacted by climate change nor are they equally able to make changes. The imagery we use and examples include people of different demographics and protected characteristics.
Supportive - We see the value of little incremental changes; each one is a step to the next. We believe that many little positive changes have a way of adding up and gaining momentum to become the deep current of change that our world needs. It is also less threatening for people to make little changes to how they consume and dispose of things, it allows their confidence to grow.
Relatable – We are like you and face many of the same struggles. We are not keeping our rubbish in a 1kg Kilner jar and expecting you to do the same. We drive, we sometimes eat meat, we even occasionally fly! We are realistic about what we as individuals can achieve collectively (a lot!) and that the systems (governments, corporations, businesses & industries) also need to change.
Sraightforward – We strive to keep things as simple as possible since topics like net zero, the circular economy and climate change can rapidly become too complex and overwhelming. The same principle applies to how we seek to run our organisation.
Creative - We are curious and creative and enjoy figuring out new and interesting ways of doing things, and solving problems. We love sharing the creative things that people do to minimise their environmental impact and creating innovative solutions to the problems of a linear, capital economy.
Positive - We are encouraging and judgement-free. We strive to celebrate every behaviour that helps to reduce the consumption of scarce resources and protects the planet. All our information and activities are designed to be positive & encouraging. This helps people to develop good habits and move forward rather than become despondent with eco-anxiety or feel judged.
