For Their Future owners operate Common Good Collective in Norwalk

Childhood friends Sarah Smith and Allison McDonald work to make a better future for their children one product at a time.

The two have collaborated with each other to create For Their Future – a refill business providing bulk products and refillable containers – and with others to create the Common Good Collective in downtown Norwalk.

McDonald grew up watching her parents run a small business in Norwalk and learned about refill shops during the pandemic.

It was during the coronavirus pandemic, that the idea for For Their Future was born.

“We were taking walks during COVID, discussing all the things we want to fix,” Smith said. “Our reason is our kids.”

They began participating in farmers markets and in September 2021 helped create a new one to draw people to uptown Norwalk.

Then, a storefront owned by McDonald’s father became available.

The retail space opened just over a year ago.

“We opened with 10 vendors we knew from markets,” McDonald said. “It worked out really well.

“Now, we have more than 20.”

Inside the Common Good Collective, For Their Future is one of many businesses occupying space.

It’s the only refill shop in north central Ohio.

Some vendors rent space and other goods are sold on consignment.

Most of the businesses are home based, but some are more traditional retailers.

Very little plastic is recycled, they said.

Even when recycled plastic is used, virgin plastic has to be added to it.

Plastic destined to be recycled used to be shipped to Asia, but that has become very expensive, McDonald said.

The current estimate is that only five percent of plastics are recycled in the United States.

“It’s being manufactured at a rate higher than it ever has been,” Smith said. “We need to find alternatives.”

Smith and McDonald hope their refills and other products help people begin to make incremental changes toward using less plastic and fewer chemicals.

“We’ve been trained that we can buy everything we want really cheap,” McDonald added. “We’re not good with change as humans.

“If we can help people make some changes now, and think about it differently, that’s what we’re here for.”

Refillable products at the store include detergent, hand soap, dish soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and all-purpose cleaners.

The store also stocks dryer balls, silicone baking mats and bamboo toothbrushes.

They also offer some “create your own” options for cleaners using natural ingredients and essential oils.

For the refills, customers can buy containers or bring their own and the two also will refill containers while customers run other errands.

Other products carried at the Common Good Collective include candles, jewelry, baked goods, home décor, rosaries and stuffed animals.

They also have baby items, bath bombs, Norwalk-themed items and a variety of unique gifts.

An herbalist supplies salves, teas and more.

The pair also try everything they sell so they know it and can share accurate information with their customers.

And, so far, they make up the bulk of the staff for the same reasons.

Smith and McDonald also want Norwalk residents and visitors to know how much is available in the uptown area.

Berry’s Restaurant is set to reopen, hopefully, in time for Christmas, and other shops sell clothing and a variety of home goods.

“We’re really trying to get people to shop uptown and remember what is here,” Smith said.

The Common Good Collective at 11 W. Main St. is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturdays.