Meet Christine Twining of Bridge Refill Market

This interview is part of the We Love Erie Business Collective Get to Know the Owner series.

From a globetrotter's awakening to Erie's go-to zero-waste destination — meet Christine Twining, the passionate founder behind Bridge Refill Market, and the story of how living in six countries across twenty years led her home to Erie with a mission to change the way we shop.

About Bridge Refill Market

Bridge Refill Market is Erie's zero-waste refill store, unlike anywhere else you've likely shopped.

The concept is simple and powerful: bring your own container- a mason jar, old Tupperware, anything you have at home- and fill it with exactly what you need, paying only by weight.

From concentrated laundry detergent and clean hand soap to organic spices and household products, everything at Bridge is thoughtfully sourced to be free of harmful ingredients like phthalates, gentle enough for sensitive skin, and available in both scented and unscented options. And for those who forget a container? Christine keeps a FREE jar bin stocked with glass jars so no one ever has to leave empty-handed!

The result is a shopping experience that is better for the planet, better for your family, and often better for your wallet, too. Because everything is sold by weight, customers are frequently surprised. That organic seasoning you've been paying $4 to $7 for at the grocery store? It might cost you just 75 cents at Bridge. Tired of overpaying for laundry detergent and the large, wasteful plastic containers? Bridge Refill has concentrated laundry detergent — with clean ingredients — for less than the conventional alternative.

As of July 15, 2026, Bridge Refill Market has helped save 32,141 containers from the landfill since opening. One refill at a time.

Get to Know Christine

Christine's path to opening Bridge Refill Market was shaped not in a single moment, but across two decades of living abroad, in six different countries, where she slowly, profoundly changed the way she saw her relationship with the things she consumed.

It started in Ethiopia, the first country she lived in outside the U.S. Overwhelmed by the scale of poverty and unsure how to make a meaningful impact, she befriended a seasoned missionary who offered her a piece of wisdom she has never forgotten.

"She told me I could walk into the street and give away everything I had, and I wouldn't make a dent. She said: wait until you feel led to help someone. Because then you can change not just their life, but their family's life, and their family's family and friends, etc."

That perspective- that focused, intentional action creates real change- became a quiet compass for Christine in the years that followed.

Moving from country to country every couple of years forced Christine to reconsider what she owned and why. Living overseas meant shopping at local markets, buying eggs and vegetables with intention, and thinking carefully about what she was consuming and exposing her family to. Waste became visible in a way it never had been before.

When she eventually made her way back to the U.S. and discovered that even her recycling bin wasn't doing what she thought (that containers with soap residue simply weren't being recycled), the frustration built. She was already buying organic. She was already trying to do the right thing. And yet, plastic waste kept piling up.

Then, during a run in Boulder during the early days of COVID, Christine passed a newsstand of free papers. She picked one up and read it at home. That day, she ran in a direction she had never run before. She picked up a paper she never would pick up, but it was COVID, and she needed different entertainment. There was a tiny article about refill that caught her eye.

"I went down a rabbit hole. I was so excited about the concept. I visited the first store I could find and thought: this is what I was waiting for."

Why Erie?

Christine lives just one mile from Bridge Refill Market door to door. And that proximity is intentional. "I wanted to make the biggest impact right here in Erie. This is my gift to the community," says Christine. She believes that meaningful environmental change happens when communities come together, even imperfectly. Her philosophy is one of inclusion, not pressure.

"We are all doing the best we can. There is zero judgment here. Doing it together, even imperfectly, is what matters. Every time you refill something, you've kept one less container out of a landfill. That adds up."

Erie, she felt, was the right place to build something that could bring people together around a shared goal of making sustainable living accessible, approachable, and affordable for everyone.

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More Than a Store

One of the most common questions Christine gets is about price. People assume a boutique zero-waste shop must be expensive. The reality often surprises them.

Because everything is sold by weight, customers can try a small amount of something new before committing. Fill a tiny jar with a new hand soap, see if you love it, and come back for more. There's no risk, no waste, and no pressure.

And for first-timers? Don't worry. Christine and her team will walk you through the whole process. The store welcomes curious visitors who just want to come scope it out — no purchase necessary.

"We're very used to people saying, 'Oh, I didn't realize you carry ________.' And then when they're ready, they come back."

Bridge Refill Market is, at its heart, a community space. A place where small, consistent choices add up to something big… 32,141 containers and counting.

Learn More

To explore what Bridge Refill Market carries or to plan your first visit, head to: bridgerefill.com or visit them at 285 Cheesman in Old Town Erie.

Please join us in celebrating Christine and everything Bridge Refill Market is doing to make sustainable living accessible right here in Erie. Come check it out… and bring a jar!

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Want to be featured in our series? Join the We Love Erie Business Collective today and be a part of Erie's economic engine.

Bridge Refill Market is a proud Core Member of the WLE.