Difficult news about the shop...

After seven years, SO Sustainable will close its doors on Saturday 19th December. It isn't a decision I've made lightly and I wanted to take the time to explain it to our customers, and what happens between now and Christmas.

SO Sustainable began in 2019 as an online refill service run from my house with a simple idea: that living more sustainably should feel easy and enjoyable, not like one more thing to feel guilty about. Soon after, we added monthly pop-up shops, first in the Riddell's studio and then in the back room of The Social, kindly hosted by Vicky and Steve. We also had a regular Sunday morning shop in the Chinnor pavilion and we had plans to expand to Chalgrove just as COVID-19 hit. The pandemic changed everything and so we pivoted. Our dining room became a makeshift shop and hundreds of you visited us through the dining room window. Looking back now and my memory is of lines of people patiently waiting on our drive (2m apart of course!) and smiles through the window. To support vulnerable members of the community, we made up to 30 free deliveries a day to people far and wide, so they could get their basics without the plastic and from the safety of their own homes.

More than 200 of you donated to our Crowdfunder, and your support is what allowed us to open on Watlington High Street in July 2020. I’m also grateful to Mark and Ming Carlisle, who owned the building, for their kindness and belief in me at a time when opening a shop looked like a slightly mad thing to do. Thank you to every one of you who backed us.

We set up SO Sustainable as a not-for-profit and every pound we made went back into the shop. My plan was always that, once we were on a steady footing, profits would fund a sustainable entrepreneurship mentoring programme with local schools and support good causes in the town. I'm sorry we won't get there. But that purpose shaped every decision we made. We never wanted to tell anyone how to live. We wanted to make the next small step easy: a refill instead of a new bottle, a well-made alternative to something disposable, a gift that would actually be used and loved. Everything on our shelves was chosen against three values. Organic, because it supports natural farming and biodiversity. Ethical, which meant working with small, independent UK businesses that put people before profit. And sustainable, which meant refill, reuse and less packaging at every step. Your refills have avoided hundreds of thousands of single-use plastic packaging. You’ve refilled more than 25,000 bottles and we’ve had hours of conversations on the environment, wellbeing and the importance of community. That's what we built together, and I'm proud of it.

Running an independent shop has never been easy, and the last three years have tested us more than most. In 2024 a sewage leak closed the shop for three months. We had to gut the stockroom and replace every bit of our food stock. The pigs at Watlington Hill Farm were delighted, but for us in the shop it was a really trying time. In 2025 the three-month road closure of the B4009 cut footfall across the whole town. Every business on the High Street felt it and many of you went out of your way to keep coming. Without your support during that time, we would not have been able to survive.

This year has brought a different kind of challenge. The cost of employing people has gone up for every small business, and there is still very little support designed for shops like ours. We depend on a handful of local people, while having to absorb everything that comes with being a good employer. The High Street has changed too. A number of units have stood empty this year and that matters more than it might seem. Watlington thrives on its collective offer: people come into town for a mix of shops, cafés and services, and each one brings customers to the others. No single business can carry that pull on its own. Through the sewage leak and the road closure, you came back, and we kept going. But some challenges are bigger than one shop.

What seven years have taught me is that independent shops in a place like Watlington depend on owner-operators: people whose daily presence and passion keep their businesses going. I've never been a retailer by trade, and the shop deserves an owner who can be behind the counter every day. Earlier this autumn I asked whether anyone could take it forward, and I'm grateful to everyone who got in touch. In the end, closing well felt like the right thing to do, while we can still do it properly.

To our customers: thank you for every refill, every recommendation to a friend, and every conversation over the counter. You made the shop a place people wanted to come back to.

To our team, past and present: thank you for looking after the shop, and the people who came through the door, with such care.

To the makers and suppliers we've worked with: thank you for making things worth putting on our shelves.

What happens next

• The shop is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday until the 19 December, though times may vary. We're closed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays.

• Online orders close on 30 November.

• Gift vouchers can be used until 6 December.

We still have shelves full of the things you know us for: everyday refills, and gifts chosen to the same standards as everything we've ever sold. If you're doing your Christmas shopping, we'd love to see you. Every purchase helps us close well and make sure the small makers and suppliers we work with are paid in full.

Watlington's high street is special because of the people who run its shops. Please keep supporting them, because they need you as much as we did.

I'm not going anywhere. I'll be putting my time, and everything I've learnt from seven years running SO Sustainable, into the Watlington Community Property project and continuing to support the Watlington Business Association. That means helping talented new retailers find a home on the High Street and making sure they get the support small independent businesses here need to thrive.

Please do come in and say goodbye before the 19th.

With love and thanks,

Steph x