life life ENCOUNTERS ENCOUNTERS
Making a Green Start
LEAH CHRISTIAN HOPES TO MAKE IMPACT THROUGH THE CLEAN REFILL. BY MADELEINE LEROUX · PHOTOS BY L.G. PATTERSON
L
eah Christian has always been a bit of an environmentalist. It was something she always had an interest in thanks to
her parents, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Christian has taken that environmentalist bent and turned it into a business. In August, Christian started The Clean Refill, which provides cleaning, bath and beauty products in reusable containers and seeks to reduce plastic waste. But starting The Clean Refill wasn’t always the plan. When Christian first moved to Columbia 12 years ago, she worked at the University of Missouri where she managed an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pollution prevention grant with a colleague. During her five years in that position, Christian says she learned so much about how businesses can reduce their environmental impact and how easy it could be, since most of it came down to the systems in place. During that time, she also pursued her master’s degree in public administration. After graduation, Christian took a position with the city of Columbia as a management fellow, where she worked directly for the City Council. She says she learned a lot about the legislative process and even worked with former City Council member Barbara Hoppe, trying to initiate a ban on plastic bags. It was during that process that Christian first began to really delve into
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