Project R

The First Refill Concept Store For Art Supplies in Singapore

With growing awareness on conscious living, especially on our consumption habits and how we manage waste, Room To Imagine sees the need to rethink the way we operate as an art business.

For most art supplies store, the norm is to offer consumers single-use packaging of art supplies. These products are generally packed in tubes, bottles or containers that are designed to be used once and then thrown away. Reusing or recycling can be challenging namely because these containers are not designed for ease of cleaning, some art materials may contain toxicity, and there is no comprehensive recycling programme by the manufacturers.

In recent years, we have seen the Refill concept put in place, most commonly by grocery stores. The opening of bulk food stores with and major supermarkets implementing refill stations for snack items are nothing new to us now. So we thought why not adapt this to art supplies at Room To Imagine.

Hence we have decided to start Project R, where ‘R’ stands for ‘Refill’, and customers are encouraged to bring empty bottles of products they have purchased from RTI back for refills and enjoy a $0.50 rebate per bottle. The Refill concept reduces packaging waste and maintain the quality of the product inside. At the same time, this translates to cost savings for both customers and RTI when we purchase art products in bulk instead of smaller packaging. It is a small way of making a positive impact to the environment while not having to compromise on our love for art making. While the positive impact seems limited at this point, we believe this is a step in the right direction of making our business more sustainable.

How Does It Work?

The customer brings to the store the empty bottle of a product previously purchased from Room To Imagine. The container is refilled and a $0.50 rebate is accorded for each refill. When the product is depleted and the container empty, the consumer may bring it back to the store to refill again.

Below is a list of 11 products currently eligible for this concept. These products will also carry a Project R label for easy identification. We hope to expand this list as we move forward:

Terms & Conditions

  • $0.50 refill rebate is only valid for products bought from Room To Imagine and listed as eligible for Project R (see list below).
  • Customer is required to bring the bottle(s) back to the physical RTI store for the refill(s).
  • For customers based in Singapore, we may be able to arrange for pickup and delivery of the bottles for a fee. This is recommended if you have several items. Do email us to discuss.
  • The refill rebate is used to offset the price of the refill and is not redeemable in cash as trade-in of the bottle.
  • Refill must be for the full volume of the bottle, not partial volume.
  • Bottle must be in good condition with the RTI label intact.
  • Payment to be made via cash or PayNow.
  • Room To Imagine reserves all rights to make changes to the terms of, or terminate Project R at its discretion.