When you walk into the Plucky Duck in Spokane’s Kendall Yards you are stepping into a colorful, eco-friendly upcycling hub. Glass jars gleam on shelves, rubber ducks wink from display tables, and the scent of essential oils permeates through the air. At the center of it all is owner Cristina Aranda, a former librarian whose passion for learning, community and the planet inspired her to create a shop that’s equal parts soap studio, zero-waste refillery, and environmental classroom.
Aranda once managed a nine-county library system in Utah, but a move to Spokane with her husband–and an educational endeavor inspired by a streak of activism and sense of collective connection–sparked a career pivot.
“I wanted to keep serving the community, but in a way where I could call the shots and pivot and evolve as the community needs me to,” she explains. “The Plucky Duck lets me do that, just with soap instead of books.”
The shop invites people of all ages to craft their own custom bars of soap during hands-on workshops. Alongside the soap tables is a zero-waste refillery, offering refillable household staples like multipurpose cleaner, dish soap, and Castile soap–plastic-free and low-waste.
“The environment is dying,” Aranda says bluntly. “Being an environmentalist for me is actually a very selfish act after watching many a documentary and reading about how plastic and the trash is actually harming our sea life, is harming our own health.”
She adds with jest when asked why she has made this her passion project, “Because I like eating seafood. I want the fish to be healthy. So I’m going to be plastic free as much as possible because it pollutes the ocean and it doesn’t allow for me to have the salmon that I like to eat.”
While her marketing budget is “zero,” Aranda hopes to continue to build rapport in Spokane. Repeat customers return with empty bottles to refill, and she partners with the nonprofit Zero Waste Spokane to reach more residents seeking sustainable options.
Growing Up Green–Imperfectly
A Miami native and self-described “true millennial, kind of a little bit Gen Xer,” Aranda grew up with the eco-messages of Captain Planet and Sesame Street.
“I’ve always tried to be conscious about the footprint that I leave on the environment. But have I been perfect? No,” she admits. “When I was a single mom raising my two kids, it’s overwhelming…sometimes I can’t.” She recalls balancing life, school, and rearing children, noting that keeping the kitchen tidy sometimes meant relying on paper plates and plastic utensils just to make it through the week. Her advice for young environmentalists is practical and doable:
Start Small: “Every time you go to a fast food place or every time you go get a drink, either bring your own reusable cup or tell them, ‘You know what? I’m okay with popping the lid. You can hold on to that plastic straw.’”
Reuse and Upcycle: Carry a reusable bag, or turn junk mail into homemade notebooks and “junk journals.”
Control What You Can: Focus on small, achievable changes and build from there.
Environmentalism as Liberation
When asked to connect environmentalism with liberation, Aranda lights up.
“I consider being an environmentalist is also akin to being as self-sufficient as possible,” she says. “The number one way you’re going to be free from anything that oppresses you is by not relying on it. So self-sufficiency is how we’re going to dismantle oppression.”
This philosophy guides The Plucky Duck, where classes empower visitors to make their own soap and other essentials. “It’s about teaching people to be intentional about what you put on your body,” she adds.
True to its playful name–Aranda laughs that Lucky Duck was taken, so she went with Plucky to convey “whimsy and determination”–the shop is welcoming and accessible. She even runs a pop-up thrift corner stocked with estate-sale finds saved from the landfill. Families can book workshops at thepluckyduck.net, and if cost is a barrier, Aranda will work with them to ensure everyone can participate.
Looking ahead, she dreams of evolving The Plucky Duck into a nonprofit foundation that offers free arts and science programs for children, homeschoolers, and families in need.
“I want to show that this space fills a real need in Spokane,” she says. “Eventually, I’d love it to become a neighborhood arts center.”
The Plucky Duck is more than a soap shop–it’s a hub of creativity, sustainability, and community care. With a librarian’s love for education and an activist’s heart for the planet, Cristina Aranda is proving that a little pluck can go a long way toward a cleaner, freer world.