Shampoo mishap a breakthrough
A young Christchurch businesswoman is giving consumers a chance to eliminate the plastic waste that comes with their beauty products.
Brianne West, of Ethique, said the idea for her business came to her in the shower while she was in her second year at university.
‘‘I dropped my shampoo bottle on the floor and, as usual, about half of it spilled everywhere and I thought ‘this is madness’,’’ she said.
‘‘Why put water in shampoo when there’s already water in your shower? Why contribute to the devastating effects of plastic bottles when you don’t have to?’’
She decided to formulate a solid shampoo that can be turned into lather with the shower water.
It looks like soap and can be kept in a soap container, so there is no need for any packaging.
She said New Zealanders would throw out a combined 50 million shampoo and conditioner bottles every year. Each takes more than 500 years to degrade in a landfill.
West has also developed another 31 solid beauty bars including cleansers, scrubs, moisturisers, household cleaners and even a self-tanning bar.
In 2015 she secured more than $200,000 in crowdfunding through PledgeMe. The money has allowed Ethique to move into its own manufacturing facility with a customised lab where West continues to formulate products that marry science with nature.
Solid bars last three to six times longer than their bottled equivalents because they are so concentrated. West said a conditioner bar, which sells for $25, could last a year. Shampoo would last about three months.
West said demand had grown 130 per cent year-on-year and was expected to jump again this year.
Consumers were more and more interested in the environmental impact of their day-to-day lives, she said. ‘‘This is an easy way to lessen plastic waste and the reviews of our products are outstanding.’’