Rip it up and start again
A new brand aims to reinvent grooming
Forgo is a new mix-it-yourself grooming brand by Swedish design studio Form Us With Love. It aims to produce significantly less waste than the rest of the industry, minimising carbon emissions and cutting out plastic. “Rather than just creating more trash, at some point you have to think, ‘Do we actually need this packaging? Why not just make the product nicer?’” says CEO and co-founder Jonas Pettersson.
Forgo’s first launch is a set of concentrated powders that turn into foaming hand wash when mixed with water. There are three options: neutral, citrus and wood. The scents are distilled from post-industrial waste materials — organic fruit pulp from the Caribbean, for one — and the sachets are paper. You rip them open like packets of sugar. They are available on subscription and are delivered to your door, eliminating most of the traditional supply chain. Forgo also supplies a reusable frosted glass bottle. The brand’s discreet footprint is matched by its design, which is suitably pared back and Scandinavian.
Form Us With Love has previously worked with Ikea and the Italian furniture brand Cappellini. “Since its conception, the studio has burned with a passion for design and its democratic potential,” says its mission statement. “Its belief is that we all have a right to meaningful design.”
“The biggest challenge was to find people who were willing to test and improve things,” says design manager Allon Libermann, of the Forgo project. “People were sceptical it would work. We didn’t do much in the way of innovation. It’s the same process we already use for instant coffee and vitamin drinks. Most ingredients are readily available in labs for chemists to work with.”
Many bathroom products are between 80 and 90 per cent water. Forgo means “to go without” and Form Us With Love sees no reason why it can’t become a complete grooming brand, making body wash, deodorant and even toothpaste. “We can apply the same principals to a lot of things,” says Pettersson. “If we can create value for customers and they still have a good experience, why wouldn’t people choose it?” ○