Zero Co is here, and is on a mission to eliminate single-use plastics in Australian homes. It’s created a – frankly, beautiful looking – range of environmentally friendly cleaning and personal care products, delivered direct to your door. Once you’ve used them up, the bottles and containers are simply returned to Zero Co, cleaned, and refilled to order. Piece of cake.
From idea to business plan in under a year, Zero Co quickly became the most-funded Australian Kickstarter campaign of 2019. It’s tackling our bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms, with an initial nine products, packaged in recycled plastic scooped out of the oceans.
Inspired by a trip with his wife, Alyssa, founder Mike Smith was shocked to see the level of plastic waste in some of the world’s most remote locations. “We did 12 months of camping and trekking, and we were just blown away by the amount of plastic rubbish that we saw everywhere we went,” he says. “You expect to see plastic when you go to dense population centres like China, India, Indonesia or whatever, but when you’re out in the middle of nowhere and you see plastic everywhere… it was quite disheartening.” Zero Co was his response.
Working with China-based Pack Tech to gather ocean plastic waste, Zero Co has successfully found a way to turn waste into products for the home. Every product in Zero Co’s catalogue is housed in repurposed and recycled plastics; soap containers, pumps, and bottles are all made from ocean plastic, while refill bags and sachets are made from plastics that were destined for landfill. And can we just emphasise again quite how beautiful that packaging is, in its harmonious palette of pastel colours? Like an art gallery for under your sink.
There’s no obligation to buy Zero Co’s reusable pumps if you have your own
There’s no BS on the business and logistical side of Zero Co – it aims to be fully transparent about what you’re paying for and how that cost is calculated, so consumers have the info to make well-informed decisions about their choices. There’s a full breakdown on the website, showing just how much it costs to get its products from inception to your door, so you can see the real cost of the decisions you make.
You’re not locked into a subscription or contract either, and there’s no obligation to buy Zero Co’s reusable pumps if you have your own. They’re also priced in the same bracket as middle to upper-end supermarket brands, with refills costing as little as $5 – so it’s not going to break the bank to help planet Earth.
So far – after a hugely successful KickStarter campaign – Zero Co has sold over 39,000 products, all on pre-order, raising more than AUD$740k (around £372,000) from thousands of backers.
This is huge. While they’re not even physically available yet, they’ve caught the imagination of the Australian public and we can’t wait to get our hands on some. Pre-orders are open now for delivery to Australia, commencing in September 2020, while the team plots moves for a global roll-out, too. We’ve already cleared space at home in anticipation.
Yes, the war against single use plastics has picked up serious momentum, but it’s far from over. So here’s a chance to do your bit with the Zero Co range. No matter whether you choose an eco-friendly washing liquid, body wash, hand-wash, stain remover, toilet cleaner, general cleaner, or take the lot, you’ll be making a positive difference. Get clean and be green.
