According to the Plastic Atlas of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Between 1950 and 2015, 8.3 billion tons of plastic were produced worldwide. Disposable products and packaging accounted for the largest share of this. A Munich-based startup that wants to do something about packaging waste is Everdrop. It's doing so with an approach that's as simple as it is effective: tablets instead of plastic bottles.
In more detail: Everdrop offers household cleaning products such as bathroom or all-purpose cleaners in tablet form that can be dissolved in reusable bottles. Consumers can thus avoid single-use plastic – because they don't have to keep buying new plastic bottles – and reduce the CO2 emissions caused by the transport of water with conventional cleaning products. And still clean.
1.3 million disposable plastic bottles saved
The company is run by founders Chris Becker, Daniel Schmitt-Haverkamp, and David Löwe. They launched Everdrop in 2019 and have been pleasantly surprised by how well their product has been received:
"Frankly, none of us expected that so many people would be truly interested and willing to change their consumer behavior in favor of sustainable products. Assuming that 1 tablet saves one newly purchased bottle of cleaning product, we've already saved over 1.3 million disposable plastic bottles."
And their idea is anything but new. But the zeitgeist is right:
"Chemists had already developed the tablets in the 1980s. Back then, nobody wanted them because the plastic bottles with the colorful liquid were new and highly sought after. Today, however, a change is taking place in society. Climate change and the pollution of our planet have reached such a level that people feel a need to act."
The startup recently expanded its portfolio with a laundry detergent concept. The innovation: Everdrop laundry detergent is adapted to the local water hardness of the consumer. This should make it possible to reduce unnecessary surfactants in laundry. The water hardness is determined based on the customer's zip code. The founders are confident in their approach.
"The leverage is also enormous when it comes to detergent. Detergent is the largest chemical contaminant in household wastewater. With our innovative concept, customers can save up to 50 percent of surfactants simply by entering their zip code using our water hardness concept."
Greenwashing vs. sustainability labels
As with all products that claim sustainability, the question naturally arises with Everdrop: How sustainable are their products really? Beyond the very obvious aspect that the tablet solution can save a lot of plastic bottles. A question that also concerns the founders:
“The biggest challenge is, and has always been, sourcing the most sustainable components for our products in a world full of greenwashing offers.”
According to the company, their tablets are free of microplastics, vegan, and easily biodegradable according to the OECD measurement criteria. The Everdrop bottles are made from recycled PET, and the tablet packaging is made from recycled paper. What's still missing, however, is a sustainability seal. But they're working on that, too, as David Löwe told the online magazine Utopia insured. A corresponding seal should clearly show consumers that both the production process and the ingredients meet environmental standards.
“The goal is clearly Sustainability Unicorn!”
And where should the journey go?
"The goal is clearly to become a sustainability unicorn! And that depends on whether sustainability will continue to be so highly relevant to society and thus influence purchasing decisions. At the moment, all signs point in favor of it."
And the signals from investors also look good. Everdrop was recently able to Pre-seed financing round collect a six-figure sum. Business angels include Christoph Behn with Better Ventures, the LillydooFounders Sven Bauer and Gerald Kullack, as well as Sebastian Merkhoffer, founder and CEO of Fitvia. With the fresh capital, the Munich-based startup plans to venture into international expansion and launch additional sustainable household products. There's still a lot to do—and a lot of plastic to avoid.
