These 8 innovative ideas will bring more sustainability into your bathroom

CareTwice – Liquid shampoo in form of powder

The product has convinced us even before it is properly on the market. Because the crowdfunding campaign of the start-up CareTwice from the Stuttgart Social Innovation Lab is still running until the end of the month. The idea: a shampoo that is sold as a powder in a packaging-friendly way. At home, you can then dilute it with water in a bottle of your choice and your shampoo is ready. This way you save a lot of plastic, an enormous amount of energy and you avoid unnecessary CO2 emissions, for example during transport.

Dr. Bronner’s – the pioneers of sustainable soap

Originating in Laupheim, Swabia, the company looks back on a 150-year tradition of soap making and is in its fifth generation of family ownership. Its history gets under your skin. The family with its German-Jewish roots was largely wiped out by the Hitler regime. Emanuel Heilbronner, who emigrated to the USA in the late 1920s, deleted the “Heil” from his surname in protest, re-established the company as Dr. Bronner’s in 1948 and combined this with a strong message: All One. We all belong together, no matter where we come from, what ethnicity or religion we belong to. Dr. Bronner’s is a social business unlike any other. Profits are donated, distributed to employees or invested in a sustainable supply chain.

The products are just as uncompromising. The soaps are ecological through and through, contain high-quality ingredients and avoid waste due to their high dosage. Because the common organic labels in the USA were not enough for the Bronners, they even had their soap certified as food. Do they advertise this? No, they do it because they are convinced of it, not for marketing reasons. We are happy that Dr. Bronner’s is now also present in Germany again and has opened a flagship store in Berlin. Take a look!

Last Object – Reusable Q-Tips and more

The Danish company LastObject specialises in products that replace disposable products. These include, for example, the reusable Q-tips “LastSwap”, which can be used up to 1,000 times and thereby substitute many disposable Q-tips. LastObject’s products are mostly brought to market via crowdfunding campaigns. This way, customer acceptance is tested directly. This way, the reusable Q-tips had found more than 30,000 customers in one fell swoop.

Wild – Refillable deodorant

The British company Wild sells aluminium-free deodorants that come with a practical, reusable container. The compostable, plastic-free refill packs can be delivered regularly as a low-maintenance subscription. They are offered in different fragrances and are also available in German-speaking countries.

TIO – Toothbrush heads made from natural raw materials

The Berlin-based start-up TIO is not an eco-hardliner but helps to make a classic dental care product better. It produces sustainable heads for electric toothbrushes, making them more ecological through the use of bioplastic materials derived from FSC-certified wood waste and bristles made from castor oil. The manufacturing process is presented transparently on the website.

Teethlovers – Organic dental care

The still young social start-up teethlovers has developed a great alternative to toothpaste in plastic tubes: a tooth powder that dissolves in the mouth and is used for daily tooth cleaning. teethlovers tooth powder is produced locally with high-quality, organic ingredients and sold in environmentally friendly jars (online and currently in 21 cities in Germany). The jars can be refilled with compostable refill packs or without any packaging at refill stations in non-packaging shops. The founders want to create real added value and therefore plant a tree for every product sold. The reason for teethlovers’ success: the product is not only ecological and plastic-free, but also has a gentle, healing effect. We have tested it and find it really good. The tooth powder is available in the following flavours: peppermint-lemon, lemon-ginger-turmeric and lemongrass-rosemary-thyme. And children love the “kids flavour” tangerine-vanilla-chamomile.

Kushel – Incredibly soft towels made from beech fibres and organic cotton

The Hamburg-based company Kushel follows the philosophy that the perfect towel for the environment must also be perfect for people. The towels are produced in an environmentally friendly way from a mix of organic cotton and natural fibres made from the pulp of the red beech tree. The result is a cosy, soft towel with high absorbency that is a joy to use. The company is a socially and ethically certified “Certified B Corporation”, communicates transparently about its work and has also been nominated for the German Sustainability Award 2021.

Atisan – Sustainable home accessories made by local craftsmen

The still young online furniture store atisan from Düsseldorf is essentially a counter-design to IKEA. The motto: Slow interior. Atisan sources its products from countries where their raw materials occur naturally, such as sea grass, water hyacinth, rattan and bamboo from Asia – all fast-growing materials that require no pesticides or fertilisers. They are robust and durable. The products are sourced directly from local artisans who contribute their traditional knowledge. Unlike in the world of large corporations, they are paid fairly and – rarely found elsewhere – in advance. The two founders are – like us at GOOD – Fellows of the Impact Factory in Duisburg.