the chemical crisis.

Every day, chemicals that don’t easily biodegrade are rinsed down our drains and flow into rivers, lakes and seas (where they can hang about for years, upset ecosystems, and harm wildlife).

In 2020, the Environment Agency found 100% of England’s rivers, lakes and waterways were polluted with synthetic chemicals linked to human activity. Not a single body of water met legal quality standards. But this pollution hasn’t come from one catastrophic spill, it’s built up quietly, over decades, and now it’s come home to roost.

Some of the most concerning substances are highly persistent chemicals such as PFAS (often called “forever chemicals”). Even compounds that were phased out or banned years ago (like PFOS) are still detected in rivers today, at levels above environmental standards.

A large amount of this pollution comes from our households. Everyday products used in homes across the UK are washed down sinks and drains daily, adding to a chemical load that waterways simply can’t process fast enough. Once these chemicals enter the water system, they don’t stay put. They travel through rivers into the ocean, where they can persist for decades, accumulate in marine life, and move back up the food chain, including into the seafood we eat.

For too long, parts of the cleaning industry have relied on cheap, persistent chemicals, without fully accounting for their long-term environmental impact. The result? Clean homes and dirty rivers.

It’s why we do things differently at smol.

By designing highly concentrated formulas and cutting unnecessary fillers, smol products use significantly less chemical material per wash than many leading brands. All without compromising cleaning performance.

Independent testing shows, for example, that smol laundry bio capsules contain up to 6.7g fewer chemicals per wash than leading brands, meaning less chemical matter entering wastewater systems, wash after wash.¹

Less excess. Less to rinse away. Less burden on our waterways.