27 Feb 2025
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and even that’s getting warmer), you’ve probably noticed the planet’s heating up.
Global warming. It’s the hot topic nobody asked for. Brought to you by decades of corporate corner-cutting and profits-before-planet thinking.
Cutting our carbon footprint has gone from a good idea to an absolute must. We’re all looking for easy ways to lower ours - and the good news? Small (smol) swaps really can add up.
Could one of those swaps be our refillable handwash?
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).
It’s the ultimate sustainability check-up. It measures a product’s environmental impact from start to finish. Every. Single. Step. It’s like a carbon diary for our smol foaming handwash tablets.
What we were most interested to learn was how much carbon (measured in kg of CO₂ equivalent) our tablets create, which bit of its life cycle creates the most and lastly how we stack up against liquid hand soap.
11 steps.
Our study covered every stage of the tablet’s life - from the extraction and creation of its raw ingredients to its use at your sink and beyond:
- Sourcing & making the ingredients
- Sourcing & making the packaging
- Transporting ingredients to the factory
- Transporting packaging to the factory
- Making the tablets
- Sending tablets to the smol factory
- Shipping smol boxes to Royal Mail
- Delivering smol boxes to your door
- Washing your hands at home
- Treating wastewater from your sink
- Disposing of the cardboard box
so where’s the carbon coming from?
Turns out, 59% of the carbon emissions associated with our foaming handwash tablet happen when you’re washing your hands and when the resulting wastewater heads off down the plughole to be cleaned.
The big culprit in this situation? Hot water. Heating water to wash our hands uses loads of energy and that impact is felt long after it’s down the drain.
Another 19% of the tablet’s carbon footprint comes from making the raw ingredients, and a further 12% comes from crafting the packaging. Surprisingly, transportation plays a tiny role. Hooray for efficient deliveries!
the cool water hack.
Since the actual act of washing hands accounts for nearly two-thirds of the tablet’s footprint, there’s a ridiculously simple way to slash it: use cooler water.
Science agrees. According to the CDC, water temperature doesn’t matter when it comes to washing away germs - as long as you use soap and scrub properly. Even cold water works just fine.
Oh, and turn off the tap while you’re working that foam magic. No need to waste water while singing your handwashing anthem. Just use the tap to rinse (in the same way we’re all told to brush our teeth).
smol vs. liquid soap.
Drumroll please … in the carbon showdown between smol foaming handwash and liquid soap… our handwash creates 89% lower carbon emissions! That’s a massive win for such an easy and enjoyable switch.
refill for the win.
Want to cut even more carbon?
Keep your bottle-for-life. Every refill means one less single-use plastic bottle made, transported and binned. Simple, smart, and oh-so-satisfying.
Ready to foam, refill and feel great about it? It’s never been easier to wash your hands of carbon!