What better material to package soap in than soap itself?! The idea for SOAPBOTTLE came to designer Jonna Breitenhuber during her masters’ studies. At its heart, it’s a simple, elegant solution to a rather big problem. Every year, billions of plastic shampoo bottles, conditioner tubes, and soap dispensers enter landfills or get dumped in the oceans. In looking for a suitable material replacement for plastic containers, Breitenhuber arrived at her eureka moment… Just package the liquid soap in, well, solid soap!
SOAPBOTTLE is an elegant, waste-free product that does two things – it eliminates those pesky throwaway plastic bottles while giving you extra soap! Each SOAPBOTTLE comes in a slick, rectangular form factor with 100ml of liquid body wash on the inside. To ‘open’ the SOAPBOTTLE, all you need to do is shave the marked corner off and you can pour the liquid soap out the way you pour milk out of a carton. When the liquid runs out, the bottle itself can be used as a bar of soap all the way till it eventually disintegrates into nothingness, leaving absolutely no plastic waste behind. All that is left behind is the reusable metal clip that snaps onto the SOAPBOTTLE, allowing you to open and close it during use.
Each SOAPBOTTLE is made from natural ingredients (even its label is made from recycled paper and is completely recyclable). The ‘bottle’ itself comes with a hole running through its center, letting you string a ribbon through it and hang it, for instance, on a bathroom wall. Alternatively, you could dock the SOAPBOTTLE on a sponge, turning it into a soap-dispensing loofah. For now, the SOAPBOTTLE comes in a standard 100ml size and in three different colors – Ever Green (Herbal), Light Blue (Gentle), and Spicy Orange (Earthy + Citrusy), although Breitenhuber aims at expanding the line to cover different sizes, fragrances, and even other formulas like shampoo, conditioner, etc. All in all, the SOAPBOTTLE proves that there’s a brilliant alternative to plastic packaging. Its clever two-in-one solution is a major win for consumers (because you’re essentially getting two soaps in one product), while also being an incredible victory for the planet thanks to its zero-waste system. Moreover, as a part of its zero-waste initiative, SOAPBOTTLE is even partnering with the Marie-Stella-Maris Foundation and contributing to their clean drinking water, hygiene, and sanitation projects.
Designer: Jonna Breitenhuber
SOAPBOTTLE – Packaging Made from Soap
Once the liquid content’s from SOAPBOTTLE is finished, the empty container can be used as hand soap and “washes away” over time.
The SOAPBOTTLE rethinks everyday items and takes your experience with personal care to a new, enjoyable and meaningful level – without compromising sustainability.
Each bottle contains 100 ml of a soft and nourishing body wash made from natural ingredients.
How it Works
The Need for Sustainable Design
Packaging is still made from materials such as plastic, that take more than 400 years to decompose. By turning the product into packaging, the team have transformed the concept of packaging-free cosmetics to design a sustainable SOAPBOTTLE for liquid care products.
Unlike any other packaging, the SOAPBOTTLE is made from a soap formula that can be entirely used like hand soap and “washes away” together with the waste water over time. Finally, it decomposes in the sewage plant within a few days, so that waste can be completely avoided.
A packaging that becomes part of the circular economy of the product.
Packaging: The soap for our packaging is made from organic ingredients, oils, and caustic soda. While the container is used, the material washes away together with the used water. Next, it decomposes entirely into the sewage plant after a few days. There you have it, no waste!
Metal closure: Made from stainless steel, the closure is stamped and bent into the shape. Good news; It’s reusable, too! Simply clip the remaining metal piece on the next SOAPBOTTLE. Once it is no longer needed, it is easy to recycle as it is made from metal only.
Paper label: The label is made from recycled paper and printed with environmentally friendly colors. It can be recycled again.
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