In August 2017 I had the pleasure of speaking with Tony Loyd, host of the Social Entrepreneurship about Plaine Product’s origins, roadblocks along the way and where we’re headed from here. You can listen to the Plaine Products podcast on his site here! You can also list on Sound Cloud, Stitcher, and iTunes (the episode titled Product Packaging with a Purpose on 8/14/17).
Here’s Tony’s recap of the Plaine Products podcast:
Plaine Products helps reduce single-use plastics by producing natural,
vegan shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in returnable, reusable containers.
As she explored the islands, she noticed the impact of single use plastics. “Without regular trash pick up, you see those water bottles, flip flops and plastic bags in the water and along the side of the road,” she explains. “To me, single-use plastics is one of those things that once you start to notice it, you realize it’s everywhere.”
Lindsey tried to reduce her personal use of plastic. But she found it difficult to find plastic-free alternatives to shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. “It began to occur to me that there was a way to solve this by going outside of the non-profit community Providing a product might be a better solution.”
When she returned to the United States in 2015, she and her sister, Alison Webster, went to work on the problem. Together, they formed Plaine Products. Plaine Products produces natural, vegan shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in returnable, refillable, reusable containers. When a customer empties a Plaine Products bottle, they order a replacement. They place the empty bottle in the box and return it to Plaine Products to be sanitized and refilled.
It took Lindsey and Alison almost two years from idea to product launch. They had to find a contract manufacturer who produces natural products. They needed to work with someone who would be willing to refill bottles. And, they had to figure out their non-plastic packaging. At first, they tried steel containers, but the containers rusted. When they switched to aluminum containers, they found that the packaging not only lasted, but it was lighter to ship, saving costs. And, they had to figure out how to explain the concept of reusable packaging.
Quotes from Social Entrepreneurship Plaine Products Podcast
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