Plastic Free Cleaning with Neat.
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions doing it imperfectly.”
- Anne-Marie Bonneau
We love the team over at Neat. When we met Ryan McSorley and the team recently on a course, we were so impressed with their devotion and innovation to Plastic Free cleaning that we had to get them on the blog to share the word about their awesome venture and sustainable growth plans for their business Neat. Without further ado....
How would you describe Neat and what you are doing/ trying to achieve as a brand?
Neat. is a sustainable home care brand.At Neat., our mission is to help protect the planet by creating simple and beautiful products that inspire everyone to make sustainable choices. We make beautiful, design led cleaning products that perform brilliantly, cut down on waste and deliver an amazing experience without single use plastic and shipping unnecessary water. (*A typical bottle of cleaner is 90% water)
Neat. products are just that… neat. Concentrated so no need to ship unnecessary water. We simply mix with tap water in our refillable bottles. No more diluted products and single use packaging but instead powerful concentrated plant-based formulas and bottles that are designed to last and not head for the bin.
If you had to use 5 words to describe what’s important to your brand, what would they be?
Oh good question. We do have 4 values we want to live by which are simple, bold, real and positive. These define and influence everything that we do. We don’t want to be a sustainable brand that makes people feel guilty or like they aren’t doing enough, life is hard enough right now! We want to bring solutions that will make a difference to our planet but also that just make people feel great when they are using them. I guess the 5th word I would use right now is busy… we have a lot of exciting stuff going on which means we are flat out at the moment, but that’s totally a good thing. #startuplife
What was the motivation for starting your awesome cleaning brand?
It really was the knowledge that most cleaning products are 90% water. It was one of those light bulb moments. We thought, we all have access to water in our homes, what if we made it without the unnecessary water? This allowed us to rethink the entire product experience and most importantly the packaging. It meant we did not need all these plastic bottles that are made to be used once and then thrown in the bin. It meant we could create a solution where you could keep and easily refill your spray bottles, and all with no single use plastic. Win Win!What does sustainability mean to you?
For us sustainability is something which we see as a journey. Something which requires us to continually assess what we are doing and look for ways to get closer to a world where we no longer have a waste problem. It is not about perfection but for us it is about progress. Taking steps in the right direction and doing what we can to help our planet. There is an awesome quote from Anne-Marie Bonneau:“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions doing it imperfectly.”
We also realise that in order for us to make a proper impact, a sustainable solution cannot be a compromise. We have to be good if not better than current products. And whilst recycling plastics is a move in the right direction, it won’t solve the problem. We need solutions that are a radical step change in reducing single use plastic.
