Anders, our founder, has long been passionate about sustainable hygiene. With three lively young children bringing home germs from kindergarten, school, and play, it’s a necessity in the household. That is why we started exploring the world of sanitation and antibacterial products about six months ago in August – coincidentally right before another school-year started in Sweden and another season of conspicuous germs finding their way into people's everyday lives. We have a pretty long development process – especially compared to many other companies (more on that further down). But we're proud of it, because it means that we test and re-test so that the product that arrives on your doorstep is something we believe in. For the hand spray, this process began with finding out what type of antibacterial hand spray we could produce that would have the least strain on the environment. To say the least – most of the antibacterial alternatives contained elements that we didn't want to include. Most of them contain alcohol, which is suboptimal for a number of reasons. Strains on the environment using your run-of-the mill alcohol-based antibacterial Firstly, there are the environmental impacts. As raw ingredients, carbohydrates such as grains, potatoes or rice, have to be grown (and used for this production instead of for food-purposes), each of which requires significant usage of water, land, fertilizer, and machinery. These then have to be distilled into the alcohol in a highly energy-intensive process. The next step is that the alcohol has to be transported from where it’s made to be added to the sanitizer. Alcohol is highly flammable, making it quite dangerous to move around. Secondly, the alcohol evaporates quickly meaning it isn’t long-lasting, and it can also dry out the skin and cause irritation. Additionally, as a solvent, it’s not suitable for use on LCD, touchscreens or keyboards. A water-based solution to our problem So, as a solution to the alcohol problem, for our formula we developed a water-based solution that is much more nature-friendly, enriched with Vitamin B5 and Aloe Vera to nourish your hands. A new innovation with active ingredients means it’s perfect for use on surfaces and screens and remains active even after drying. Also, the lack of alcohol means we can ship worldwide and get the product to where it’s needed, without custom issues. How we found it We undertake a lot of research when it comes to choosing our suppliers. We were thrilled with being able to source a local Swedish supplier for our mobile case factory, so again we went on the hunt for a local supplier for our sanitizer. It took a while, but we eventually found one tucked away in the west of Sweden that ticks all the boxes. It’s a small factory, but they’re pioneers within the field. With rigorous clinical and dermatological testing, the product has been FDA and EMA approved while having a proven effect with the following high-standard tests: EN1500 EN1499 EN13697 EN1276 EN14476 A team of leading Swedish scientists with a passion for product development and research, they create solutions that are biological, bio-degradable and contain a low amount of active chemical substance, with the users and nature in mind.We’re delighted with the result and you will be too. The process and way of working As some of the people in our community might already know, we're all about being slow and thorough in our product development process. This sometimes have you asking us more than once when we will release new models for our plant-based mobile cases for example – and with some traces of impatience in the request. We know, we know – it can be frustrating that we have this nitty-gritty detail process which makes us slower in development than your average high-street brand. But it also allows us to do a myriad of different tests and check-ups on the material, model, product and production process. Planning to launch the hand spray later this spring and doing the finishing touches on product imagery and marketing material, we found that in light of the current pandemic – we should hurry things up a bit. Apart from the horrific impact on human health and wellbeing, the new circumstances are affecting the environment in many different ways. While some may be positive (with less emissions in some places), many are negative with more impulsive buying of products that aren't so good for the environment. With this as a backdrop, we decided to try something we've never tried before, to speed this slow-moving elephant of a product development process up a bit, so that people can have an environmentally friendlier alternative when tending to their hygiene and wellbeing. So we cut some corners with the imagery (as you can see it's not our usual photoshoot in nature) and marketing plans to make sure we could launch this product a couple of weeks early. And as it is with all of our products, we are never done. That might sound strange but we think that there is absolutely no need to stop trying to make something good even better. Finally, we ship in 4-packs, to reduce the environmental footprint and refrain from the risk of damaging the product. By sending one at a time we would have to package in plastic foam, which would keep the product safe but not the environment. That is why we decided to sell the product in 4-packs. Why not share them with your family? Sharing is caring! About the owner The owner of this small company in western Sweden is a scientist with over two decades of experience in the industry. When not in the lab, he enjoys connecting with consumers, answering questions and gathering feedback that turns into ideas for new solutions. The mission of the company is to create better products for consumers and the environment.