Just add water

Even as government and NGO campaigns were stressing about the need to wash hands frequently COVID19 gave the hand hygiene market a further boost Now a report by ResearchAndMarkets says Indiarsquos hand hygiene market is expected to reach R21595 crore by 2025 With hand hygiene in the spotlight green solutions to cut the packaging waste generated by bottles and refill packs followThe most promising one is the dissolvable capsule Delhibased homecare brand Reflekt makes one that transforms into foaming handwash when dissolved in250 ml of waterDelhibased homecare brand Reflekt offers a dissolvable capsule which transforms into foaming handwashldquoDuring the lockdownrdquo says Shray Anand the cofounder of Reflekt ldquoI realised the amount of plastic coming out of our bathrooms and kitchen Upon research I learnt that an average household discards about 30 to 40 plastic bottles a yearrdquoLaunched in May the starter kit is priced at R599 and comes with four tablets plus a reusable frosted glass bottle ldquoEach concentrated tablet which costs as low as R70 produces hand wash that lasts for 30 to 45 daysrdquo he says ldquoAll one needs to do is wait for 30 minutes for the tablet to dissolve in waterrdquo Reflekt also claims to be free from singleuse plastic from production to packaging ldquoWe rely on biodegradable recycled paperrdquo Anand says Besides hand wash Reflekt makes tablets for surface cleaners and dissolvable sheets for clothes detergents and floor cleanersRishi Aggarwal and Somasree Bose AwasthildquoA traditional product carries about 90 per cent water and 10 per cent concentrate By selling only the concentrate us and the consumer both save space As a result a truck can accommodate up to eight times more products cutting down on air pollutionrdquo says Anand with prideAnother player to enter this segment just last month is Bengalurubased lifestyle brand Bare Necessities It currently offers hand wash and dishwashing powder in sachets Priced at R130 and R140 respectively the 16 gm refill pack makes 250 ml of solution The company claims that the products are made using earthfriendly ingredients and the packaging is sustainable ldquoLiving in Bangalore we see Varthur and Bellandur Lakes frothing repeatedlyrdquo says founder Sahar Mansoor adding ldquoChemicalbased surfactants and detergents are a prime cause of thisrdquoMansoor also takes pride in the planetfriendly packaging ldquoOur corksealed repurposed jars with metal pumps can last a lifetime By recycling glass wersquove avoided virgin glass Our sachets are not only compostable but are also made using vegetable dyes and not digital ink which is noncompostablerdquoldquoCOVID19 churned the whole hygiene spacerdquo says Mumbaibased Aniket Parekh whose brand Itti has capsules for kitchen counter bathroom floor and window pane cleaners ldquoPeople want to live more responsibly Besides for those who live in small rented spaces these capsules save shelf spacerdquoEven established big brands such as Savlon and Godrej are foraying into the green handwash market ldquoWe launched the Magic Handwash in 2018rdquo says Somasree Bose Awasthi Chief Marketing Officer Godrej Consumer Products Ltd The kit containing a bottle and refill pouch costs R40 and the refill comes for R15 The 9 gm of powder transforms into 200 ml of handwash In four years Awasthi claims that Godrej has ldquotaken over 15th of the Indian market by volumerdquo Emboldened they launched the ReadytoMix Body Washmdash36 ml gel sachet makes 200 ml of liquid body washldquoConsumers always want to buy responsibly but price can be a barrierrdquo says Awasthi ldquoHence we price new products close to what they are already paying Bathing soap is a necessity anyway so why not make an aspirational product at the same price pointrdquoAwasthi is not dismissive of the environmental benefits ldquoThe huge potential to save plastic fuel and energy appealed to usrdquo he says The lighter and smaller sachets have allegedly cut plastic consumption by more than half They can also transport four times the volume per truck bringing fuel usage down to onefourth of the earlier volumeAll this is good news for the planet and its people but Rishi Aggarwal the Director of Mumbai Sustainability Centre is not entirely convinced of long term gains ldquoWhen you look at the numbersrdquo he says ldquoyes the volume of packaging waste generated is reduced but sachets are much more difficult to collect and divert from dumping grounds These products will generate a lot of them Companies should share sale numbers to realistically calculate the packaging waste producedrdquo Aggarwal suggests refill stations as an alternative to refills ldquoIt should be mandatory for all large FMCG brands to sell 50 per cent of handwash dishwash and detergent through such stationsrdquo he says