Mean, green and squeaky clean.
This Zero Waste Week we’ve teamed up with fellow B Corp Homethings to create a limited-edition, refillable, non-toxic cleaning spray. It’s made with rescued waste carrot seeds and can be refilled with just a tab and tap water – good for your kitchen and the planet.
But who are Homethings when they’re, erm, at home anyway? And what is it that makes our partnership so pear-fect? We met up over a slice of carrot cake to dish the dirt.
O: Hi Homethings! We’re on a mission to fight food waste – what’s your mission and why is it important?
H: Hey there! We’re Homethings, and we’re on a mission to clean up the cleaning industry – with powerful, planet-positive products that make sense, keeping your home (and our planet) clean. No single-use plastic, no harsh chemicals and no shipping heavy water-based products around the world.
O: Dream team! What’s something that most people wouldn’t realise about the cleaning industry?
H: The cleaning industry is HUGE, dominated by just a handful of massive corporations, shipping billions of cleaning products around the world every year. In fact, in the UK alone, we chuck away 468 MILLION cleaning spray bottles every year. And whilst there are eco brands out there, the innovation in the past 20 years has been super slow, with eco brands still selling single-use plastic sprays, dish tabs wrapped in plastic, and laundry detergent bottled in… you guessed it… plastic. On top of this, typical cleaning spray is 95% water, and water is super heavy to ship (think of trying to move a paddling pool across your garden). This heavy + bulky format massively increases the carbon emissions of a product.
O: That’s shocking, what a waste. So tell us about your products – what does the range include? And how are you doing cleaning differently?
H: We started out on our mission with just our cleaning sprays. But after perfecting a tabletised cleaning spray formula, selling to friends and family and braving it in front of the dragons on Dragons’ Den, we were ready to expand the range. We now also offer laundry sheets, dishwasher tabs, floor cleaner and compostable sponges, as well as the UK’s FIRST powder-to-gel washing up liquid.
O: Seriously impressive, especially the dragon bit. We know that it’s not always easy for people to know where to start with eco products though, so what advice would you give to Oddboxers if they wanted to make their kitchen more sustainable?
H: Our top tip would be to make the easy daily switches first. Maybe that’s changing your everyday surface spray or washing up liquid to a refillable one or switching to compostable sponges. It’s fine not to make all the switches at once – but the small changes really do add up. For example, by switching to our super-compact and light tabletised cleaning sprays you save 94% of the carbon emissions vs a conventional water-based brand!
O: Wow! We’re so proud of the Sweet Peach & Wonky Carrot cleaning spray we’ve created together. Can you tell us about carrot-seed oil – what is it and why was it at risk of being wasted?
H: Both commercial and wild carrot varieties have poor germination rates, meaning that up to 90% of the seeds end up being thrown away. On top of this, the carrots that do grow have one of the highest waste rates, due to their tendency to be a little on the wonky side. The Oddbox x Homethings cleaning spray rescues that wasted carrot seed, turning it into carrot seed oil.
O: It also smells AMAZING. Can you describe the scent of Sweet Peach and Wonky Carrot in five words for someone who might be on the fence about trying it?
H: Absolutely! It’s fresh and woody, with sweet, fruity and slightly carrotty fragrance notes (is carrotty a word?)
O: Totally, it’s in our dictionary. Here’s an odd question for you: if you could clean any famous person’s kitchen, who would it be and why?
H: As fans of all things a bit bonkers (and one of our brand values being ‘just have fun’), we’d have to say Ainsley Harriot. He’d be getting the tunes on, he’d be cracking jokes, his infectious laugh would make cleaning any kitchen a blast. Plus, our limited edition Oddbox x Homethings cleaning spray fragrance is Sweet Peach + Wonky Carrot… and Harriot kinda sounds like Carrot?!
O: Wonderful choice, we’ll come along too. Finally, what’s your favourite fruit or veg? And your least favourite?
H: A highlight of this year was launching our new Wild Rhubarb fragrance, which inspired a LOT of rhubarb-based treats being brought into the office – so rhubarb definitely takes pride of place as our favourite fruit. And our least favourite – while it’s absolutely delicious… the staining power of beetroot makes it a real cleaning challenge for clothing and surfaces across the country.
O: We feel you on that one. A humongous thank you and a high five to Homethings.
Want to nab an Oddbox x Homethings cleaning spray? It’s available as an add-on throughout September – but be quick, we’re expecting them to be wiped out faster than you can say ‘compostable sponge’. Ready, steady, clean!
