Washing your hands prevents disease and saves lives - we’ve never been more aware of this fact than we are now, as the world struggles to find a way out of a global pandemic. In light of “Global Handwashing Day” on October 15, we’d like to introduce you to a Dutch company that not only encourages people to wash their hands with soap at critical times, but produces that soap in a sustainable way with an extended supply chain.

Soap Made from Waste

“Waste is too good to be thrown away.” ~ Unwaste

Unwaste sells soaps, liquid hand and body wash, as well as hand sprays made from ingredients that many people throw away during their morning routine: used coffee grounds and orange peels. 

In the Netherlands alone, consumers produce 155 million kilos of coffee grounds and 250 million kilos of orange peels per year, discarding them into organic waste streams. Yet even in (or rather, especially in) their “state of waste”, both have their uses: coffee grounds are a powerful natural scrub and orange peels work as a natural skin booster and fragrance. 

Bomler met the Unwaste team at the CE2 Event in Langenthal, Switzerland, in 2019. We were impressed by the company’s vision and mission to see the potential in waste and treat it as a resource, thereby shifting the production of something as basic as soap towards a circular, sustainable economy. As Robert-Willem Dolo, creator and co-founder of Unwaste, puts it: “There must be room for improvement.”

Working with partners like Renewi, Peel Pioneers, and Seenons, Unwaste sources orange peels from Dutch retailers, for example from supermarkets with in-store fresh juice presses, and coffee grounds from offices of companies, organizations, hotels, and the like. Nowadays, the company produces tens of thousands of solid hand soaps per year, successfully turning people’s everyday waste into “unwaste”. 

Partnering with Sustainable Suppliers

Brands like Unwaste can only fulfill their vision and mission of a circular economy and sustainable supply chain with the right partners. That’s where we come in: The Bomler Compliance Portal works to connect sustainable suppliers with eco-friendly brands like Unwaste. 

Register here for a free trial and start tracking your brand’s supply chain sustainability, compliance, and transparency today.