CCB Magazine

35 billion plastic bottles pollute the oceans every year or end up in landfills - around one million seabirds die every year as a result. To avoid plastic waste, Jonna Breitenhuber has developed an alternative hygiene product: the SOAPBOTTLE. How does the concept work?
 

INTERVIEW  Jens Thomas

CCB Magazine: Jonna, with the SOAPBOTTLE you have developed an alternative hygiene product that dissolves by itself. How many of them have you used up yourself by now?

Jonna Breitenhuber:None! It's not on the market yet. But I know that it works. 

CCB Magazine:Ok. How exactly does your product work? 

Jonna Breitenhuber:Very simple. The SOAPBOTTLE is a package for liquid personal care products made from soap. After the liquid contents have been used up, the SOAPBOTTLE can be used as hand soap or further processed, for example, into laundry detergent by adding soda and natron; the soap consists of natural raw materials and is biodegradable. Packaging waste can thus be completely avoided.

We need alternative packaging options to the conventional disposable plastic bottle. The SOAPBOTTLE could be a solution for this. It can be used as hand soap and can be further processed into detergent with the addition of soda and baking soda - everything is biodegradable

The Founder: Jonna Breitenhuber - she created the SOAPBOTTLE. Foto © SOAPBOTTLE / J.Breitenhuber
 

CCB Magazine:You developed the product at the University of the Arts during your studies in your master work. How did the idea come about?

Jonna Breitenhuber:At the time, I had a part-time job as a packaging designer for cosmetic products. This made me aware that there was hardly any plastic-free packaging for liquid personal care products. I wanted to address this problem. We already know examples from the food industry where the product itself becomes the packaging. At the time, I wondered whether this concept could be applied to personal care products - and that's how it all began. I started experimenting with soap. 

CCB Magazine:And then? 

Jonna Breitenhuber:After my master's thesis, I published the concept. The response was amazing. I was able to present the SOAPBOTTLE at various trade fairs and exhibitions. I received an incredible amount of positive feedback - also from companies that showed great interest in a cooperation. Last summer, I finally decided to work with a Dutch company to further develop the concept into a market-ready product. 

CCB Magazine:Last year, you won the German Federal Ecodesign Award in the "Young Designers" category. In an interview, you said that you wanted people to be able to continue to consume without worrying. Most sustainability researchers would disagree with you. The central argument is that consumption has to be radically restricted in order to be truly sustainable. Is your product missing the point?

Jonna Breitenhuber:Of course, I don't want to spread the illusion that you can simply continue to consume without any worries. But I also think that alternatives are needed. It's not realistic to expect everyone to radically abandon products such as body care from one day to the next, that's not possible. That's why we not only need to raise awareness of the pollution caused by consumption. We also need alternative packaging options to the conventional disposable plastic bottle. The SOAPBOTTLE is a good way to do this. 

CCB Magazine:How do you build a company like SOAPBOTTLE? What is important? What mistakes should be avoided?

Jonna Breitenhuber:To build a company like SOAPBOTTLE, you go through different phases. From the conception to the development of a prototype to the production, launch and finally the sale of the products. We are working on product development at the moment. It's really important to find the right partners for the appropriate phase. Therefore, you should know exactly what your requirements and goals are at each stage and what budget or expertise you need in order to achieve them. Before entering into a deal with partners or investors, you should be clear about their intentions and how they can add value to the company and whether you share the same goals.

 © SOAPBOTTLE / J.Breitenhuber

CCB Magazine:You just had a crowdfunding on Kickstarter. Who and what do you want to achieve with it?
 
Jonna Breitenhuber:Yes, we had launched a crowdfunding campaign in April for the development and realization of SOAPBOTTLE. We were really overwhelmed by how many people participated. People could support us financially and pre-order SOAPBOTTLE, which was supposed to be delivered in May 2022. But then many things came together: For one thing, we came across new findings during our materials research that made it clear that developing and producing SOAPBOTTLE would be more time-consuming and expensive than expected. Secondly, there were personnel and operational changes; our Dutch parent company grew very quickly itself and no longer had enough capacity to adequately support our SOAPBOTTLE project. So, unfortunately, the project had come to a standstill.

CCB Magazine:Meaning? 

Jonna Breitenhuber:We finally decided together that it would be best for the project if we decoupled SOAPBOTTLE from the Dutch company. This difficult decision and the associated organizational effort naturally cost us strength and time. It quickly became clear that we would no longer be able to fulfill our Kickstarter promise and deliver SOAPBOTTLE on time. Since we never wanted to be one of those crowdfunding projects that keep postponing the delivery date or end up not being able to offer our backers anything at all, we decided to free ourselves from this pressure and refund the entire amount to our supporters.

CCB Magazine:What were the reactions?

Jonna Breitenhuber:Fortunately, they were very understanding - and motivated us to continue despite the "setback". This is of course a big turning point for us, but at the same time a chance to approach the project once again in a different and more independent way. 

CCB Magazine:What's the next step for SOAPBOTTLEs? Where are you going and when can I finally welcome your product in my shower? 
 
Jonna Breitenhuber:Hopefully soon! We are in the process of reorganizing ourselves. We want to move forward with the project with a better plan. And we want to take enough time to develop SOAPBOTTLE, a good and truly sustainable product that eliminates plastic waste in your bathroom. 

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