Revolutionising household cleaning for the good of people and planet - by Seep and Sustainable Ventures

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The amount of plastic that is produced in the world every year has increased explosively in just a human lifetime, from 2 million tons in 1950 to 368 million tons in 2019 (Greenpeace, 2022). The UK generates more plastic waste per person than almost any other country in the world, second only to the USA (Law KL et al, 2020). Waste sent for incineration increased by 0.8 million tonnes (7.7%) to 12.5 million tonnes in 2020/21 compared to 2019/20\. It was the disposal method used for 48.2% of all local authority waste (DEFRA, 2020).600 million cleaning tools are thrown away every year in the UK, of which 80% are made from plastic, ending up in landfill or incineration, releasing microplastics into the water system and having drastic impacts on air quality. The household cleaning essentials market is currently completely underserved when it comes to sustainable alternatives, compared to that of many food and beverage categories, for example. As such, there is an urgent need for a behavioural shift in the products we use in this category and how we use them, enabled by alternative sustainable offerings that embody high performance and convenience and thus will be adopted at scale, directly tackling the extensive plastic pollution created by traditional products in this category.In response, Seep is on a mission to revolutionise the household cleaning essentials market for the good of people and the planet. This project is a collaboration between Seep and Sustainable Ventures to utilise methods of people and planet centred design and investigate how this category can be transformed to meet consumer needs whilst addressing the significant and pressing challenges of waste, pollution and resources aforementioned.