Everdrop - Making ‘eco’ products more sustainable
The ambition
Everdrop launched in 2019 with a goal to ‘de-plastify’ homes. As Packaging Development Manager Lucas Mayer explains: “When we launched, there were very few sustainable options in the household sector. There were sustainable products, but the packaging wasn’t sustainable – meaning that every time someone bought a new product, they had to buy a new plastic bottle.” Today, the Munich-based company sells a range of plastic-free household and personal care products, from dishwasher tablets to body wash.
The collaboration
One of Everdrop’s key product lines is concentrated cleaning refills. Customers place one small tablet or 25g of powder in a reusable bottle and add water to make 450-500ml of cleaning spray. Because they’re mixed at home, there’s no need to transport the water across the supply chain, meaning Everdrop has lower transport-based carbon emissions. The company estimates it’s avoided at least 244 tonnes of CO2 as of November 2022.
Everdrop uses sachets made from harvest waste for its tablets, but realised that this paper wasn’t suitable for all their powders. “The powders are more hygroscopic – they pull moisture into the packaging,” says Mayer. “The barrier of the previous paper wasn’t good enough to protect our products and the powder was going clumpy. We started looking for another sustainable option around a year ago, and Sappi had the best solution at this time.”
Good teamwork was key to coming up with the right solution.
We develop our packaging in close co-operation with the packaging supplier, our printer and the filling company. In critical phases, there may be daily meetings.
The solution
Everdrop chose Sappi’s AvantGuard Nature S paper – one side is uncoated, the other has a high barrier coating to protect against water vapour, oxygen, grease, MOSH/MOAH and aromas. The paper is heat sealable and can be recycled in normal waste streams.
It provided the best balance between print quality, protection and sustainability. We carried out print tests and also tested how the paper performed under different climate scenarios.
The market reception
Everdrop products are available online from the brand and from retailers in 9,000 stores across Germany, Italy, Austria, France and Switzerland. In less than four years, the brand has gained more than five million customers and has won awards including the 2021 German Sustainability Award for Design.
The future
Everdrop and its community have already saved more than nine million plastic bottles, and the brand aims to reach a target of 50m bottles saved by the end of next year – not least through widening its range. “If you look at a typical household, there’s still a lot of potential for more sustainable products, so the portfolio can always be increased,” says Mayer.
