The Microplastics/Human Health Connection

And then there’s cost, right? Environmentally friendly products generally have a higher price point. Oftentimes, those who are most impacted by the climate crisis are the least able to make decisions by using their purchasing power. Whereas those of us with privilege, we can make that choice, we can refuse the plastic.

I’m excited to say that Tru Earth has not increased their prices since we launched in this great inflationary period, and we’re about to release our first decrease. We’re going to respond to what’s happening in the market. We’re going to say, “Clean clothes are a human right, and we want to make sure that we’re participating in that and we’re helping people be able to make that choice.” When you’re looking at a website or you’re standing at a retailer, we want folks to be able to choose the product that is better for the planet, and they can’t do that if we’re at a higher price point all the time.

How is Tru Earth helping those at a lower income or education level to better understand the plastic/human health connection and to say no to plastic packaging?

We have an in-school program that talks about ocean plastics, and why it’s important for us to turn the plastic tap off. And we’ve educated about 2,500 students in our Ocean Heroes program.

We also have a huge donation program. It’s really critical for us that we are providing laundry products to food banks and shelters, women’s programs, indigenous communities, and refugee centers, and in crisis situations like wars across the globe. It’s the number-two item requested by food banks across the nation. We also have a partnership with Feeding America. We just did quite a large deal with them, and we will have a recurring program with them. And so for certain parts of the country, when clients come in, we will have laundry detergent on their shelves all the time.

We just hit the 30-million loads mark. We’ve given 30 million loads of laundry away since the pandemic began in the early part March of 2020. It’s an amazing number, and it’s first-quality product. We’re not giving our damaged goods away. We’re not giving what is ripped or torn or broken. We are giving first-quality product, which is important. If you are suffering from poverty, you have every right to make sure that your family has clean clothes. That’s a key part of our strategy.

See related article, “Tru Earth’s Detergent Strips Eliminate the Weight of Water.”

We recently did a survey with some of our donation partners asking them, “What is it that you need?” They responded that they need more environmentally friendly products because customers get a taste of this with the laundry detergent, and they come back and say, “What else have you got?”

Donations also include an education piece, because we’re providing education for the folks that are running these programs, especially when it’s ending up in a food hamper. When it comes to our product, without the education around it, it’s hard for folks to recognize that it’s laundry detergent. So we’re very thankful to all the people who are operating these food banks and shelters and programs, because they’re on board, and they understand, and they are helping to educate consumers that there really is a better way.

I also found it interesting that women seemed more willing to actively try to avoid all single-use and short-lived plastics than men (63% vs. 54%). Why do you think that is?

I think it’s because the mass majority of purchase decisions that are made in the home are still made by women. They’re not always doing the purchasing. I, for one, make the grocery list, and my husband goes out and does the grocery shopping, but I’m very specific. But I think it’s true, right? Women are still making the purchase decisions. So women are still our target demographic. We know that they are the ones who are going to make those changes in the home.

I don’t think it’s that men are unwilling, I think they’re just not in that position to make that choice. So I wouldn’t want to skew that result to say that men don’t care, or men care less, or men aren’t willing to make that change. I do think they are willing.

And also, the question was, “actively try to avoid,” right? If I have the choice between one or two, I’m actively going to say no to the product in the plastic container and yes to the glass container, for example. So I think that “actively try to avoid” is key in that interview question.

I’m kind of surprised the number isn’t higher, actually, because in many surveys, the number of people who say, “Yes, I would buy a particular product if I knew that it was in more environmentally friendly packaging,” is really high, but that doesn’t actually show up in the store environment because of the cost. But people seem to be willing, if cost wasn’t a factor.

I also think it’s a complicated and busy aisle. If you haven’t been in a laundry or household cleaning products aisle in a while, it’s really hard to find the environmentally friendly products. Many times they’re in a specialty section, which we actually know doesn’t work. People don’t actively go to that section. They’re choosing amongst what we’re calling “big laundry.” So if we’re not at least in the offering with big laundry, we’re never going to have a chance at the game.

Read about a new online platform from A Plastic Planet that educates designers on plastic-free solutions.

What that means for us, again, is education at point of purchase. But it’s tricky. We have a really small product size, so if you put this on the shelf, versus plastic, plastic, plastic, plastic, plastic, it’s really hard to see. And so, we’re negotiating. We’re having conversations with retailers such as, “What would it mean to put the environmentally friendly packaging at eye level?” What would it mean to offer us seven SKUs, so there’s a section within big laundry for it actually to be able to stand out, as opposed to just one SKU, which might get dwarfed by the rest of the plastic?”

Were there other things in addition to what we’ve already discussed that really surprised you in terms of the responses?

I might’ve been slightly surprised, and maybe even encouraged, that the gap between the different regions across the country was not more significant. I really expected the West Coast to be way ahead of the Central part when it came to being aware of the connection between plastic and human health (74% vs. 66%). I really thought that the West Coast might’ve been more like 90%. And so, there weren’t the discrepancies across the country that I would have expected.

So I’m super happy about that, that it isn’t just one particular state that is raising the flag for being environmentally friendly, or really driving this movement forward. I think especially in the Midwest. I thought the Midwest would be far less, and it wasn’t.

So what do you plan to do with this information now that you have it, in terms of your strategy moving forward?

For us, it validated some of the things that we did know that we are going to lean into. And I think what we know to be true now is that folks really are concerned about the connection between single-use plastic and human health, and that, while there is some understanding about microplastics and the effect on people’s lives, there isn’t enough. And so, we need to amp up our education, we need to amp up our messaging, and we need to continue to amp up our donations program.

We also have to continue to educate our customers, our #TruChangeMakers, because we know they’re already willing, and we can offer them more products to do their part. It’s tool we’re going to be able to use to continue to tell the story and help people understand the impact this is having on their lives and help people make that choice.

For me, it’s at that point when the product is empty. So, when you’re standing in your kitchen, or in your bathroom, or in your laundry room and say, “I’m out of this product, maybe now I can make the change.” Because we don’t want folks throwing product out. We want them at the point of empty to be able to begin to make that change. And how do we give them the tools to educate that this particular change will not have the impact that a plastic would have on your own personal human health? I believe that’s how we’re going to break through to folks.

We’ve been trying and talking about eradicating plastics from oceans, and our partnership with Ocean Wise is doing some really good work in cleaning up shorelines across the country. But that’s not enough for folks, until we’re able to bring it home. And the thing that most folks are worried about right now is our health, the health of their families.

Anita Spiller, Director of ESG for Tru EarthI think the other thing the survey might help us do is to continue to innovate our products. It will help us keep our nose to the grindstone about ensuring that our ingredients are healthy for the planet and good for people’s human health. We have always thought that, but as we try to transition away from all of the things that are bad for us, it will keep us on the straight and narrow, keep us on the path we know is important for consumers. And I believe one small step for a lot of people can have a really big impact, and that’s all we’re trying to do, is just one small choice, one small step. We’ve got a long way to go, but we need everyone to work together.  PW