The 3 things Tidy is looking to prove

As I've written about many times; the goal of Tidy is to reduce the number of shampoo bottles that men throw out in the UK each year from an estimated 64,000,000 to 0.

To make that happen men across the UK need to be convinced to lose their bottle and embrace using solid shampoo.

To increase the chances of that happening the world's big shampoo makers need to be convinced to stop making, promoting and selling liquid shampoos. Or to at least offer their version of solid shampoos as alternatives in the men’s market.

That's a big ask for an industry that's making an estimated £144,000,000+ a year in the UK from their current products and way of operating. Convincing any industry to change is hard. Especially one that’s making money.

When I first started thinking about this I asked myself a question: how might we be able to convince those mega-corps to change their ways given their current product and business model works well for them, despite it's negative impact on the environment?

My answer was Tidy.

I believe that by proving three key things using the Tidy brand, it might just be possible to show the big players in the market that there is a viable, profitable, more environmentally friendly way to sell shampoo. Those three key things are:

First: prove that you can make and supply a best in class product that is eco-friendly from cradle to grave.

Second: prove that there is a demand for such a product. Prove men will buy solid shampoo.

Finally: prove that sustainability isn't just about being green, it's good business too and that it can be profitable.

I believe the best way to convince people of something is to show them. Tidy is an attempt to show the established shampoo brands of the world that there is a market for a better product, an alternative to liquid shampoos.

It's a work in progress, but progress is being made.

On the first objective: the current Tidy solid shampoo is vastly more eco-friendly from cradle to grave than the majority of big brand liquid shampoos. Making our men's solid shampoo uses less water, fewer chemicals, zero plastics, zero palm oil. All our ingredients are organic. Our packaging is recycled and biodegradable. Even the printed labels we use are made with paper and ink that can be composted or recycled.

Our distribution is greener than the big corp's too. Our bars are posted via Royal Mail so there are no extra courier or delivery vans clogging up our streets, pumping out fumes and disrupting traffic.

And it's a really great shampoo. Does it work for everyone who tries it? No. Unfortunately no one shampoo will work for everyone. But it does work for the majority who have tried it and as Tidy (hopefully!) grows the plan is to expand the range to offer solid shampoos that work for the widest possible range of people.

On the second objective: we have proven that men will buy and use solid shampoo. Many of our customers prefer solid shampoos over liquids. But not enough men have made the switch yet. Not enough for the mega-corps to take note for the moment. Work in progress.

Finally there's a lot of work still to be done on the sustainable business side of things. Tidy is self funding, and every bar sold is profitable. But growing any business is hard and there's a long way to go before Tidy is the money making machine that would attract the attention of big established players in the shampoo and cosmetics market.

If I can prove there's demand for great, eco-friendly men's solid shampoo, and that meeting that demand is profitable, I believe those companies may start to take an interest in this space.

And that would be great for everyone.

That would be Tidy 😉