The British firm Smol was founded in 2018 by Nick and Paula, two former Unilever workers. With a net value of £4.6 million in 2020, Smol is classified as a small business.
The owners intended to sell directly to customers in order to reduce the price of washing goods.
Smol asserts that its products contain fewer chemicals than popular brands. They do not utilize ambiguous terms such as “free of nasties” or claim to be “chemical-free.”
Smol also claims that its products are eco-friendly, but neither EU Ecocert nor any other green certification organization has validated this claim.
Do They Use Chemicals?
Smol takes pleasure in producing cleaning solutions with eco-friendly packaging. You can also easily recycle them.
Additionally, some of their product bottles are returnable to the manufacturer. Thus, they can be sanitized and reused for future Smol product deliveries.
However, many individuals are concerned about the composition of Smol products. Utilize the chemicals?
Chemicals are utilized in the manufacturing of Smol items. In actuality, a range of chemicals is employed to formulate their cleaning products.
Smol claims that certain of its products employ fewer chemicals than those produced by typical producers. However, we cannot deny that all of their cleaning products include chemicals.
What chemical compounds do their products contain? Discover below.
The following compounds are used in Smol’s cleaning products. Surfactants that are non-ionic, anionic, enzymes, phosphonates, and optical brighteners.
Phenoxyethanol, perfume, bleaching agents derived from polycarboxylates, oxygen, preservatives such as dodecylguanidine monohydrochloride, cationic surfactants, sodium benzoate, ethanol, triethanolamine, and carbomer.
Ingredients
Ingredients can be derived from either ‘natural’ plant sources or “petrochemical” sources.
However, “natural” does not always imply sustainability. Palm oil is a prime example of an environmentally hazardous natural substance.
It was evident from Smol’s honesty that their products contain synthetic chemicals and petroleum derivatives.
The major components of their laundry detergent are the same surfactants used by large enterprises, which are not environmentally friendly.
The list also has liquid polymers, like “acrylic copolymer,” which is considered a microplastic.
When inquired about their usage of synthetic substances, the following was their response: “We do use some synthetic compounds, but at a significantly lower concentration than the main brands.”
We wish to provide an option that is environmentally friendly while still delivering the same performance as Persil and Ariel. Independent testing against industry standards has confirmed that this is the case.
Do They Use Palm Oil?
First-time user of Smol cleaning products? Then you are probably curious about the components of their products.
Therefore, many first-time consumers inquire whether Smol contains palm oil. But Smol goods do not contain palm oil. However, its goods, such as glycerin, are derived from palm oil.
Why is palm oil problematic? Palm oil is a major contributor to deforestation. It causes issues in some of the world’s most biodiverse forests.
This is why many environmentally conscious households avoid purchasing products that use palm oil.
This is a responsible and environmentally beneficial method of shopping.
Thankfully, Smol does not utilize palm oil. In addition, their palm oil-derived products, such as glycerin, are RSPO-certified. What does this mean? It indicates that the palm oil used in the products is produced in a sustainable manner.
The glycerin in Smol’s products does not harm the environment or our society.
It is important to note, however, that glycerin is not exclusively derived from palm oil. It is also composed of coconut and soy.
Glycerin derived from coconut or soy is more environmentally friendly than glycerin derived from palm oil.
Eco-Friendly Packaging?
The packaging for Smol’s products is either a recycled plastic bottle or a cardboard box.
The cardboard is new and not recycled, but it is FSC-certified. I was unable to uncover any additional information regarding the origin of the boxes, and their logo does not indicate whether they use FSC Mix or FSC 100.
I prefer not to rely solely on the FSC as proof of sustainability because there are many complaints about its lack of transparency and inability to manage trees effectively (deforestation has not decreased).
Their multifunctional spray and fabric softener bottles are created entirely from recycled plastic bottles. Using resources that already exist is much better for the environment, and there is more than enough plastic to go around.
Since Smol’s fabric softener is a concentrated liquid, the plastic bottles must be returned to Smol to be recycled. The consumer keeps the yellow component and pumps for reuse each time, reducing waste.
Emission Of Carbon
I was unable to locate information about how Smol transports its pods, particularly the methods used, although it will cause significantly fewer emissions to transport lightweight, concentrated pods than to transport large bottles of liquid or powder.
In addition, I was unable to locate particular information regarding Smol’s carbon emissions; however, Smol utilized an independent sustainability consultancy to analyze its carbon footprint throughout the product lifecycle.
By switching from a mainstream, unethical brand to Smol’s dishwasher pills, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 46%, and by 35% if you switch to their laundry capsules.
“You may not realize that 70% of a laundry capsule’s carbon footprint is caused by how that capsule is used in the home.” If we only bought Smol’s capsules instead of its standard product, it would have a 35% smaller carbon footprint.
Conclusion
Smol promises to manufacture environmentally friendly items. If you are considering switching to Smol for your cleaning requirements, you may be curious about how environmentally friendly their products are.
As seen in this essay, Smol products are environmentally beneficial. Their paper packaging is constructed from an FSC-certified board.
Their plastic bottles and packaging are produced from recycled plastic, which gives them a faint gray hue.
They are also 100 percent recyclable, letting you use fantastic cleaning supplies while helping the environment.
