LAUNDRY STARTUP OXWASH PARTNERS WITH VANISH TO TACKLE ‘UNACCEPTABLE CLOTHING WASTE’ TOGETHER
Laundry startup Oxwash partners with Reckitt’s Vanish brand to tackle ‘unacceptable clothing waste’ together.
London, 23 April 2021: Space-age laundry and dry-cleaning startup, Oxwash today announces a new strategic partnership between Reckitt’s brand Vanish. The ‘Oxwash, powered by Vanish’ partnership will see Oxwash use the new Vanish sustainable formula - Vanish 0% - in its London state-of-the-art washing facilities, also known as lagoons, to help give old clothes a new life, preventing tonnes of clothes from ending up in landfill.
Nine out of ten pieces of clothing end up in landfill long before they should and up to 70% of clothing waste is preventable with better care habits. Both Oxwash and Vanish are on a mission to help clothes live longer by ending irresponsible washing and encouraging a circular economy.
In the UK, we buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe, with a million tonnes of textiles discarded every year. Each week, Oxwash aims to save 600kg of clothes from landfill, 12t of CO2 and 3200L of water by re-engineering the laundry process from the ground up*.
Oxwash’s washing technology, cleaning methods, and door-to-door laundry service via electric cargo bikes are all driving towards net zero carbon emissions, significantly reducing the environmental impact of traditional laundry processes. The eco-chemistry of the Vanish 0% formula ensures stain removal, colour brightness and whiter whites from the first wash, with only the essential ingredients. It contains no fragrance, dyes, phosphates or optical brighteners, reducing the impact it has on the environment.
Oxwash was launched in 2017 by ex-NASA scientist and Forbes Europe’s 30 under 30 alumni, Dr Kyle Grant and Oxford engineer Tom De Wilton. With no-contact delivery and scientifically proven high levels of disinfection, Oxwash was chosen to sterilise items used during the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine trial, as well as to support the NHS frontline.
Kyle Grant, CEO and Co-founder at Oxwash, said: “Cleaning clothes sustainably is incredibly hard, as the cheap and easy fix is always ‘more chemicals’. Reckitt’s commitment to investing in better solutions helps make a different reality possible and we’re already dreaming up more big ideas with Vanish that could change the whole game.”
Oxwash is currently expanding its partnerships within the fashion community, recently becoming the official laundry partner of fashion rental platforms Hurr, Thrift+, and ByRotation, as well as Save Your Wardrobe - the digital platform promoting a sustainable fashion future.
Reckitt first partnered with Oxwash in 2020 when the startup entered its accelerator programme powered by Founders Factory. Reckitt’s backing has provided Oxwash with access to its research & development, consumer insights and marketing expertise, helping it become the new leader in sustainable laundry.
Paola Arbelaez, Global Category Director at Vanish, commented: “Our mission is to extend the lifespan of clothes and prevent them from ending up in landfill before their time. By teaming up with Oxwash, we’ve been able to help our customers give their clothes new lives while washing responsibly. It’s become obvious that the current consumer wave of conscious and responsible laundering is here to stay and growing quickly. Through this partnership, we hope to enhance the Oxwash model and continue sharing our deep expertise in cleaning science, consumer understanding and sustainability to further impact the laundry and circular fashion space.”
Oxwash has raised a total of £1.75m in seed funding from Reckitt and other investors to support its launch in London and beyond. Oxwash is investing further into its proprietary technology platform that powers its logistics and washing facilities, as well as to cement its plans to expand internationally in the next 12-18 months.
About Oxwash
Oxwash is re-engineering the laundry process from the ground up to be the first truly sustainable, on-demand laundry company in the world. Founded by Kyle Grant, a former NASA engineer, Oxwash is developing processes to have zero net carbon emissions for the whole laundry process - from collection to washing to return.
*Each week, Oxwash aims to save 600kg of clothes from landfill, 12t of CO2 and 3200L of water by re-engineering the laundry process from the ground up by:
- Using water reclamation to reuse the water from a previous rinse cycle for the next wash cycle. This saves up to 60% of the water consumption versus a typical commercial washing machine and 70% compared to a domestic washing machine.
- Rapidly implementing microfibre filtration to capture more than 95% of all the fibres shed during washing. This process prevents plastic pollution of waterways and drinking water. One third of all ocean plastic is microfibres from clothes.
- Disinfection of washing is performed using ozone, biodegradable disinfectants (PAP) and quaternary ammonium compounds. Generated using renewable electricity and oxygen from the air we breathe, ozone is an extremely powerful disinfecting agent against many microorganisms.
- Automated dynamic dosing of biodegradable detergents prevents surplus chemical usage.
About Reckitt
Reckitt* exists to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We believe that access to the highest-quality hygiene, wellness and nourishment is a right, not a privilege. Reckitt is the company behind some of the world’s most recognisable and trusted consumer brands in hygiene, health and nutrition, including Air Wick, Calgon, Cillit Bang, Clearasil, Dettol, Durex, Enfamil, Finish, Gaviscon, Harpic, Lysol, Mortein, Mucinex, Nurofen, Nutramigen, Strepsils, Vanish, Veet, Woolite and more. Every day, more than 20 million Reckitt products are bought globally. We always put consumers and people first, seek out new opportunities, strive for excellence in all that we do and build shared success with all our partners. We aim to do the right thing, always. We are a diverse global team of more than 43,000 colleagues. We draw on our collective energy to meet our ambitions of purpose-led brands, a healthier planet and a fairer society. Find out more, or get in touch with us at www.reckitt.com
*Reckitt is the trading name of the Reckitt Benckiser group of companies