Method Laundry - The Evolution of Laundry Detergent
Method has just taken the wraps off their next generation of laundry detergent, a patent pending highly concentrated formula, 50 loads in one small bottle:
"Big news, people against dirty! a new laundry day is dawning. we’re thrilled to introduce you to the world’s smartest laundry detergent: method laundry detergent with smartclean technology™. this revolutionary new detergent is powered by a patent-pending formula in a custom-designed pump bottle that will transform laundry as we know it. there’s no time like a new year and a new decade to say out with the big ol’ jug, and in with the new."
Drummond Lawson, Method's Director of Sustainability explains some of the eco benefits of the new Method Laundry:
"The biggest problem is that the majority of the liquid in regular 2x detergent isn’t actually detergent. it’s water. which is a pretty silly thing to buy and carry around and pour into a washing machine. in fact, we think they should all change their name to ‘detergent infused water’. the consequence of all this detergent-infused water is that each year, tons and tons of excess plastic bottling and millions of gallons of water are shipped around the country, taking up space, wasting fuel, and making laundry into one heavy, drippy headache.
We thought there had to be a smarter way, and sure enough, our green chefs found the key. they designed a high-powered, plant-based detergent to contain only the water needed to hold it all together, which means it is 4 times more concentrated than the plain old 2x stuff. it’s so revolutionary, we are patenting this formula and are calling it smartclean technology. the result is that load-for-load, method laundry with smartclean technology uses 70% less plastic than the jugs, takes out all that excess water, and gets cleaning power into a handy, lightweight pump bottle.
We also knew that the hard-to-read caps on laundry jugs mean most people unknowingly use far more detergent than they really need to, and worse yet, that the excess detergent doesn’t make clothes any cleaner, it just washes down the drain and out into the world. so we tried an array of designs, and found that making an easy-to-use, no drip pump solved both the overdosing and the blue-tinted mess. given how concentrated this detergent is, all you need is just a little amount – ¼ the dose of the leading national brand – so a pump also makes it easy to exactly measure out what you need. no guess work or eye-balling!"
Method's industrial designer Josh Handy discusses the evolution of the packaging:
"Hey people against dirty, i am method’s industrial designer which means i am responsible for the design of our bottles. i start by taking pen to paper before i move to the computer. take a look at some of the early drawings for the method laundry bottle. who knew these chicken scratches would lead to such a great product? me, that’s who!"
"In this sketch i started exploring the ways we could use an existing pump and change it so that it met our usability and durability requirements."
"In this sketch i was thinking about the need for a cap to prevent accidental dispensing in transit, but in the interest of reducing packaging, and ease of use, we decided to do away with the idea and pursue a lockable pump actuator.
"in this sketch i was thinking about the need for a cap to prevent accidental dispensing in transit, but in the interest of reducing packaging, and ease of use, we decided to do away with the idea and pursue a lockable pump actuator."
"Combining all these sketched together this was the initial concept rendering for the packaging. We are all excited to get this product into your hands! learn more here www.methodlaundry.com."
Via Method Products
5 Comments | Posted on Sunday, January 17, 2010 
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