Interview with the Founder: How the lack of allergy-safe laundry detergent sparked the idea for Ecoegg
Finding the right laundry product that doesn’t aggravate your sensitive skin can be a challenge. In more recent years the laundry industry has come leaps and bounds to cater to people who suffer with skin allergies. We’re now seeing the rise of hypoallergenic and eco-friendly laundry detergents, but it wasn’t always as easy as popping to your local shop to pick one up.
Ecoegg was born due to the lack of skin safe laundry products on the market. Our founder Dawn created Ecoegg after her own struggles with eczema. We caught up with Dawn to share a bit more about her story and the story of Ecoegg.
Can you share your personal experience with eczema and how it influenced your decision to create Ecoegg?
My eczema started in my early teens which was possibly at the worst age! I was self-conscious enough, my eczema greatly impacted my teenage insecurities. I played a lot of sport and it was soon after playing that my eczema would flare-up. I later realised that when sweating my pores were opening and absorbing the chemical detergent residue left in my sports clothes aggravating my eczema.
Same for sleeping, particularly from my pillowcase, this greatly affected the skin on my face. I always thought it was my hair products or face creams causing the issues, again I later realised it was the laundry detergent residue on my pillowcase, particularly with detergents that contain strong fragrances.
What was the turning point when you realised there was a real gap in the market for allergy-friendly laundry products?
When I made this connection in my early 20’s after moving into my own place, becoming fully responsible for all of my washing and cleaning. When shopping around, I soon realised there was nothing on the market that suited my skin and nothing at all at the time that didn’t contain a strong fragrance. It’s the fragrances that affect my skin the most (something I also learnt through trial and error!)
What was the biggest challenge in developing a laundry product that’s both eco-friendly and suitable for sensitive skin?
Making it affordable. I wanted everyone who suffers from sensitive skin and for those who care about what they put on their skin and their baby’s delicate skin to be able to afford the Ecoegg Laundry Detergent Egg.
The big players such as P&G and Unilever that rule the laundry detergent isles in the supermarkets, produce their products on mass, so they can keep their price point down. For new smaller, often eco companies we can’t produce on such mass scale so our production costs are much higher, so it’s a great challenge trying to create a decent eco product that is also low irritant and low allergen, that people can afford.
Were there any surprising things you learned about conventional laundry detergents during your research?
Yes! Back in 2008 when I first started to develop the product and pay attention to all ingredients listed on the back of pack, it was quite scary to see some of the ingredients included that we basically have against our skin 24 hours a day, every day! Also, the hazardous warnings written on pack that come with these ingredients.
I also learned that a lot of products on the market suggest overdosing with the amount of laundry detergent that’s actually required, this detergent is simply being washed away in our machines, creating unnecessary pollutants at an unnecessary cost to the consumer.
How did you test the Ecoegg Laundry Detergent Egg to ensure it was safe for people with allergies and skin conditions like eczema?
When first developing the Laundry Detergent Egg, I had the national eczema society and Allergy UK test the products. I also sent out to focus groups of consumers (and their children) who suffered from, eczema, psoriasis and other sensitive skin conditions.
All results came back as excellent for sensitive skin. We now also test with a leading test-house in Europe, for an official Dermatest stamp of approval. We have all products tested on highly sensitive skin subjects and all Ecoegg products have been awarded the ‘excellent for sensitive skin’ stamp of approval. This is very important to us, so consumers can rest assured our products are safe.
Can you walk us through how the Ecoegg Laundry Detergent Egg works, especially for those who are new to Ecoegg?
It’s very simple to use, initially you buy a pack of detergent that comes with a Laundry Egg case, you then open the case, fill with the packs of detergent pellets, close the case (it’s designed with a simple secure click lock). Then place it in your laundry machine on top of you washing (leaving enough space for the egg case to move around) and voila!
We recommend that you detox your machine with our Detox Tablets ahead of using an Ecoegg Laundry Detergent Egg for the first time. As there can often be a build-up of residue and odours in the pipes of your machine that other stronger smelling detergents will have been masking. Ecoegg have developed their own powerful Detox Tablets which have won many awards.
Then all you need to do going forward is simply refill the egg case every 70 washes (varies slightly depending on cycle length and temp) we now have Bio and Non-Bio detergent refills in a range of lovely allergen free fragrances, or for particularly sensitive skin we have fragrance free refills. The refillable Egg case comes with a 10-year warranty.
What would you say to sceptics who think products like Ecoegg can’t clean as effectively as traditional detergent?
Firstly, I would ask if they have tried it? Secondly, I would state that the majority of our washing isn’t stained, it just needs a refresh, so it doesn’t require hard duty chemicals to only refresh clothes and bedding.
The Ecoegg Laundry Detergent Egg is as effective as it needs to be to wash our clothes. It doesn’t use unnecessary overdosing or unnecessary chemicals and irritating fragrances. It’s key to remember that a strong fragrance doesn’t mean our clothes are any cleaner.
How has the eczema or allergy community responded to Ecoegg? Any memorable stories from customers?
We have received a fantastic response over the years, particularly from parents sending in before and after photos of their kid’s skin showing the improvement to their eczema after switching to using the Ecoegg Laundry Detergent Egg. We always love to receive this news.
Being a sustainable and eco-friendly brand, helping to reduce water pollution without any form of plastic in our ingredients is extremely important to us, but personally helping someone with their often debilitating skin problems, is a whole different level of work satisfaction and keeps driving us all forward in this continuously tough laundry detergent sector!
Did you ever imagine your personal health journey would lead to helping so many others?
No never, it only began as something I was researching into for myself. The passion for developing this came from me personally knowing the need for this product.
What are you most excited about in the next chapter of Ecoegg’s journey?
Going forward we can proudly stand by our products. There are new eco laundry products now available that are a more suitable reduced dosage, but they claim to be kind to the planet and to skin yet contain plastics such as pvoh and pva.
I am excited that we can still claim to be 100% plastic free in our ingredients and we are developing a range of exciting new products that will follow suit, so watch this space!
