LONDON, ONT. -- They’re called One Tabs, a new take on cleaning products that reduce waste and space.
“For each package of four tabs we sell that’s four bottles that’s been reduced,” says Sarah Brooks, account manager at One Tabs.
The idea was a collaboration with partners in Europe, to take a product that was originally designed for commercial use and to bring it to the residential market.
“The timing, we felt, was right,” says Donald Hawken, president of One Tab. “Between the insurgence of the anti-plastic movement and the simplicity of moving a tablet that’s equal to a litre of water in weight and size and it just seemed to fit.”
And the product is very easy to use. All you need is an empty cleaning bottle and some water.
“You’re going to take a bottle you've already got, something like old packaging. Rinse it out and wash it really good,” says Brooks. “Then you’re going to fill it with warm water, 750 millilitres of warm water, drop in a tablet, wait about three minutes, shake it up and you’re ready to go.”
Not only do the One Tab products reduce plastic waste, they are also biodegradable and environmentally friendly.
There are seven products in the One Tab residential line and six in the industrial line. Tabs range from disinfectants to bathroom and kitchen cleaners, and even tabs that clean appliances, such as dishwashers and washing machines.
“We don’t add any fragrance to appliance cleaners. We don’t try to hide a smell, we aren’t trying to add a smell to hide another, we are trying to kill the bacteria that’s causing the smell inside your machine.”
The tabs are available online and at a handful of retail stores in the province.
The team hopes this is just the beginning of revolutionizing the way people clean.
“The concept is to utilize existing plastic,” says Hawken. “As you can see the technology is a paradigm shift for cleaning and the cleaning industry period.”
