Eco-Heroes: An Interview with Laura Harnett, Founder of Seep

The Scoop is a new content series from Beagle designed to give bite-sized business insights from people who have built successful organisations that put people and planet first. ??

This week we've invited founder Laura Harnett from Seep to share how they’re revolutionising household essentials via their mission to clean up the way we clean up.

??Seep is a Beagle Eco-Hero. The Eco-Heroes program provides a platform for brands who are dedicated to transparency, and place people and planet at the heart of what they do. If you think your brand could be an Eco-Hero then get in touch with us here:

Let's dive in and see what insights Laura has for us!

How do you communicate Seep's mission effectively with everyone? What messages resonate the most with your audience?

"At Seep we want to stop 1 billion plastic cleaning tools from entering landfill by 2030, so all our messaging revolves around this one mission. Through customer research, we've found that the main reason people purchase our products is because they're plastic-free, yet we often find that customers don't realise that the kitchen sponge they're using at home is made from plastic, or that the bobbly bits on the top of used sponges release microplastics that can end up in our waterways."

"So, we usually introduce our brand to customers by educating them on plastics in their kitchen and how they can be harmful to the planet. We are also transparent about where and how our products are sourced, and how to dispose of our products; this is communicated through our clear and fresh packaging, and on our website. And if customers still have questions, our customer support and product development experts work closely together to get you the answer."

What positive impact has your brand had?

"This year we became the first cleaning accessories B Corp and Best For The World B Corp, as we scored in the top 5% for our environmental impact. We've saved over 300 tonnes of carbon through our partnership with ON A MISSION, and stopped 318,187 plastic cleaning products from going into landfill last year. With grant support we also undertook R&D on new cloth materials, pushing the boundaries of existing textiles, and we have more product development plans in the pipeline which we're really excited about."

What charitable causes do you support and why?

"Seep sponges are responsible for 18% less emissions than a typical green and yellow plastic sponge - a truly huge difference for a product that provides equal performance and longevity. However, we weren’t satisfied with 18% less emissions, after all, our mission is to have zero harm on the planet. So, for the second year running, we've partnered with ON A MISSION to offset our carbon emissions 3.5 times over - making us not just carbon neutral but carbon negative."

"ON A MISSION invests heavily, both financially and thoughtfully, in their reforestation process to ensure it generates the largest positive impact, not only with the company whose emissions they are offsetting, but with the local community and biological ecosystem. We have chosen this charity specifically because they ensure equal opportunity with local project operators, guarantee a fair wage to employees, and require transparent financial reporting to mitigate corruption. "

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