By Jan
Wels, Managing Director at Soapworks
COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Summit, was held in our home city of Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021. The summit brought countries from across the world together, to help accelerate the actions needed to tackle climate change. Taking advantage of the arrival of the Colombia delegation, we had the honor of having the Colombia president, Ivan Duque, visit our facilities and inaugurate our new bar soap manufacturing lines together with our CEO, Manuel Julian Davila.
Every year, UK households use 13 billion plastic bottles, with a percentage of those being used for toiletries and personal care products. 5.5 billion of these bottles are not recycled and are instead littered, landfilled or incinerated, which has a devastating impact on natural habitats and human well-being.
At Soapworks, we believe that going ‘back to bar’ provides the sustainable solution. By switching from liquid handwash, facial cleansers and shampoos to bar soap, facial cleansing bars, and solid format haircare, we can eliminate the need for unnecessary disposable plastic bottles.
Consumer demand for more eco-friendly products is continuing to grow and the market for personal care products is also on the rise. Euromonitor predicts that the global market value for soap, bath and shower products will grow to £40.3bn in 2022 – up 1.9% year over year. Discussions around sustainability are gaining momentum, and consumers are now actively looking to choose products which are both efficacious and kinder to the planet.
Soapworks is well positioned to capitalise on the growing market for solid format personal care. Thanks to the DAABON Group's support, we have made significant investments in new cutting-edge plant machinery at our Glasgow facility. This includes the acquisition of a brand-new synthetic bar production line for facial cleansing bars and solid-format hair care, as well as the purchase of an industry-leading pilot innovation line for NPD and investment in new cartoning and paper wrapping lines to provide customers with 100% plastic-free alternatives.
2022 promises to be a very exciting year at Soapworks and we look forward to working in partnership with Daabon to become a globally recognised manufacturer of high quality, sustainable and creative personal care products from soil to market.
To celebrate COP26, Soapworks launched a signature ‘Coastal Shores’ Body Bar to help promote the sustainability benefits of solid format personal care.
We have made significant investments in cutting-edge new plant machinery at our Glasgow facility thanks to the Daabon Group's support.