Christopher Farrell

Sustainable hotel toiletries

‘FROM EDEN’ sustainable hotel toiletries, revitalize and rethink the norm of traditional hotel toiletries. Hotel toiletries (i.e., the small shampoo and conditioner bottles in hotel bathrooms) are not sustainable. They are the cause of massive amounts of plastics ending up in our landfills and oceans, with the largest hotel chain, Marriott Hotel group conceding that they send 500 million of these small toiletry bottles to landfills each year. In an effort to put an end to this, and to get ahead of incoming regulations prohibiting the use of these products, Marriott as well as some other chains have brought in more sustainable alternatives, the most common being a dispenser style system. However, many hotel guests have voiced their opinions of these new alternatives, many of whom are unhappy. The new systems incorporate bigger bottles in an ‘anti tamper’ unit being used for multiple guests, before being refilled or just thrown out. Many critiques have stated that these systems are unsanitary, take away from the luxury and individuality of the hotel experience, are not actually tamper proof and don’t make that much of an improvement for the environment.

The ‘FROM EDEN’ sustainables provide a completely circular alternative to traditional hotel toiletries. Not only this but unlike the new dispensers being brought in, their design is completely user centered and aims to retain the individuality and luxurious aspects of the hotel experience. It uses product concentrate which is mixed with water in the hotel itself, vastly reducing costs and emissions in transportation. The concentrate is transported in bulk to the hotels, and after the initial purchase, it is the only part that requires repeat purchase. This means the hotel sees an increased upfront cost, but overtime will find a much-reduced cost. The glass and stainless-steel parts are machine washable and are therefore fully reusable, meaning there is almost zero waste. As well as ensuring a completely fresh and unused product for each guest every time (something that is lacking in many competitors on the market), the product also offers freedom of choice as to what fragrances etc. they wish to use.

ClearWater

ClearWater is a handheld, quick, simple, and user-friendly water quality testing device for the presence of the main chemical contributors of a phenomenon known as Eutrophication. Large quantities of these chemicals, phosphates, nitrates, and sulphates, in water provide excess nutrients to the plant life within. As a result, algae overgrowth occurs at the surface of the water, causing countless issues including plant and animal death and increased water toxicity. The product was designed to fit the brief, “Design a plastic product for use in the natural world”, for the 2021 Design Innovation Plastics Competition. ClearWater was named runner-up in the competition.

ClearWater provides a solution to water quality testing that is far more efficient, accurate and intuitive than competing test methods. As well as providing a product that simplifies the entire process of testing for Eutrophication, it also offers a streamlined and user-friendly method of results taking, through the companion app, ClearWater-Report.

In current testing processes, a major pitfall lies within the results taking process, as they are not recorded to the necessary standard and acted upon. ClearWater-Report offers an immediate and visual, results recording platform, that emphasises the severity of the issue, tracks progress and promotes action. Unlike many competing products on the market, ClearWater is designed for use by anyone, both in a professional or domestic setting, such as rural homes where water treatment processes may not be as efficient.

ClearWater uses a three-barrel syringe mechanism to test for three main chemicals: Phosphate, Nitrate and Sulphate. The handle of the syringe is pulled back, bringing water into the three testing tubes. Various activator solutions are then added to each water sample. The product is then shaken to mix the samples and a colour change can be compared to the accompanying colour swatches. This then shows the parts per million of each chemical within the water.