Shampoo is overwhelmingly associated with plastic bottles. And soap comes in bars.

Because of this, environmentally-friendly shampoo bars have struggled to gain acceptance versus traditional liquid shampoos in plastic bottles. Especially in a country like the Philippines, where most people purchase their toiletries with little education on the impact of single-use plastics on the environment. And due to inadequate waste management, we are the third largest ocean polluter in the world. A terrifying statistic for a country located at the center of the marine ecosystem. Solid shampoo bars are a great and simple solution to this problem. But after 32 years of existence, most people still think it’s a bar of soap. It’s not appealing for consumers to use. Bottles for hair. Bars for body. So by changing its shape, maybe we can change consumer mindset.

We redesigned a shampoo bar into the shape of a bottle, to let more people know they don't need a plastic bottle to shampoo their hair. To get to The Dissolving Bottle, we went through various redesigns to 1) make it more intuitive 2) make it cost-effective and competitive and 3) ensure it performs just as well as a shampoo that leaves nothing behind. Using natural ingredients: Peppermint Oil (anti-microbial properties), Lavender Extract (stimulates hair growth), and Tea Tree (reduces dandruff and scalp irritation). A 3D-printable mold was developed for easy replication, along with a Dissolving Font to push education on sustainability. We partnered with an FDA-approved supplier to produce shampoos, and local communities to help make them. To encourage more people to switch, we created a trial size and marketed it as a “Dissolving Shampoo Bottle”. By simply redesigning a tried and tested product to make it more intuitive.

The Dissolving Bottle works just like any shampoo. It's easy to use, lather, wash with the added benefit of leaving no trace to the environment. It also provides 9x more showers than a liquid shampoo for the same weight. While retaining all the natural ingredients and benefits to healthy hair, that's also good for the environment. We marketed our 3 key variants as The Dissolving Bottle, to address various hair conditions: Lavender Oil for hair growth, Peppermint Oil for itchy scalp, and Tea Tree for dandruff control. 100% paraben and sulfate free, 100% plastic free. To get more people to switch to plastic-free shampoo and encourage more businesses to manufacture zero-waste toiletries, we made the design available for download on our website.

Since its launch, The Dissolving Bottle, a solid shampoo in the shape of a bottle, has struck a chord with consumers and entrepreneurs around the world. Sampling efforts led to an uptick on inquiries on the website, and downloads of the freely available 3D design have come from

countries as diverse as Brazil, India, Ireland, Singapore, The Philippines, the UAE, the UK, the United States, and Vietnam. Purchases of The Dissolving Bottle on the website, have also led us to scale up operations in an effort to produce more batches, and involve more local communities in making them. With consumers expressing such positive sentiments, the next step for The Dissolving Bottle is to target local shampoo manufacturers to make the switch, while also expanding our own product range.