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Gwen Whiting thought she was done with the laundry room. She having co-founded the fabric care brand eco-luxe the washing woman in 2004, he sold the company to Unilever for $100 million in 2019. After working for 15 years on “a never-ending startup” and expanding the offering to 85 products, he was very happy to take a break. For a moment.
This month finds Whiting again in the utility room with The filling, a new line of aromatherapy and plant-derived cleaning products that she hopes will pick up where her first brand left off. “A brand should be green, efficient and focused on wellness,” he says of the new effort. Things have changed since 2004.
Arguably there is something deeper at play too. In December 2022, Unilever was forced to recall eight million bottles of The Laundress, citing “the possible presence of elevated levels of bacteria in some of our products which present a safety concern.” It was a serious blow to the reputation of a brand whose followers – including celebrities like John Mayer – had been almost something of a cult.
With The Fill, Whiting plans to win back the market. “I spent 20 years of my life dedicated to clean clothes and the community we built, and I felt like I let my customers down. [when we sold]So I’m back,” he says.
Whiting is speaking in her luxurious duplex on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a sister pied-à-terre to the Bridgehampton home she shares with her husband. she looks the other way The Frick Collection. The walls mix abstract collages by the Welsh artist. Huh Griffith with finds from Florentine flea markets; the wallpaper is by Gournay and the urns are decorated with lush displays of ferns. She is Edith Wharton with contemporary poise, not unlike Whiting herself.
Starting with 16 products, The Fill was inspired by both Whiting’s obsession with pristine countertops and clean cashmere, as well as her own emotional needs. “During The Laundress years I suffered from anxiety, sciatica… you name it,” he says. “I did annual wellness retreats to rebuild, in Korea, Japan, Thailand and Denmark. When I thought about my next chapter, I knew wellness had to be an important component.” To that end, The Fill has eschewed perfumes that would normally be incorporated into the product and replaced them with healing essential oils. Whiting says: “Juniper berry to refresh and purify, peppermint for stimulation, lavender to calm, tea tree for its revitalizing qualities – these natural oil-infused formulations are designed to better cleanse and give you a wellness experience at the same time.” .
It may seem far-fetched to think that cleaning the kitchen could be a path to well-being, but the beneficial power of aroma at least has some scientific basis. “Odor affects a person’s social life, work life, intimate life, everything; it’s connected to memory, emotions and learning, analytical understanding and more,” says Rachel Herz, a neuroscientist at Brown University. who specializes in the science of smell. “When it comes to household cleaning products, smell is also associated with effectiveness. People use smell as a signal that “this is clean” (floor cleaner, laundry detergent), etc. I wrote an article titled Proustian products are preferred “which explores how if a scent is meaningful to a person, they will believe it is more functional.”
“I believe in ‘function and formulation,'” says Whiting, “which means that the function of the product is formulated for the exact purpose, whether it’s washing wool garments or cleaning glass surfaces.” The Fill launch collection contains The Detergent Day and Night, The Woollens, The Glass, The Bleach, The Wrinkles and The Vinegar. Each comes in refillable bags ($32 to $40) that can be decanted into bottles. “No packaging is ideal, but flexible, refillable bags are the lesser of two evils,” Whiting says of her containers, which require 60 percent less plastic than bottle alternatives and leave a lighter environmental footprint for the consumer. transport.
Having built a global brand that required constant travel, Whiting is structuring its distribution differently. The Fill will be direct-to-consumer and marketed as a “membership-based model”: no stores, no Amazon. “I want to reconnect with my like-minded community,” he says. “I answered all the clients’ emails myself and I want to have that intimate connection again. “This smaller model can handle that.”
Whiting is confident in his timing. Consumers are more aware of the use of synthetic chemicals, perfumes and harsh solvents in cleaning products and are looking for natural alternatives, often with refillable or biodegradable packaging. The global natural cleaning products market is projected to grow from $6.3 billion in 2023 to around $15.5 billion in 2032.
In the US, where The Fill launches first (with expansion plans in the works), brands like seventh generation, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and ECHOES are proliferating, while the big players – Palmolive, Henkel and even Clorox – are launching greener (more) alternatives and recyclable containers. “The data is clear: consumers want brands that push the boundaries of green,” says Afdhel Aziz, co-founder of love conspiracy, a global consultancy focused on sustainable and inclusive growth for companies like The Gap and Sephora. “It is driven by a growing awareness of the impact of the toxicity of our products and the effects they have on our bodies and the planet. “Large companies see the disruptors in this space and are investing heavily to improve their offerings or are acquiring the disruptors directly.”
“Members” of The Fill, as Whiting calls her customers, can sign up as a Founding Member ($150 per year), which includes free product shipping and access to a Cleaning Concierge service, or The Fill Member ($40 per year). year), which comes with access to the Cleaning Concierge and community content.
“I figure if I can give someone a little kick in the step, why not?” she says. Plus, her brand is as inclusive as they come. “My client is a marketing anomaly; from twenty-somethings to 70 years old. At the end of the day, everyone has dirty laundry.”