Letter Asking for Plastic-Free Laundry Detergent
Week 29
This week, I was overwhelmed by the negative environmental impact of my laundry routine. In order to shrink my laundry waste, I switched to a sustainable detergent and made reusable wool dryer balls from an old sweater. However, there are still a whole lot of plastic detergent bottles that end up in landfills. An estimated 1 billion plastic detergent bottles are discarded in the United States every year.
I've decided that this week's letter should go to Seventh Generation, a company already comitted to sustainability. Their detergent is much better for the planet than other leading brands, but everything still comes in plastic packaging. Please feel free to use this as a template to write your own letter asking for plastic-free detergent.
Good afternoon,
I have been a costumer in the film industry for over a decade and have used Seventh Generation laundry detergent on nearly every project I've worked on. Your unscented detergent is ideal for sensitive skin and we are always trying to be as green as possible. This year, I've set a personal goal to reduce my carbon footprint by gradually eliminating my household waste. This week, I'm tackling laundry detergent and I'm writing because as much as I love your commitment to sustainability, I've realized that everything still comes in plastic packaging.
I know that Seventh Generation uses PCR plastics for your packaging and I realize that your bottles are 100% recyclable. However, that feels like a temporary solution, since only 8% of plastics are actually recycled. The rest end up in landfills, where they will take hundreds of years to decompose, or in our waterways, where they break down into microplastics that cause 100,000 marine animal deaths every year. In fact, it’s estimated that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Not to mention the manufacturing of plastic uses oil and causes pollution.
I’m aware that nothing can happen overnight, but at least working towards eliminating plastics would be a huge step in the right direction. Perhaps you could look into packaging your products in refillable aluminum or glass bottles. You might also consider moving towards laundry powders that can be sold in paperboard containers.
It's no secret that plastics have become increasingly problematic and our earth is suffering from the exorbitant amount of waste produced by humans. More and more people are becoming aware of these issues and working towards a brighter, cleaner future for the next generation. Your consumers are likely already aware of how important environmental conservation is and I'm sure they would be thrilled to see Seventh Generation take such a strong approach to reducing waste and protecting our planet.
Thank you for your time,
Ali Hall