{"id":93539,"date":"2025-04-17T13:33:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T17:33:08","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-04-17T13:33:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T17:33:47","slug":"this-canadian-company-is-reducing-plastic-pollution-one-laundry-cycle-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"rbc_my_money_matter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/business\/right-sized-business-advice\/commercial\/this-canadian-company-is-reducing-plastic-pollution-one-laundry-cycle-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"This Canadian Company is Reducing Plastic Pollution, One Laundry Cycle at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tru Earth\u2019s growth highlights the business potential of low-waste cleaning solutions. As consumers search for plastic-free packaging, companies are finding new opportunities for innovation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plastic pollution remains a significant environmental challenge, with Canadians sending more than\u00a0three million tonnes of plastic<\/a>\u00a0to landfills annually. While recycling rates for plastic packaging have improved, increasing from\u00a012% in 2019 to 20% in 2022<\/a>, the threat of plastic pollution for Canada\u2019s wildlife, rivers, lakes and oceans remains. Addressing plastic waste requires efforts across multiple industries, including those that rely heavily on plastic packaging.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cleaning industry, for one, has long depended on plastic containers, particularly single-use jugs for liquid detergents and plastic boxes for pods. For decades, these containers have been a staple in households, but as the\u00a0push to reduce plastic waste<\/a>\u00a0grows, some companies have introduced different approaches to packaging and product design. British Columbia-based\u00a0Tru Earth<\/a>\u00a0is one example, offering household cleaning products designed to eliminate plastic packaging without compromising effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur initial goal was simply to help a family member with an innovative approach to laundry,\u201d says Brad Liski, CEO of Tru Earth. \u201cThat\u2019s when we realized we had something powerful\u2014a product that could disrupt a stagnant sector. What started with a laundry innovation has grown into a global organization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In just six years, Tru Earth has expanded from laundry detergent to a full range of household cleaning products, all designed to reduce single-use plastic. The company saw\u00a0577% growth over a three-year period<\/a>, and placed 70th on the 2024\u00a0Report on Business list of Canada\u2019s Top Growing Companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reducing plastic pollution is core to Tru Earth\u2019s business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unlike traditional liquid or powder soaps that are often sold in plastic containers, Tru Earth\u2019s Eco-Strips\u2122 laundry detergent is cut into paper-thin strips of pre-measured detergent, packaged inside of small, recyclable cardboard sleeves which avoids single-use plastic. It\u2019s an efficient alternative, and one that is helping Canadians make choices that reduce plastic waste, without compromising on cleaning power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Since its founding in 2019, the company estimates that, as of December 2024, it has eliminated more than\u00a0188 million<\/a>\u00a0single-use laundry detergent jugs globally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are waking up to the environmental impact of the products they use every day and the impact they have on their health,\u201d says Liski. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tru Earth is lowering its environmental impact beyond minimizing plastic waste. Its compact, recyclable packaging takes up less space than traditional laundry detergent jugs, helping to reduce shipping emissions by cutting down on freight weight. In refining its packaging and streamlining transportation, the company continues to find ways to improve efficiencies and generate less waste throughout its supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Tru Earth team<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Creating demand in a growing market through consumer education and community engagement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, Tru Earth reaches millions of customers in over 80 countries. It has found that product education is equally as important as its plastic-free packaging. The company focuses on empowering consumers to make small, impactful changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChanging peoples\u2019 habits was one of our biggest challenges,\u201d says Liski. \u201cIt takes education and a product that\u2019s easy to use, and once we cracked that, the rest followed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tru Earth measures success using two key metrics: The number of plastic containers it prevents from entering the market, and the number of donated laundry Eco-Strips\u2122.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tru Earth supports organizations like The Other Side Academy in the United States, by donating supplies to help students enrolled in their vocational and life skills training program with up to 3,300 loads of laundry. Since 2020, they\u2019ve also donated 3 million laundry strips to Daily Bread Food Bank, which assists tens of thousands of individuals and families across Toronto, Ontario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product innovation that helps consumers everyday\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re laser-focused on reducing single-use plastic waste, starting with our patented Eco-Strip\u2122, which has shaken up the laundry sector,\u201d says Liski. \u201cOur battle is against plastic and the big soap companies. But we haven\u2019t stopped there\u2014we\u2019re driving behavior change in other parts of the home too, like the kitchen and bathroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tru Earth\u2019s multi-purpose cleaners follow the same principles as its laundry Eco-Strips\u2122, using concentrated strips that dissolve in water and are packaged in the same recyclable sleeves. These innovations simplify cleaning by offering easy-to-use, effective products that require no major changes in habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cInnovation requires risk\u2014sometimes you have to jump off the ledge and take a big chance,\u201d says Liski. \u201cAt Tru Earth, we\u2019ve created an environment where it\u2019s okay to take those leaps and push boundaries in the name of progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

What does the future hold for Tru Earth?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tru Earth\u2019s journey is a testament to Canadian innovation. As the company continues to grow, it reflects the increasing demand for products designed to reduce plastic waste in household cleaning. For Liski, he believes that a future free of single-use plastic in cleaning products is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlastic pollution has a long and damaging legacy and we need to act now\u2014and act fast,\u201d he says. \u201cI want to see a world where you can look under your kitchen sink or around your house and not find a single piece of plastic packaging\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Canadians beginning to remove single-use plastic products at home, Liski has advice that\u2019s easy to follow. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to solve everything at once,\u201d he says. \u201cOne small change can make a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As consumers search for household cleaning products with plastic-free packaging, Tru Earth is finding opportunities for innovation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":93559,"parent":57338,"menu_order":0,"template":"wp-custom-template-optimizely-mmm","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[573],"rbc_content_type":[31],"rbc_audience":[110],"rbc_lob_group":[35],"rbc_difficulty_level":[33],"rbc_mmm_category":[305,391,326],"class_list":["post-93539","rbc_my_money_matter","type-rbc_my_money_matter","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-commercial-client-success-stories","rbc_content_type-article","rbc_audience-business-owners","rbc_lob_group-business","rbc_difficulty_level-beginner","rbc_mmm_category-business","rbc_mmm_category-commercial","rbc_mmm_category-right-sized-business-advice"],"acf":{"contently_publication_id":"","custom_author":"Lisa Felepchuk","rbc_video_header":"","rbc_media_duration":"","rbc_video_keywords":"","rbc_video_description":"","rbc_video_upload_date":"","rbc_toc_for_mmm_tag":"h2","rbc_toc_for_mmm_limit":6,"rbc_toc_for_mmm":null,"rbc_toc_for_mmm_action":"Generate Table Of Contents"},"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n