Laura Meehan has designed a 100% sustainable refillable deodorant cartridge made of cork with the help of Lancaster University through its Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory (LCEI) programme.
Her startup, Let’s Rethink This, has developed a product called Nada. It aims to improve on current personal care brands on the market, which use metal and plastic.
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The design is a spherical dome case containing a refillable deodorant core, which won a design award through the WORTH Partnership Project and secured funding to support product development. It was also demonstrated at the Salone del Mobile during Milan Design Week.
Meehan explained: “The cork tree is the only tree which can regenerate after each harvest of bark. So, it seems the perfect basis for a product that biodegrades with less impact on the environment.”
LCEI is a programme that helps small businesses develop low-carbon innovations. Through LCEI, Laura was given fully funded access to cutting-edge chemistry and engineering facilities and researchers from Lancaster University.
LCEI was partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and involved a consortium, including Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and the University of Liverpool.
Refillable packaging is fast becoming a popular sustainable production choice for brands of all sizes across a variety of sectors, recently including The Body Shop and Nestlé’s coffee brand Nescafé.
