Pearl Chan is on a mission to rid the world of single use plastic. So much so that she sold her house and reinvested the funds into an eco-sustainable, cleaning products business, Resparkle.
Starting as a side-hustle in Melbourne six years ago, the business has now grown into a full-time operation, challenging Australians to re-think the way they clean and how they consume single-use plastics.
Resparkle was ‘green’ from day one, which proved that making a profit doesn’t need to be at the cost of the environment, Chan said.
“The first year’s revenue tripled the initial capital investment. Since re-launching in October 2020 with our powdered home care range that creates zero plastic waste, we experienced 192% annualised growth with over 78% of repeat customers coming back for our refills. We are now on track to triple our revenue for the new financial year,” she told Retailbiz.
“It has taken many years of product development, redefining and re-imagining, to deliver a zero-waste product that is completely sustainable.”
Chan previously operated a creative agency for seven years, which helped cultivate her mindset of thinking about problems through a design thinking-lens. “The ‘lightbulb’ moment came when I discovered that cleaning products are made of 90% water and only 10% ingredients,” she said.
After further research, Chan learned about single-use plastics and how many cleaning products contain toxic ingredients, with many detrimental to health.
“The industry was ripe for disruption and consumers are increasingly aware of the obscene number of single-use plastics entering landfill and looking for alternatives. I knew I could make a difference and create a purpose-led business that could create a positive impact, so I set to work creating a product that would address these issues,” she said.
When asked for tips for businesses looking to become more environmentally focused, she suggested practicing green procurement, which involves sourcing goods and services that are produced locally and sustainably.
“A good place to start is to look inside the office pantry or bathroom. Are dish or hand soaps in single use plastic bottles? Did you know the dispensers are not recyclable? Switch to more eco-friendly alternative like Resparkle where the reusable bottles are designed to last. We all need to be mindful that small changes can collectively make a huge difference,” she said.
Chan’s goal for Resparkle is to save two million plastic homecare bottles and to date, she has saved over 360,000 plastic packaging entering landfill which equates to over 29,000kg of virgin plastic never created.
“Every single day I look forward to bringing my brand mission into homes across Australia.”