Hand sanitizer has become an essential part of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, but its environmental impact via plastic waste increases with each empty bottle. As a consumer, it’s frustrating wanting to do the right thing for the planet, but being unable to get the hand sanitizer you need without contributing to plastic pollution. Enter Sanikind, a sustainable solution for portable and conveniently refillable hand sanitizer.
Sanikind’s widely popular Kickstarter campaign, which ends on July 24, has over 4,000 backers funding over $200,000 to the project. This support shows how many people feel frustrated about plastic pollution, and it’s not hard to see why. Sanikind offers a simple solution to alleviate pollution and plastic waste problems. The Sanikind spray bottle, useful for both hands and surfaces, provides around 250 sprays. When sprays run out, simply refill the one-ounce container with more sanitizer from the endlessly recyclable aluminum refill bottle. Each spray bottle is made from 100% recycled plastic, sourcing manufacturing materials from the waste stream and creating a reduced waste circle.
“We developed Sanikind because you shouldn’t have to choose between clean hands and clean oceans,” said Miles Pepper, Sanikind co-founder. “Experts believe COVID-19 has set us back 10 years in terms of reducing plastic consumption and use. Our Kickstarter supporters can help prevent millions of tiny plastic hand sanitizer bottles from ending up in our oceans, which are already being clogged by single-use coronavirus-related waste.”
Sanikind knows the list of items you need when leaving the house has grown during the pandemic: wallet or purse, phone, keys, mask and sanitizer. With this in mind, Sanikind includes an easy to use carabiner with each bottle of Sanikind. Conveniently attach it to your keys, purse or backpack, so it’s always on hand, for your hands. In addition to providing a sustainable solution for an urgent problem, the project also employs U.S. distillery workers who manufacture according to WHO and FDA guidelines.
This isn’t the first product from Pepper, who already has another well-received product under his young belt. According to the company, “Sanikind was co-founded by 25-year-old serial entrepreneur Miles Pepper, the inventor and co-founder of FinalStraw, which raised almost $2 million dollars on Kickstarter in 2018 and went on to be featured on Shark Tank and ship hundreds of thousands of units to consumers. When Coronavirus hit, Pepper immediately mobilized to create Disinfect Connect, putting distillery-made disinfectant in the hands of 32,000+ frontline healthcare workers, first responders and nursing home staff.”
Sanikind kickstarts refillable hand sanitizer bottle project [Inhabitat]