Vaska is a green company with a green product and a mission to make green laundry detergents irresistible to mainstream shoppers. We started our brainstorm for the retail launch of Vaska’s line of botanical laundry detergents, Herbatergents, thinking we might follow European conventions and replace bottles with bags. But consumer research revealed quickly that Americans like their tough bottles. With surfactants posing other material challenges, the best solution turned out to be food-grade plastic (HDPE), which most people know from their milk jugs and are already familiar with recycling. When we learned that 90 percent of the carbon footprint of detergent comes from heating the water of washing machines, packaging dematerialization turned out not to be the area of our largest potential impact. We discovered that an attractive green product, with a friendly message that inspires changing everyday habits, is a potent combo. A few months later, bottles are flying off the shelves.

Buy me? Live with me? This package satisfies both criteria.

These go against category type in an appealing way. The product is a concentrated formula, allowing packaging to be smaller and more efficient. I really hope that a detergent can sell without the packaging having to scream at you.