Cert is working tirelessly to promote precious water preservation on the eve of World Water Day.
Cert, simply put, is an everyday surface cleaner with a big idea, to change public perceptions regarding the needless hoarding of water in wasteful, planet polluting, single plastic bottles. Such an ambition might seem light pie in the sky but everyone has to start somewhere.
Surface cleaners one might be surprised to hear was one of the unexpected success stories of Lockdown with countless stuck-at-home families going the extra distance to ensure that their families were as safe as they could be from any lurking viruses and bacteria. For the first 18 months of Lockdown, home cleaning actually grew by a staggering 35% (an extra 49m surface cleaners were purchased in 2020 as homecare became a synonym for ‘self-care)’and whilst volatile sales have subsequently returned to pre COVID levels, one can see how one all-encompassing epidemic resulted in ballooning stockpiles of single-use plastic and needless water entrapment (supermarket shelves, warehouses, container ships….).
From our ‘water tap abundant’ island, it’s never been easy getting a good handle on the devastating domino effect associated with the global shortage of fresh drinking water in the world. We only witness those harrowing images of water scarcity on our TV screens a few times a year and however hard they hit home, they probably have little impact regarding how often we hose our cars or sprinkle our gardens.
A Few Alarming Stats Provided By WWF – World Water Day
- Water stress is a global problem that’s only getting worse!
- Only 3% of the world’s water is fresh water and 2/3rds of that is locked inside icebergs
- Of that 3% -70% is used by agriculture (often inefficiently), industry (19%) and domestic use (11%).
- 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water whilst a staggering 2.7billion people find water scarce for at least one month of the year
- Inadequate sanitation is also a major issue for 2.4bn people exposing them to all manner of water-borne diseases
- Throw in the fact that half the world’s wetlands have already disappeared and rivers, lakes and aquifers are often becoming either too polluted or drying up
So where in this swirling maelstrom of despair does a small dot of brand like Cert make any kind of meaningful difference? In physical terms very little but in terms of seeding a NEW ‘planet responsible’ mindset, potentially a lot! The archaic practice of holding water hostage in bottles, warehouses and super-tankers that’s prevalent in every imaginable product sector from soft drinks to car wash needs to reassessed. By creating products that happily co-exist with tap water you’re creating a ‘just-in-time’ watery mindset that not only prevents millions of gallons from being needlessly help hostage, but reduces the sheer volume of plastic needed to hold such products in limbo. Lighter, water-free products can he shipped inexpensively hither and thither, with a significantly reduced carbon footprint than currently exists.
In Cert’s instance, the Sussex-based team have created a single-use product (a small pack of effervescent tablets) that effortlessly negates the need for vast, snaking sub-ranges of cumbersome, single-use plastic bottles, whose primary focus is to commandeer precious shelf space that might otherwise be available to set-in-their-ways category rivals. Cert is a simple, transparent, tablet-based product that doesn’t dabble in colourings or synthetic scents that result in yet another needless layer of air pollution.
Now Cert is far from alone in its pioneering quest to stop precious water being abducted and held within planet-choking plastic. There are a number of plant-based products with the very same idea. Clearly, we can only applaud our supermarket bedfellows for their bold endeavours because the more brands that commit to rejecting needless water entrapment, the more likely real meaningful change is to come about.
Yes, Cert uses chlorine in its tablets but let’s not forget that surface cleaners above all else need to kill unwanted bacteria and viruses and this is a trusted hospital-grade thinking that is used by both trusted health institutions like the NHS and a number of the world’ leading charity institutions. There’s simply no point ticking loads of planet-saving boxes if one falls short regarding one’s primary function. Also Cert is a pre-dosed 2-in-1 disinfectant and detergent with a near neutral PH (6) so that only 5 days after it has been activated with tap water, the chlorine strength will have dissipated to such an extent that it can be safely poured down the toilet, providing one final cleansing function as it goes.
Finally for those yet to be convinced by Cert’s noble intentions, it should be pointed out that power behind the throne is the Sussex-based Hydrachem, a leading light in water purification and water disinfection, whose clean water expertise is employed throughout the globe by a number of the world’s most high-profile non-profit organisations.
‘Cert was born during the first lockdown,’ confirms Cert sales director, Michael Lawrence. ‘As we surveyed the needless water hijacking place taking place within home cleaning, we wondering if our global water-based expertise could be put to everyday use in UK households. We’ve even decided at launch (March 22) that 10% of all Cert’s bottom-line profits will be ploughed back into water poverty hot-spots where Hydrachem operates.’
In essence, Cert is a small, agitating underdog in a vast sprawling Homecare category, but if vocal challenger brands like Cert can have their voices heard, this could lead to a lot of positive ripples elsewhere, because today more than ever dwindling fresh water supplies need to be addressed.
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