Juan Carlos Roxas
Loyola Marymount University
Jeff Thies
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Water bottles are biodegradable bottles composed of renewable bamboo and sugarcane pulp forming the outer shell alongside a specialised biodegradable plastic barrier forming the inner structure. The outer shell materials draw in microorganisms closely to the plastic barrier, accelerating biodegradation and reducing landfill waste.
Whatrr’s product innovation uses biodegradable bottles comprising renewable bamboo and sugarcane pulp to formulate the outer shell and a specialised biodegradable plastic barrier to make up the inner edge. The materials of the outer shell mainly draw in microorganisms near the biodegradable plastic barrier; this unique material composition thus accelerates the natural biodegradation process within a landfill in which independent tests demonstrated a 59.3% biodegradation within 365 days, giving credence to founder and CEO Steven Howell’s assumption that “more than half the bottle is gone” within a year and would likely disappear “between 3-5 years.” At the same time, the company’s bottle design provides additional structural integrity and protection from ultraviolet (UV) light exposure potentially affecting microplastic elements and enables natural cooling of the drink.
The rapid development of Whatrr’s bottle, according to Steve, can be credited to existing “science and technology and manufacturing” developments on biodegradable bottle packaging; the most notable iteration is the patented water bottle design made by an award-winning and industry-leading pulp packaging company called Paper Water Bottle, which forms the foundation of the aforementioned biodegradable water bottle composition. What had partnered up with the company to produce biodegradable bottles, providing a solid sense of feasibility for environmental sustainability and much-needed scalability for widespread adoption.
With the viable intricacies of Whatrr’s biodegradable bottle design, Steve notes that the company firmly commits to “[making] the world a better place through business”, in which each bottle becomes a “symbol of the customer’s commitment to act in a way that’s helping Earth.” Given such commitment, the company aims to bring greater awareness about the implications of difficult-to-biodegrade packaging through constant information campaigns emphasising the immense consequences of continuous nonbiodegradable water bottle consumption. Steve has often highlighted bottle consumption rates relative to the sizes of notable monuments and cities to present a sense of urgency; the Whatrr CEO also mentioned plans to extend partnerships with high-profile environmentalist individuals. Similarly, Whatrr has strived to pay it forward through a commitment for every bottle sold. For instance, Steve has noted that every bottle “picks up one piece of trash” by way of the company’s local beach cleanup program, given the founder’s personal experience in hosting such events; honing in on such a commitment, he added that “every bottle can plant a tree.” “Yes, we can change” is one of many appropriate affirmations the entrepreneur has highlighted for the company’s potential impact rooted in its innovation.
What was born from a desire to create positive environmental change through a business capacity? The company’s founder and CEO, Steven Howell, an entrepreneurship graduate from Loyola Marymount University, often engaged in business endeavours. However, he maintained a special dedication towards sustainability endeavours, having founded several sustainable product ventures and even hosted local beach cleanups in Los Angeles. Noting the impossible amount of plastic within the shores of his local beaches, Steve grew increasingly concerned with its negative impact. He said how he learned about container alternatives such as cartons possessing a long biodegradation rate and the reality of water bottle consumption rates that become visually comparable to the size of a monument or city.
Having possessed a desire to create a business that “made a difference in the world” after seeing “all the plastic that was on [the] beaches,” Steve wound up finding ways to create a solution. He soon found a pulp packaging company called Paper Water Bottle. This award-winning organisation created and patented a breakthrough biodegradable water bottle design utilising a specialised bottle material composition derived from plants. As the company was accepting custom packaging orders in bulk, Steve took the opportunity to leverage its existing technical and production expertise and formed a partnership with the company; he added that this partnership helped develop a “scalable impact” in disincentivising consumption of nonbiodegradable products while encouraging “hope and inspiration” in pursuing a better future.
Whatrr bottles have the potential to create a positive impact within the local Los Angeles community in the next few years. Founder and CEO Steven Howell notes that the unique material composition of its biodegradable bottles, primarily utilizing renewable bamboo and sugarcane pulp, has enabled the company to provide a “single-use [bottle] that [lasts] 5 years instead of 500,” giving credence to a viable sustainable alternative that can increase in scale for widespread adoption.
More than the clever use of select materials within its packaging, the Whatrr brand, with its marketing and advocacy campaigns, has encouraged the idea that an individual’s conscious consumption exemplifies what Steve notes as “agency”– the idea that “we hold the capacity of power”– in a single choice. Through a deep introspection of his firsthand experience with plastic bottle pollution, Steve noted that one’s choice can create “ripple effects,” especially since a single product is a “reflection of hours of work, materials, transportation, logistics, and [other factors]” that involve multiple stakeholders throughout the supply chain. He remained steadfast in stating that there remains a positive alternative to traditional water bottle consumption, which has presented negative consequences. He has even uncovered that “71% of consumers” were more likely to “buy water from a brand committed to sustainability,” and 64% stated “they would pay more for sustainable water,” which justifies his commitment to the long-term goal of creating “the world’s most sustainable bottle.”
Seeing that Whatrr bottles can contribute to a wider social movement focused on sustainability, Steve hopes that the company can better “reimagine the way business is done” through its niche. Steve maintained optimism that Whatrr can continue to ensure “cleaner landfills, the ability of one bottle to pick up one piece of trash, and the assurance that every bottle can plant a tree.”
As of late, Steve noted that the company has recently entered into a distribution agreement with local health food chain Erewhon, alongside several independent deli and grocery store partnerships formed throughout the previous months. Because of this local community support network, Steve believes that Whatrr is in a better position to maintain its existing sustainability-focused commitment while potentially expanding the depth of products, including flavored water and fruit drinks, and social initiatives such as expanded beach cleanup programs in other countries.
According to Steve, Water bottles present a unique entry point for the company to “separate [them] from the competition on which bottle is the most eco-friendly.” The utilisation of renewable bamboo and sugarcane pulp within the bottle’s unique biodegradable material composition, coupled with the partnership with an established industry-leading pulp packaging company aiding Whatrr’s supply chain in manufacturing and factory-to-company location transport, means that Steve’s company can reasonably produce and distribute at scale in comparison to traditional water bottle companies; the Whatrr founder and CEO believes that this factor allows him to address the growing consumer demand for sustainable water bottles at a reasonable premium.
Whatrr’s product viability and scalability have enabled the company to move a concrete step closer to meeting such growing sentiment in line with its broad mission of becoming a company at the forefront of sustainability through its product. Steve himself noted this revelation through multiple local store distribution agreements, which recently included Erewhon, a Certified Organic Retailer, and Certified B Corp that partnered up with the company in distributing and selling multiple crates of Whatrr bottles in all ten of its stores, providing credence to Steve’s research on the consumer sustainability shift forming the rationale of the Whatrr brand. Beyond an alignment of values concerning sustainable consumption products, Steve gleefully added that such a partnership has likely enabled the company’s open dialogue and distribution talks with other health food chains, such as Whole Foods, whom he believes would accelerate Whatrr’s revenues for sustained growth and product diversification while acquiring additional consumer insights that may inform and expand the company’s existing sustainability programs.
The bottles’ unique biodegradable material properties relative to traditional competitors present a viable, sustainable alternative that, according to Steve, aims to “create a movement that sparks people to make a change” in helping the planet. In forging meaningful partnerships first with local businesses in the Los Angeles area to bring its products to shelves— businesses attuned to the needs of the local community— Steve believes that Whatrr can deliver a stronger sense of awareness concerning the biodegradability of traditional water bottles relative to the environment. In further providing the merits of a Whatrr bottle’s consumption, Steve notes that every bottle can educate and inform customers. The bottle shows a graphic depicting the biodegradation process alongside a QR code providing access to the company’s website, which contains additional product details (such as frequently asked questions) and educational resources on plastic bottle consumption information.
Through this process, Steve affirms that the bottles teach the idea of consumers possessing the power of “not choosing pollution and buying solutions” instead. With a small action leading towards immense positive impact, Steve remained steadfast in “creating hope and inspiring others.” The very brand name of the company is an acronym for what he believes to be a critical statement that embodies its products, customers, and advocacies: “We Have Agency to Restore & Reimagine.”
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Steven Luis Howell, Founder and CEO
What is a Los Angeles-based beverage company that sells spring water in a specialised biodegradable bottle that utilises a specialised mix of materials to accelerate its natural decomposition process? According to founder and CEO Steven Howell, the bottle materials draw in microorganisms to achieve a degradation rate of three to five years relative to most bottles that take significantly longer at “three to five lifetimes” or roughly 350 to 800 years. With the product’s focus on a feasible and sustainable process, Steve notes that the company encourages people to choose environmentally-friendly products to become “the world’s most sustainable brand” with the “world’s most sustainable bottle.”