Amando Leonardo Vincent III Clemente
De La Salle University Manila
Pia Manalastas
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In today’s world, where companies reduce their costs by replacing glass with plastic disposable containers, the environment takes a toll by accumulating plastic waste, which harms our surroundings during manufacturing and disposal. One detergent manufacturing company took a stand to combat this and simultaneously reduce costs in their production and from the end of their consumers. The company brought a whole new meaning to recycling, which everyone can benefit from. This is the story of Sabon Depot.
Detergents, soaps, and cleaning products are part of our everyday lives. As the pandemic pushed people to wash their hands regularly and bring sanitation to the forefront, an alarming increase of plastic waste brought about by packaging has seen a surge. A study by Kart, J. (2021) for Forbes.com, 75% of plastics from detergent pods are brought back as waste into the environment. A more recent study in 2023 by the website Arowana.com discussed that the Philippines produces 2.7 tons of plastic waste annually. Most of this ends up in landfills, and 20% finds its way into bodies of water, destroying the marine ecosystem. A local soap manufacturer is making a considerable dent in combating this by encouraging the reusing and recycling of plastic containers for cleaning products. Sabon Depot JDG produces environmentally friendly detergent products and sells them at significantly lower prices to consumers if they bring their used containers. This concept pushes people not to throw away old containers, with the benefit of a sizeable amount of cost savings. The plastic recycling revolution they started as part of their business model has sprouted into almost 400 stores nationwide, making a huge dent in reducing plastic waste that goes back into the environment. Their clientele isn't limited to households and single consumers but also spans all types of businesses, including laundry shops, car washes, restaurants, etc. Business partner Doni Caparas said that “Magugulat ka sa dami ng mga business establishments na kumukuha ng cleaning supplies nila sa amin via refill, dito sa coverage ng branch na ito (Las Pinas, Brgy. Talon Dos), we serve around 250+ business. Lahat sila nagrerecycle. In other branches masmarami pa. Ang daming plastic containers and nasasave nun.” Translated: "You would be surprised by the number of businesses that refill their detergent containers from us from this branch alone. We serve approximately 250+ business establishments, all of them recycling. Other branches even have more. That's a lot of plastic containers saved." To prove this, Mr. Caparas even showed me the branch's directory file saved on their system. I was blown away by how many businesses in that area alone benefit from their concept and simultaneously do their share in reducing plastic waste. “Nakita kasi namin ang potential ng cost savings na pwede makuha ng mga customer, kaya encouraged sila bumuli sa amin and reuse and mga plastics nila.” said Mr. Caparas. Translated: "We saw the cost savings the customers could avail to encourage them to reuse their plastics." Aside from business, Sabon Depot's branch covers 20,000 to 40,000 households. This was apparent in the 2-hour interview I conducted, which took place during lean hours of their operation; customers were refilling from them every 5 minutes. The concept and innovation that Sabon Depot has done is truly a marvel to behold as it encourages everyone to recycle, driven by cost benefits.
References:
Kart, J. (2024, February 20). A study says up to 75% of plastics from detergent pods enter the environment; the industry says they safely Biodegrade. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkart/2021/08/08/study-says-up-to-75-of-plastics-from-detergent-pods-enter-the-environment-industry-says-they-safely-biodegrade/
Tackling the plastic waste pollution in the Philippines: A path to a cleaner future | Arowana impact capital | Arowana. (2023, October 31). Arowana. https://arowanaco.com/2023/10/31/tackling-the-plastic-waste-pollution-in-the-philippines-a-path-to-a-cleaner-future/
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Refill.
The company itself was founded in 2011. However, in the beginning, reusing and recycling weren’t concepts in place for the business. They started to produce natural and environment-friendly, high-quality soaps at an affordable price. As with many competitors in the market, Sabon Depot has not made a mark yet, having only a single branch on the outskirts north of the metro. One day, the bus station beside their store asked if they could purchase a large amount of cleaning detergent for their buses, but at a lower price if they brought their containers. From this, a light bulb popped, and they conceptualised an idea that would give birth to a business model requiring customers, large or small scale, to bring their own used containers for detergent refills at a significantly lower price. Containers need not be plastic; any liquid soap container can be refilled. The strategy highly encouraged their customers to reuse plastics or even drop the use of plastic containers altogether. This sparked a surge in customers scavenging and saving old containers to avail of the lower prices.
As the business and concept gained traction, the organisation aimed to spread the push to recycle by putting up more branches. Through the years, the brand expanded to cover more areas. It wasn’t as easy as one might think. People struggled to accept the concept of recycling and reusing old plastic containers. The thought and sight of it wasn’t exactly glamorous or appealing. Mr. Caparas shared their struggle with expanding and getting people to follow the recycling concept. As he mentioned, “Etong branch nae to for example, nung unang binuksan naming, yung concept ng refills sa mga tao as Alien. Lalo na nung Nakita nila yung mga drums ng soap containers naming. Inisip nila checmical and hindi safe. Also, yung containers na reused hindi kasi maganda yung itsura tingnan.” Translated: “This branch, for example, when we first established here, people thought that refilling was alien for them. They see the soap drum containers and think they are unsafe chemicals because of how they are presented. They also thought that refilled plastic containers did not look appealing.”
With this, they started targeting businesses in the area but still needed more buyers. Eventually, several environmentally conscious customers saw the store and concept they had and started patronising their services. When word got out about the quality of their soap and low price if you bring your own containers, people started coming in. Caparas says “Nung na realize nila na quality yung sabon and sobrang layo ang presyo compared sa others na makikita mo sa groceries, biglang ang dami na pumila sa amin na may dalang used containers.” Translated: When people realised the quality of our soap for the lower price compared to those in the market, there was suddenly a massive line of people with used plastic containers at our store.”
After people lined up, businesses then followed suit. Mr. Caparas recalls, “At first yung mga business na linalapitan ko hindi ako pinapansin, pero nung nag pick up na, sila na mismo ang pumupunta dito." Translated: “At first, those businesses I offered our concept to didn’t want to transact with us. Now, when business picked up, they are coming here.” Overall, Mr. Caparas and the rest of the owners are more than happy, not just because their business made money but because hundreds of thousands of households and companies have accepted the concept of recycling and reusing. When I asked Mr. Caparas about how he feels that with his business concept, he was able to drive the idea and act of recycling to hundreds of thousands of Filipinos across the country, he just smiled contently.
The concept of Sabon Depot is genuinely innovative. With the number of detergent and cleaning products people consume regularly, a significant amount of plastic waste needs to be correctly disposed of as it harms the environment. The pandemic and increased handwashing contributed significantly to producing plastic packaging to meet the demand. Not only does Sabon Depot make a dent in reducing waste in the short term by promoting reduction, but their significance will bring a more significant contribution as they aim to expand their coverage to reach more locations. As a business, the bigger it grows and the larger the coverage it spans, the more it will generate profit and encourage more individuals and companies, giving them the incentive to recycle. For society, gaining more savings from recycling can serve as an eye-opener for them to seek other ways to recycle. This awareness will open a gateway for people and businesses to conjure other reuse and recycling methods. Some people may think that saving the environment is a task to be done by governments and large corporations, but in reality, it is driven by ourselves. Everyone can and should recycle.
Sometimes, people need more motivation to do so and feel the benefits of this for themselves. The concept that Mr. Caparas and his co-owners created is excellent for healing the environment. If we take a look at in numbers, 400+ stores, spread strategically all over the country, covering at least 20,000 households per area, not to mention hundreds of businesses in each location, would amount to 8 million people having the initiative to recycle and reuse, being able to feel the cost savings and benefits from this directly. These numbers are projected to grow as the organisation charges its way through expansion by adding more locations and new products. As Mr. Caparas said when I interviewed him, “Ang next step talaga naming ay mag-open pa ng branches to spread yung coverage.” Translated: “Our next step is to open more branches to expand our coverage.” With new stores to open in more areas soon, the future of Sabon Depot and its call to recycle plastic containers is bright.
Sabon Depot was established and will remain a for-profit business. Their concept gave birth to a new way of doing business while helping save the environment by reducing plastic waste. All this is done at a lower cost, which benefits their clients and their business. By running their concept, the company reduces packaging costs, which not only lifts the burden off their shoulders but also translates to fewer plastic packaging containers being produced. Their business model reduces the demand to manufacture more plastics, bringing down pollutants emitted during plastic production. The company reduces its overall variable cost and unconsciously reduces air pollutants by depending less on its plastics supplier.
Aside from this, the company can focus its time on the core product of its business, making detergents. Instead of focusing on fancy packaging, they focus on new product development. “Recently, we took time to develop more types of detergent products like degreasers and economy grade dish detergents that are sold to our customers that run businesses like car washes and restaurants because they asked for these kinds of products,” stated the co-owner. This brings them more business and increases the number of plastic containers reusing in the ecosystem. A slew of new products are also in development, and they are also strategising ways to get their products for refill to their consumers more conveniently, like having a delivery system.
From the consumer’s end, people and businesses who purchase their products via refilling reap the benefits of much lower costs than similar products available in the market. Additionally, perhaps more importantly, it serves as an eye-opener to the benefits of recycling. With today’s challenging economic times, every peso that is saved counts. Along with the amount of plastic waste that isn’t disposed of properly, every detergent purchase from Sabon Depot helps the environment by refilling it one at a time.
Detergents and soaps are part of everyone’s daily routine, so refilling one bottle every month, for example, would equate to thousands of bottles saved in the long run. Mr. Caparas and his co-owners also hope other businesses will follow their drive to recycle. When asked about other competitors who followed their concept, he mentioned that they currently have a competitor who also pushes soap refilling. Still, they are confident with the quality of their detergents. He is glad they are also promoting reusing and recycling containers.
Other industries can also benefit from the recycling concept if we consider it. For example, beverage sellers such as coffee shops can also promote a refill method for customers who bring their cups, eliminating disposable containers. If we consider it, people know recycling and its benefits but need more motivation. Lowering a product’s price by encouraging recycling encourages the drive for people to participate.
As simple as it may seem, it is a method that works, as proved by Sabon Depot's success. Hopefully, the concept they started sparks more ideas for businesses across different industries to find ways to incentivise recycling to benefit the environment and save the planet.
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Doni Caparas, Business Partner and Owner
