Liam Heron
University of Otago
Joe Cooper
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Solid is changing how the oral care industry operates. With their sustainable business practices, they look to change how people think about the environmental impacts of their everyday actions. Solid aims to reduce waste from the use of oral care products by providing a high-quality, dentally-approved product with a jar return and reuse scheme helping them achieve UN SDGs 3, 12, and 13.
The company is based in Porirua, New Zealand, and manufactures all of its products including toothpaste, toothpaste tablets, toothpaste powder, whitener, and mouthwash at its factory in Tītahi Bay. All of its products are cruelty-free, palm oil-free, and vegan. All products are sold in returnable glass containers with Solid providing a vertically integrated glass reuse system, 1 of only 30 within New Zealand. This means that all glass containers are cleaned or upscaled at Solid's headquarters in order for Solid to guarantee that they are ready to be used again. This allows Solid to return these containers back to customers with jars that can be reused up to 30 times, avoiding the use of plastic.
Solid sells its products online via its website and is stocked in approximately 40 retailers across New Zealand, including eco-stores and refillers, pharmacies, and dentists. In terms of their reusable glass container system, Solid accepts returns directly from customers at their Tītahi Bay factory, via post, or from their stockists with the high majority of their stockists acting as container return points. Solid plans to expand its business in the future by branching overseas to Australia and Singapore within the next 12 months.
Solid was started by Laura Nixon and her partner Adam McConnochie. The idea first originated when Laura noticed the amount of waste that was created by the dental industry. This led Laura, who has an extensive background as a dental hygienist/therapist, to explore avenues for reducing waste and becoming more environmentally conscious.
Laura noted, “I always found the amount of plastic and waste that we generated in the dental industry frustrating. When I was on maternity leave, I started to embrace more zero-waste options – cloth nappies, reusable straws, that sort of thing. There was no toothpaste available that was both sustainable and good for you, so I began to study toothpaste formulation and make my own.”
The majority of sustainable oral products offered within New Zealand did not contain fluoride - a key component in the strengthening of teeth’s resistance to decay. Along with this, many kinds of toothpaste did not have a range of flavors that appeal more to children. Solid provides multitudes of flavors in order to encourage kids and adults to form good habits and rituals when it comes to oral care, as well as providing quality products from a hygienic standpoint.
As of today, Solid has saved approximately 30,000 toothpaste tubes from going to landfill. In New Zealand, approximately 16 million tubes go to landfill per year. Whilst large, the growth of Solid has helped to reduce the total waste caused by the use of traditional toothpaste nationwide. Solid now sells its products in approximately 40 retailers nationwide and is looking to expand further nationally and internationally to aid the waste caused by oral care products.
The vision for the company is around everyday kaitiaki* by encouraging sustainable practice and good oral hygiene at a personal level. By targeting people of all ages with its quality and variety of products, Solid has a bright future and is changing the way people traditionally go about oral hygiene.
* ‘Kaitiaki ' is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as kaitiakitanga.
Solid has made waves as a sustainable business in New Zealand, notably by being a finalist in the New Zealand Sustainable Business Awards in 2021 within the ‘Circular Economy’ category. The team at Solid was proud of receiving recognition for their achievements and future endeavors.
Talking to Adam, he stated that Solid was proud to have an everyday impact on customers' lives by helping people to become more aware of their personal impacts and the ways in which they can help. Changing perspective is a key goal and success of Solid’s business. On top of this, backing from dentists and dental professionals has been vital to the quality, scope, and scale of the business and its products.
Solid plans to manage and accelerate the growth of its business in order to be able to invest in other avenues to benefit the business in the future.
Solid has several avenues by which it aims to help the environment. As previously mentioned the company has directly saved approximately 30,000 toothpaste tubes from going to landfills in New Zealand so far. On top of this Solid is carbon positive with Ekos, an organization aimed at reducing carbon emissions for businesses and their products. Through Ekos, businesses are helped with measuring and verifying their carbon footprint and using these measurements to develop and implement specific carbon reduction plans. Solid has helped offset their emissions by supporting the growth of a local forestry area near Hokitika on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
From a societal standpoint, Solid has and will continue to change the way that people think and act upon the environmental impacts of their everyday activities. Expansion into more retailers within New Zealand and overseas in the future will help to spread awareness of what Solid is currently achieving, and how people can join, in helping the environment.Get stories of positive business innovations from around the world delivered right to your inbox.
Adam McConnochie, Co-founder
Solid is a sustainable oral care business that focuses on reducing waste from the use of oral hygiene products. Solid is focused on providing quality, dentist-approved oral care products through the use of glass containers and a vertically integrated glass reuse system that helps to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 3, 12, and 13.