The crimson slab of a papaya and hibiscus infused bar sat on my table looking as enticing as a piece of Turkish delight. It had swirls of gold for topping and smelled sweet. I had to remind myself not to take a bite of this delightful creation. After all, it is a bar of soap! Handmade by the team behind Madras Soapery, it might not be suitable to pop one into your mouth, but this soap can safely dissolve and run down your drain without causing harm to our ecology.
“Sustainability was the driving force behind the birth of Madras Soapery. Our brand was created out of our love for the planet and our goal to remove toxins from our homes and the environment,” says Sheetal Pai Parakh who teamed up with her friend and fellow eco-warrior Malini Iyer to start Madras Soapery, a plastic-free brand, late in 2020. She further explains how whatever goes down our drains affects our oceans and our groundwater.
Down the drain
It all started with the line ‘The ocean starts at your drain’ which made a huge impact and started this journey a decade ago. However, it was a personal choice and mindset, with Malini concocting home products for her personal use and not a commercial initiative. “It started with experimenting with biodegradable home cleaning products and each success paved the way for formulating a new product. This gave us the confidence to share these with friends and family, and their overwhelmingly positive feedback led to the brand.” She further adds, “There is a huge gap in the earth-friendly home care products market. They are either too expensive or ineffective. So, we worked harder to make the pricing competitive without compromising on the quality.” We tried their Natural Laundry Detergent and what truly had us smitten was the after wash fragrance. While the aroma is mild and barely there — even the shade-dried clothes have a fresh sunshine smell to them. Though, our favourite is their stain removing cleaning bars.
Green herring
We ask them how to be discerning in the midst of a rather confusing market and Malini avers, “Unfortunately, it is not mandatory to list the ingredients of detergents, cleaners and soaps, so you can’t really always look for the culprits. Having said that, conventional cleaners and soaps have ingredients with harmful chemicals and synthetic fragrances which contain hormone disruptors, allergens and possible neurotoxic chemicals and carcinogens,” says the entrepreneur who adds that one must not use the term sustainability lightly and should be alert about misleading greenwashing techniques where only the botanical ingredients are listed, which form a small percentage of the actual product.
Staying safe
“Being toxin-free and hypoallergenic, all ingredients are plant and mineral-based and completely biodegradable,” assures Malini, as she explains that they have created powder formulations to replace conventional liquid cleaners to avoid plastic packaging. Sheetal chimes in, “Toxin-free products are only one half of the equation — the other half is earth-friendly packaging.” Their cartons are designed with aesthetic grace and showcase Sheetal’s graphic designer skills in pastel hues and delicate motifs inspired by nature. What next? “Anything and everything that can replace synthetic products to earth friendly alternatives,” says Sheetal. Do look out for their range of deodorants.
Soaps at INR 170 and household cleaners from INR 100 (bars) to INR 375 (1kg detergents).
Available online.