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LaverVert: recycling wood ash for an all-natural laundry detergent

https://laververt.be
Organisation or Company: 
Laververt

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Country: 
Belgium
City: 
Namur

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Start/End date: 
07/2017
Ongoing: 
Yes

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Description: 

LaverVert is an organic detergent whose ingredients are 100% natural, with a circular cleaning agent. It is produced with wood ash recycled from industrial pellet stoves, reviving a traditional practice of using wood ash for its ability to bind with fats in creating an all-natural soap.

Its list of ingredients is straightforward:

  • water added to soluble potash (84%), obtained from ash following a percolation, maceration and filtration process;
  • percarbonate (3%), to neutralise the colour of the wood lignin and thus prevent the greying of laundry;
  • alcohol (2%), to stabilise the formula;
  • organic sunflower oil (8%), to make the saponification reaction more effective;
  • vegetable glycerine (2%), to improve the texture of the detergent;
  • essential oils (1%), to add perfume to the detergent.

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LaverVert has been on the market in Belgium since 2019 and is distributed locally (for instance at Yuman). The product provides Belgian consumers with a circular offer that is:

  • 100% biodegradable
  • without preservatives
  • hypoallergenic
  • produced locally, sourcing the wood ash from Belgian industries relying on wood pellet stoves for heat (Recybois, groupe François, using "Class B" wood).