Spruce: The Eco-Friendly, Refillable Cleaning Start-up, That Everyone’s Going NUTS About.

Spruce: they’re taking it up a notch, with their innovative range of refillable cleaning products (which are made from safe, non-toxic ingredients).

Spruce’s products are made from natural, organic essential oils. Each product comes with a reusable aluminium bottle (for life), and plastic-free concentrated refills. Spruce prides itself on being free from notorious nasties, including: SLS, parabens, triclosan, phosphates, pesticides, petroleum derivatives, artificial colours, and synthetic fragrances.

The business was launched by a London-based, former tech executive (named Mahira Kalim) in February, this year (2021).

Mahira launched the brand, because of a decade-long struggle: sadly, Mahira suffered from a wide array of health issues, which included unexplained infertility, miscarriages, and an IVF journey, which lasted over a decade. It was this trauma that drove her to ‘switch’ to a low-waste, plastic-free, non-toxic lifestyle. But, Mahira struggled to find eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaning products. And this is how Spruce was born.

“I struggled with a decade-long infertility journey. For anyone who has been through this, you’ll understand the desperation to try anything that could improve your situation,” explained Mahira. Now, Mahira is on a mission to inspire her customers to join her on her quest, by taking their cleaning products and indoor air quality as seriously as their skincare and beauty routine(s).

“I carried out a massive purge in the house. We switched to organic food immediately (to cut out pesticides found in the food). And, I cut out all plastic containers for food storage (even the ones marked as ‘BPA-Free’). I also switched to natural, organic skincare products instead, but when it came to household cleaning products, there wasn’t anything out there that seemed trustworthy,” she added.

Not only are Spruce’s products low-waste, but the start-up leaves a minimal carbon footprint: unlike the more ‘mainstream’ brands, Spruce doesn’t ship water, whereas their mainstream counterparts can ship up to 90%+ water content. Recent research has linked plastic chemicals to both male and female infertility, as Nano plastics can cross the blood-brain barrier, and enter the placenta (which is harmful for unborn babies, and can cause irreversible damage).

“Whilst my motivation to lower my exposure to plastics and toxic chemicals at the time was mainly to address my health issues, I gradually realised how terrible plastic is (especially single-use packaging) for our planet. Today, we have a lot more data about the devastation that plastic is causing to our planet, and to our health,” said Mahira.

Spruce has also partnered with Plastic Bank, – to help remove ocean-bound plastic waste from the ocean: “for every order of a starter kit we receive, we match that by removing ocean-bound plastics (the equivalent of 25 plastic bottles) with our partner, Plastic Bank. This is our way to help regenerate communities, and support plastic collectors to undo the damage we have done over decades, with the plastic pollution pandemic,” explained Mahira.

Since launching, Spruce has already won the “Best Eco-friendly Cleaning Brand” award by Marie Claire, and was a finalist at the Dezeen Awards in the Sustainable Design category, and in the Edie Sustainability Leadership Awards.

In addition to running a successful start-up under these challenging times, it’s also worth noting that Mahira’s plan worked: she is now blessed with three beautiful children. We’d like to congratulate Mahira on her success.

You can find out more about Spruce here: wearespruce.co