~Prevented 3679 kgs/ 42,051 plastic bottles from ending up in landfills ~
Mumbai: Prominent plant-based personal care brand, The Switch Fix (TSF), marks its third anniversary this year after experiencing massive growth by expanding its range of products from 8 to over 30 within only a year. Since its inception in 2019, the brand has been a disruptor in the personal care sector with its innovative, clean and conscious products.
Catering to the young urban, TSF has been able to shatter the close association between shampoos and conditioners and liquid formats; they are helping build new habits with their sophisticated and convenient shampoo and conditioner bars. These products are crafted by keeping in mind the country’s specific needs (skin/scalp/hair type) and challenges—albeit while keenly studying international research and the latest trends. TSF recognizes that although the issues of hair fall and dandruff, amongst others, remain the same, their causes have changed. Its plant-based formulations address these new-age stressors specific to the Indian context of climate and environmental issues such as pollution, heat, humidity and extreme cold by getting to the root cause instead of offering symptomatic treatment.
It has always been the constant endeavour of TSF to focus on providing clean and conscious solutions to modern day problems. To make sustainability more accessible with a simple switch rather than radical changes, the brand offers complete transparency and takes responsibility for its products and their impact on the environment—by ensuring that its sourcing practices, as well as its entire supply chain, follow the same philosophy too. Moreover, in a bid to shift the perception of sustainable living as an alternative lifestyle towards the mainstream, TSF allows its consumers to take climate action at an individual level with its vegan, cruelty-free, water-saving and non-polluting range of products. Not only that, but it also raises awareness about diverse environmental issues through its digestible, engaging and easy-to-understand content. In 2021 alone, TSF created a tremendous ‘environmental’ impact—3x more than 2020—by preventing 3679 kgs/ 42,051 plastic bottles from ending up in landfills (i.e. shampoo and conditioner bottles). Additionally, it saved 23653.8 litres of water—owing to the bar format instead of creating liquid shampoo or conditioner.
Rhea Shukla, the Co-founder of The Switch Fix, said, “Natural, green, organic…such words are rapidly being associated with clean. These terms have gained popularity and acceptance from the consumers as they were being oversimplified and were naturally misinterpreted as being “better for us and our planet”.
However, to stay true to ourselves and our tribe, we made the conscious decision to move forward without depending on such terms; very early on in our journey, we had recognised that these terminologies are blanket terms to appease the consumers without offering them much clarity on the impact an entity is creating. The conscious consumer of today is keen to make an informed choice and thus we were determined to enable them to do that by being honest and completely transparent.
This is how the concept of “clean and conscious” was conceived. It was and continues to be a challenge to redefine what clean means and to not simply categorise ourselves as natural, organic, etc.”
Abhishek Kumar, the Co-founder of The Switch Fix, added, “As a start-up, we have faced several tactical challenges, especially with COVID in play. However, with the rise of the conscious consumer demanding a new, more sustainable approach from companies—we have emerged resilient. Through the lockdowns, our passionate team has been committed to the vision of having millions of switchers turn sustainability into a habit, resulting in a hugely successful year. With this passion intact, we will continue to innovate and launch more clean and conscious products in the future.”
TSF has been built around the pillars of sustainability, mental health and inclusivity. In tandem with this, the brand has also been furthering its message of inclusivity and acceptance via engaging campaigns. Its ‘Love is Love’ campaign—in collaboration with the LGBTQIA+ community—reached 700k people and spread the message that love may take different shapes and forms for different people, but the brand is there for them all. Apart from that, their Mylky Way After Shave Film challenged the existing gender norms conditioning women to equate their self-worth with their external appearance—reached 100k people.
Their climate-focused education and inclusivity campaigns catering to the contemporary conscious consumer led them to garner Vogue’s attention, and earn the title of the ‘Sustainability Icon’ at their Beauty Awards 2022 very early on in their journey. What has really set the brand apart is understanding and being in sync with the needs of its consumers and its commitment to doing the heavy-lifting so that they don’t have to choose between their beliefs and what works best for them.