Splosh supply their products via forever-use plastic bottles or refill pouches. They state –

This sounds positive, but I am not sure what they mean by 'higher value' products – I assume this simply means relative to being disposed of. In reference to their endeavours towards a circular economy, Splosh go on to say –

Digging a little deeper, Splosh explains what each of their ingredients does in layperson's terms, which is really helpful. They continue to detail each of the specific constituents, but I must admit I am not on top of which are good, bad, or reasonable. As stated previously, the chemical side will be Phase Two, for Phase One my priority is to find a practical, plastic free solution.

Splosh products are not tested on animals.

Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chloride, Lauryl Lactyl Lactate, Betaine, Parfum, Glycerin, Sucrose Cocoate, Coconut Acid, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Benzophenone-4, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, Citral, Linalool, Ci 19140, Ci 16035.

They had a new 6-bottle refill option, of which I purchased two to meet the free delivery threshold. I hope it is good, as I now have 12 bottles to get through  :  )

The delivery was reasonably prompt, although when the box arrived it looked like it had upset a bouncer – luckily the contents were intact. Inside was simply some paper padding and the two refill pouches ordered – perfect – no plastic or unnecessary waste. The refills are super concentrated, so they require dilution with hot water from the tap.

In the interests of eco efficiency, I opted just for refills, assuming I would use the now-empty bottle from my test with Faith in Nature. In hindsight, this may not have been the best policy, as I made a pig's ear of it! Unbeknown to me, the bottle was 400ml rather than 500ml, which required a bit of maths. I then transposed the values for volume of water vs detergent – requiring a messy transfer of shower gel back into the pouch – and I forgot to use hot water, so the dilution took considerably longer!

I genuinely do not know how I got through my Chemistry practicals! :  )

Although, in my defense, their figures are a bit misleading. The pouches are designed to refill 500ml bottles, yet the pack, provides details to refill a 250ml container – mix 70ml concentrate with 180ml water. This gives a ratio of about 2.5. I was a bit paranoid about my calculations, so did a quick Google search to check which stated the mix ratio should be 3 to 1? My take on this – as long as you are in the right ballpark, it should be fine.

Eventually, I had the product ready as intended.

The shower gel is Ginger and Grapefruit – the scent is great, although it smells more like oranges to me. It was slightly less viscous than Faith in Nature – which could be due to inaccuracies in ratios – but it still lathered well and did the job. I'm genuinely impressed.

As mentioned, I bought a bulk order to optimise the price, which could be considered slightly unfair. So with this in mind I looked up the bulk purchase options from Faith in Nature. They offer a 5l shower gel refill costing £50. So this costs exactly £1 per 100ml. For two concentrated refills providing 12 x 500ml bottles, Splosh charged £25.41. This works out as £0.42 per 100ml. This can be reduced by a further 10% if I subscribe, taking the price down to £0.38 per 100ml. Since it is considerably cheaper, I decided to check where it stands relative to the supermarket. For fairness, I looked at the cheapest supermarket for brands, which is usually Asda. Radox is around £0.44 per 100ml and Dove is slightly more at £0.56 per 100ml. I am genuinely quite shocked by the results. I am usually happy if an eco friendly product can get close to a leading brand, but to beat them is surprising.

As mentioned, Splosh will take back and reuse the pouches for free. However, in the interest of eco efficiency they state that the free mail label will only be honored if there are at least 20 pouches sent. This is fair enough and they pack flat, therefore easy to store. Splosh also requests that the pouches be rinsed out before return, but I am not sure how clean they need to be as it would take an age to get them completely sud free and I assume they will still need to be washed when reprocessed.

In conclusion, for now, this product by Splosh is a no-brainer. Like most eco friendly products it requires more effort and thought, but unlike so many, it does not feel like a compromise when using it. Best of all, it does not leave you feeling aggrieved to be paying more for an ethical purchase. I will be asking if my local eco shop can stock this product. I am also inclined to investigate other products by Splosh. Unlike smol, perhaps they can provide every eco friendly product I require?

Since I started this process some people have suggested that I simply switch to a classic bar of soap. I can not dispute the logic, but I find the messy soap dish issue annoying and dislike the tight feeling it leaves on your skin. Having said that, I have not used a bar of soap for decades, so maybe things have greatly improved, so I will test the soap bar that has been recommended and report back.