Marcel Belt was appointed by Change Inc. in June 2021. elected Changemaker of the Week. You can read the interview below.
With Green Soap Company, Marcel Belt shows that things can be greener in the soap industry. He talks about his motivation and how he inspires major players such as Albert Heijn and Unilever to follow his example.
Belt (57) is well versed in laundry and cleaning products and care products. As a single parent of three daughters, Belt started his own business in 2016 to be able to spend more time with his children. With The Green Soap company he supplies a sustainable alternative to soap, detergents and cleaning products.
With Green Soap Company, Marcel Belt shows that things can be greener in the soap industry. He talks about his motivation and how he inspires major players such as Albert Heijn and Unilever to follow his example.
Belt (57) is well versed in laundry and cleaning products and care products. As a single parent of three daughters, Belt started his own business in 2016 to be able to spend more time with his children. With The Green Soap company he supplies a sustainable alternative to soap, detergents and cleaning products.
Vision
“By launching sustainable washing and cleaning products on the market, I want to make the world a better and cleaner place. Because soap products have a significant impact on the environment. In the Netherlands alone, 8 million empty soap bottles are thrown away every week.” These are usually bottles made of virgin plastic, which means new petroleum has been used. In addition, in the Netherlands, 4 to 5 million liters of detergent, hand soap and shampoo are flushed through sinks and shower drains every week. There is a lot of bad stuff in there, such as acids, ammonia and chlorine.”
“Our mission is to green the entire soap industry. That all detergents, cleaning products and care products are green. It must become a prerequisite for putting these types of products on the market. Then it is about how it is produced and what the effect of its use is. This applies to the packaging and contents. That doesn't happen from one day to the next. We call our products light green. We always try to find the greenest alternative.”
“We want to make an impact with our idea.”
“Our mission is to green the entire soap industry. That all detergents, cleaning products and care products are green. It must become a prerequisite for putting these types of products on the market. Then it is about how it is produced and what the effect of its use is. This applies to the packaging and contents. That doesn't happen from one day to the next. We call our products light green. We always try to find the greenest alternative.”
“We want to make an impact with our idea.”
Leadership
“I want to show that things can be done differently. Setting a good example. And thus inspire Albert Heijns, Unilevers, middlemen and consumers to really do things differently. For example, a lot of palm oil is used in detergents and palm trees only grow in areas where rainforest also happens to grow. So that has to change. We have now developed a palm oil-free detergent that will be launched on the market this autumn.”
“I had put some money aside for my own future. I used that to make the future of my children brighter. My financial resources are limited so I cannot build my own factory. So we work a lot with external parties. Suppliers like to work with us because we give them a platform for their innovation or sustainable product. Through us they can prove that it works in the market, so they can go to larger customers.”
For example, Belt uses recycled plastic for all Green Soap bottles. “It is made from the waste that Suez and AVR collect from households. None of the major players dared to use it. We took the risk to blow those first 40,000 bottles and see how it would behave in the market. This sets us apart from companies such as Unilever and Albert Heijn. Because every innovation has to go through about six counters. Then it quickly becomes too expensive or too much risk.”
“The Green Soap company now employs 12 people who can all do something that I cannot do. Because only then can we become more creative and make an impact faster. And they must dare to make mistakes. Because then we take risks and we are innovating. If we stop making mistakes, something is wrong, we are not innovating fast enough.”
“I had put some money aside for my own future. I used that to make the future of my children brighter. My financial resources are limited so I cannot build my own factory. So we work a lot with external parties. Suppliers like to work with us because we give them a platform for their innovation or sustainable product. Through us they can prove that it works in the market, so they can go to larger customers.”
For example, Belt uses recycled plastic for all Green Soap bottles. “It is made from the waste that Suez and AVR collect from households. None of the major players dared to use it. We took the risk to blow those first 40,000 bottles and see how it would behave in the market. This sets us apart from companies such as Unilever and Albert Heijn. Because every innovation has to go through about six counters. Then it quickly becomes too expensive or too much risk.”
“The Green Soap company now employs 12 people who can all do something that I cannot do. Because only then can we become more creative and make an impact faster. And they must dare to make mistakes. Because then we take risks and we are innovating. If we stop making mistakes, something is wrong, we are not innovating fast enough.”
Impact
Marcel's Green Soap has experienced rapid growth since its founding in 2016. “In year one I sold soap for 70,000 euros. I never thought that. Since then we have had two or three rollovers every year. This year I expect a turnover of 10 million. And we are now also making a profit. I put that in advertising. However, the ambition is not to sell the most products. We aim for thought leadership and not market leadership. We want to make an impact with our idea.”
“We call our business model open source: we are in frequent discussions with Unilever and Albert Heijn. We like to share information with competitors because our mission is to convert everyone. I want 100 percent of the cleaning products market to be sustainable. Not by achieving a 100 percent market share yourself. But because everyone follows us and does what we do. For example, Unilever now has the Love Beauty Planet brand for which they use 100 percent recycled plastic. I showed that four years ago, I hope they have learned a bit from me.”
“We do not pretend to put the most sustainable product on the market all at once. That's not possible either. But as soon as we see opportunities to do it more sustainably, we immediately take it up. That also suits today's consumers. Only 5 to 8 percent of consumers are dark green. They relate all choices to sustainability. The majority of consumers are light green. They cycle as much as possible, but when it rains heavily they still get in the car. We want to take that consumer step by step to a dark green product. And if you make sustainability attractive, interesting and appealing, you will automatically get the consumer on board. Then 'going green' is no longer a sacrifice. But something that also benefits you.”
“By launching sustainable washing and cleaning products on the market, I want to make the world a better and cleaner place. Because soap products have a significant impact on the environment. In the Netherlands alone, 8 million empty soap bottles are thrown away every week. These are usually bottles made of virgin plastic, which means new petroleum has been used. In addition, in the Netherlands, 4 to 5 million liters of detergent, hand soap and shampoo are flushed through sinks and shower drains every week. That must and can be done differently.”
