John Roulac shares why he set out to create a laundry detergent with no plastic, no water, and no synthetic dyes or perfumes, and how trial and error led to Coco Clean’s ultra-concentrated, paper-packed powder. We talk about the ingredients that make it work, why “fragrance-free” is not the same as “free and clear,” and why powder is making a comeback. John then looks back on building Nutiva, from selling coconut oil to Costco to suing the DEA over hemp, and how that experience fuels his regenerative agriculture work with farmers from Malawi to Washington State. We wrap up with his advice for entrepreneurs, a few daily health tips, and how he defines a better world.
Key Topics
Developing the formula for plastic-free, no-water laundry detergent
Fragrance-free vs. “free and clear”
The shift from plastic pods and the comeback of powder detergent
Using trial sizes to drive adoption
The 7% for regeneration pledge
Agroforestry work with small farmers
Helping large farmers reduce synthetic inputs
Challenges of launching a CPG brand today
Sound Bites
“I read a quote recently, they said, ‘You know what the most regenerative, sustainable, best ingredient there is in the world? It’s a pound of material that you didn’t have to use.’ That you just don’t need.”
“We didn’t say free and clear, we said fragrance free, and there’s a big difference.”
“Why ship water around in plastic bottles in jugs? Does that make any sense?”
“And he says, ‘You really think people want a solid, you know, jar of saturated fat?’ And I said, ‘I do, Jerry.’ And and he was willing to take it in and it sold so well, they just kept buying truckload after truckload.”
“They tried to say hemp was the same category as heroin and they passed that rule ten days after nine eleven. That was a fun time.”
“They don't need a hand out, they need a hand up, you know, and they're really hardworking. And the farmers that we've trained, they have a really good the ratio of them sticking with it.”
“If you have healthy soil, you have healthy plants. If you have healthy plants, you have healthy animals, you have healthy people, you have a healthy environment. It’s all linked in.”
“As Ray Archuleta, which I quote in the article I'm working on is ‘Healing the land is the easy part. The challenge is the humans.’”
“A better world where we take care of and improve nature, respect nature. And if we respect nature we’re gonna respect people. If we disrespect nature, we’re ultimately disrespecting people too.”
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