SoapUp
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
SMALL but IMPORTANT gestures.
SoapUp translates a SIMPLE GESTURE into a unique experience
The gesture that we do several times a day and that SAVES LIFE: wash your hands
SoapUp suspends the soap above the sink making it immediately available, practical and always clean
SUSTAINABILITY AESTHETIC INCLUSION = SoapUp
SoapUp is SUSTAINABLE because it limits the use of plastic
It is practical, does not waste and responds to an aesthetic need
SoapUp is truly INCLUSIVE, it is FOR ALL!
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
SoapUp® a small and good REVOLUTION
SoapUp® is a PATENDED idea
SoapUp® was born from the strong will of a return to the old, dear soap bar. The reason why, in the 70s liquid hand soap was favorably received in our homes (over 65% of people use liquid soap), is the big problem of the soap "drowns" gets dirty by consuming itself in the soap dish.
SoapUp® has solved this problem
SoapUp® is a soap holder that suspends the soap above the sink.
It surprises you with its simplicity: a new concept designed for everyone -
SoapUp is DESIGN FOR ALL!
The advantages are obvious:
- the soap is always available
- it lasts much longer while always remaining dry and clean
- Do not produce waste
SoapUp is rechargeable, adjustable, it adapts to every need: it can be placed on the tap, near the sink or on the wall
3 versions of SoapUp will be produced:
1 BASIC which is placed on the tap
2 TOP which is placed on the surface near the sink
3 WALL which is placed on the wall
The three versions perfectly meet every need
SoapUp is composed of
BASIC - stainless steel pin, stainless steel cable, PVC tube.
WALL and TOP - stainless steel bracket, nautical rope cable, stainless steel pin
Normally the soap bar is used only in the bathroom, with SoapUp it is used in the kitchen and in the shower
SoapUp is suitable for housing a soap of about 50gr. This bar of soap will be enough to wash your hands at least two months
Instructions for use: The SoapUp® pin is magnetic, move the two parts apart, insert the pre-drilled bar of soap supplied, insert the other half of the pin which will magnetically adhere to the first, ensuring that the bar is hooked.
With SoapUp, a wide selection of handcrafted and high quality pre-drilled soaps will also be provided. However, there is a range of customers who either produce the soap themselves or prefer to buy from their supplier. For these needs I have developed “turtle” a nice object that can pierce the soap.
Key objectives for sustainability
SoapUp is the emblem of SUSTAINABILITY that responds to a primary need:
TO WASH HANDS
I've always been a lover of soap bar. But when liquid soap arrived in our homes in the 1970s it was a hit. Finally we could forget the dirty and slimy soap bar. RESULT? about 65% of people use liquid soaps.
Today, any choose must be responsable! Even choosing how to wash your hands with, must be a conscious choice. Be aware that choosing liquid soap means handing over to society the problem of disposing of single use plastic containers. SoapUp is SUSTAINABLE not only because it DOESN'T PRODUCE WASTE, but because it helps limit the use of single-use plastics. This is not something to be taken lightly if around 65% of people use liquid soap
SoapUp is a very small object suitable for everyone that REALLY can help reduce the consumption of single use plastic. Individual ecological awareness is becoming a reality more and more consumers are making conscious purchases not only paying attention to the needs of the moment but thinking about the impact their choice will have on our ecosystem.
The FLOATING ISLANDS of plastic in our oceans sound incredible to us but they are real!
Alarming reports: 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year. Microplastics pollute our seas with an environmental impact that results in disastrous damage to our ecosystem and human health.
SOME NUMBERS
50gr for 2 months an average family
250ml liquid for 1 month = 16.5 million
We have calculated that using SoapUp with a small 50gr bar of soap a person washes their hands for over two months. SoapUp could make the difference and direct consumers towards this type of purchase because the problems related to the soap placed in the soap dish that gets dirty and melts has been solved. Limiting the use of single-use plastics to safeguard our seas, THIS IS SoapUp's PRIORITY
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
I strongly believe in the principles of the BauHaus and in particular those that describe exactly SoapUp, are in Sullivan's famous phrase: " in shape follows the function" in addition to the other principle that an object must have, namely simplicity and effectiveness.
The creation process that led me to the final form that now defines SoapUp began, several years ago, by fixing a simple drawstring to a bar of soap to which I had given the shape of a little fish ...
I remember using it a lot and I was surprised how after more than a month it was still pleasant to use that bar of soap. As a designer, I started to study the problem in depth. How to turn a drawstring into a soap hanger? The pivot, which is at the heart of the patent, has been modified over and over again until the current solution is arrived at with the updating of the patent in April 2021. Now the key is magnetic. A simple and effective object, without essential "frills".
SOAPUP'S KEY GOALS ARE:
1 - Solve the problem of soap deteriorating and that is not used completely by remaining in the soap carrier.
2 - Help the planet no longer need a single-use plastic part.
This problem led in the 1970s to the success of liquid soaps. It is estimated that 65% of Italian households today use liquid soap. They consume about 1 per month of 250ml. In Italy alone they mean a monthly consumption of about 16,250,000 disposable plastic bottles.
Key objectives for inclusion
SoapUp keeps the soap suspended from the tap or a bracket, preventing it from coming into contact with water stagnation, so it lasts longer (the 50g one lasts more than 2 months for one people) and remains dry and hygienic. It also invites the use of soap instead of liquid soap because it is greener, saves both the plastic of the packages and the water that we pour into the environment due to the foaming agents contained in common soaps. SoapUp soaps are 100% biodegradable because they contain only oil and soda.
SoapUp is a project really aimed at everyone: the creator has been contacted by Life for All, the platform for inclusive thinking that deals with discussing and collecting design projects that improve everyone's life, because SoapUp is a product suitable also for the blind and those who use only one limb, as well as perfect for contexts such as schools.
The advantages of its use are obvious:
- soap always remains dry and clean and is no longer resting on a surface;
- solves dirt problems and reduces waste
- the bar of soap is always ready to use;
- it offers design accessories, innovative and in line with the philosophy of eco-sustainability.
- The packaging is minimized and made of recycled materials. SoapUp® can replace the use of liquid soap and reduce the consumption of plastic dispensers.
SoapUp is a "better " way to make a daily gesture, such as washing your hands, to contribute to the protection of the environment and promote made in Italy in the world.
Results in relation to category
"To be qualified as design, a product not only has to respond to an aesthetic performance, but must be reproducible, practical, innovative. It's design -- so -- just what responds to thesefeatures."
This is the idea of the designer who opened her studio more than 20 years ago as an artistic laboratory for designing unique pieces. Her interest has always focused on the use of various materials including iron, glass, steel, clay and resins. It was her passion for materials that led her to create SoapUp.
The category referred to by SoapUp® is "Products and Lifestyle" where products are products and processes that contribute to a sustainable, attractive and inclusive lifestyle.
SoapUp® is an extremely simple but revolutionary object, designed for all places and for all people: able-bodied, children or disabled.
There is the SoapUp® Home version that hangs directly on the tap: useful in the bathroom or shower, indispensable in the kitchen can be used with specific tubular support in polished stainless steel with round or square base: -wall support - top support - shower support SoapUp® Home packages are made of light brown recycled card board.
The graphics of the packaging use colors that recall freshness; the soap is protected by a paper bag, and the open sides allow you to see the product inside.
Collections of organic soaps have been designed to match SoapUp. A range of soapshas been designed, to be used as refills, with olive oil withbergamot essence, donkey milkand volcanicpowder, handmade soaps that valuethe artisan excellence ofthe territory.
Then there's SoapUp® Resort which is the hotel version. The advantages of its use are evident, both for the guest and for the structure that offers hospitality:
- soap always remains clean and dry and is no longer in contact with asurface;
- the hotel, with SoapUp Resort, only provides the new soap when changing hosts. This avoids waste
How Citizens benefit
Each company, through the recognition of the "added value" created by its activity in the territory, can optimize the planning of its activities and can define efficient business processes having identified all the factors and stakeholders involved.
The social impact of SoapUp, understood as the set of resources, inputs and processes used to pursue the specific business and social objectives, which change the living/working/relationship conditions of the persons directly or indirectly involved, can be very important.
SoapUp® and those who designed it do not pursue as its sole objective that of profit, but bases its activity on ethical, social and environmental values and firmly believes in it.
SoapUp® was the subject of a first small self-funded production. Only then did the SoapUp "family" of 4 people with complementary knowledge and experience try with a crowdfunding campaign on INDIEGOGO to obtain funds for a more important production, research and development activities to continue to improve and the product, cover the costs of materials and promote the object with an adequate marketing activity. It would have been intended to carry out a marketing campaign at European level with the desire to extend the patent of invention at international level and expand the product range.
Participation in the New European BauHaus could be the means of achieving these results.
Innovative character
The idea behind it is that a soap in the soap box disperses, through stagnation in the water, a good part of it substance , as well as taking on a bad appearance. Suspended in the air, the soap remains dry, lasts longer, because it does not lose material, and also saves its appearance.
Thanks to SoapUp®, according to the designer's experience, a 50gr bar of soap has a life span equal to about three bottles of 250ml of liquid soap.
A flexible stainless steel cable and an adjustable ring protected by a colorful non-slip sheath ensure the soapup's position to any type of tap. Initially designed for domestic use, today it could find interesting outlets also in the contract sector, thanks to the versatility of customizable shapes, colors and fragrances of soaps. The project, moreover, represents, in its way, a small revolution in the bathroom sector, so much so that it received the best design award for packaging at the 6th Biennale of Visual Communications in Lubjiana.
