Show your support for this innovation. Tweet it. Like it on Facebook. Leave a comment.
The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity. More about the SMART 100.
Scrubba Wash Bag (VIC)
This innovation initially came to life when…
Ashley Newland was preparing for a trip to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. He realised that with all his cold weather and camping gear he would only be able to take a few changes of clothing and would have to wash them regularly. While waterproof bags can be used to soak clothing, they lack efficiency. It was then that he had the revelation that washboards have been around for centuries and they work! If he could incorporate a flexible washboard into a sealable bag, he could change the way people wash clothing when they travel.
WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
Provide travellers or environmentally conscious urban dwellers with a compact and lightweight device for washing clothing that doesn’t require electricity and can be used anywhere.
It does this by…
Virtue of the Scrubba wash bag’s highly flexible internal washboard. A user simply: adds water, detergent and dirty clothing to the Scrubba wash bag; seals the bag and expels air through a valve; rubs the clothing against the flexible washboard for 20-40 seconds; empties the bag and rinses the clothing. Clothing is clean in minutes!
PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
There has never been a device for washing clothes that is compact, lightweight and efficient enough for people to take travelling. The Scrubba wash bag weighs around 180g and is almost pocket-sized.
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
Being able to wash their clothes for free whenever and wherever they want. As the Scrubba wash bag doesn’t require electricity, it is an environmentally friendly method for washing clothing and its size means it will fit in anyone’s pack.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
Travellers paying to use a Laundromat or washing service or soaking their clothing in sinks or plastic bags. However, Laundromats and washing services can be hard to find and/or are expensive when abroad. Sinks may be dirty or unavailable for soaking clothing and plastic bags lack washing efficiency.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
Sinks, Laundromats, traditional washing machines and plastic bags.
TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
Anyone that needs to wash clothing on the go. This includes backpackers or other travellers, campers, military personnel, aid workers, etc. Literally, millions of people around the world! There is also a large market for urban dwellers or college students who may not have easy access to a washing machine or may only want to quickly wash a few items of clothing or delicates. As the Scrubba wash bag doesn’t require electricity, it should also appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.
DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
It is available for sale through…
Our website (www.thescrubba.com) from early May 2012 with worldwide shipping available. We also plan to engage retailers in our major markets to stock the Scrubba wash bag.
Our marketing strategy is to…
Continue promoting the Scrubba wash bag through social media campaigns as well as online and in-print travel, camping and gadget magazines. For a product yet to be released, the Scrubba wash bag has already had over 80,000 YouTube views in 154 countries and online news coverage in more than eight languages.
SUPPORTING IMAGES
SHARE THE LOVE
You can show your support for this outstanding Australian innovation in three ways:
- Tweet it: Top left of each page
- Trigger a Reaction: Facebook ‘Like’, etc.
- Leave a Comment: Anonymous comments excluded.
More about the READERS’ CHOICE INDEX.
