Zero Co Founder Mike Smith on How His Daughter Inspires Him to Rid the World of Plastic Waste
It was a series of spectacular vistas some years ago that ultimately changed the course of Mike Smith’s life. “I trekked the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, stayed in Kurdish villages in Iraq and made it to Kamchatka, in the northeast of Russia near the Arctic Circle,” recalls the founder of eco-friendly company Zero Co. “And sadly, I saw plastic waste everywhere.”
That’s how the idea for Smith’s business, which generates $1 million a month, was born. “I said to myself, ‘As woefully underqualified as I am, I’m going home to build a business that solves the world’s plastic waste problem.’”
His company launched on Kickstarter in 2019 and quickly became a success. It’s a simple concept: customers purchase Zero Co’s range of products (from multipurpose cleaner to shampoo and, soon, toothpaste) in recycled “forever” bottles made from plastic pulled from large-scale ocean clean-ups. After the initial sale, they’re sent refill pouches (also made from recycled ocean-sourced plastic), which are then returned via prepaid postage to be cleaned and reused.
Having just celebrated its second year in business, the outfit’s growth has been exponential, with a host of new products and expansion into major supermarkets around the country. But it’s the environmental wins that truly inspire the Byron Bay-based entrepreneur. “We’ve now removed 3.4 million water bottles’ worth of rubbish out of the oceans, beaches and rivers.”
And while the perspective from far-flung mountain tops might have started the whole process, these days it’s a view closer to home that keeps Smith’s passion for change alive. “We welcomed our first child, Tilly, this year,” he explains. “I’ve never felt more committed to pulling as much rubbish out of the natural environment as we can. For her sake and for the sake of everyone else’s kids.”
