Three cheers for Windex. The popular window cleaner is now offering a more eco-friendly packaging option for those of us who are trying to make as little unnecessary waste as possible. The new product is called Windex Mini.
Windex Mini is the very same Window product that many of us have know and loved for many years. The only difference is that it comes in a concentrated form in a smaller package (bag). To use all you have to do is take an empty Windex bottle (or similar spray bottle), cut open the Windex Mini package, pour the concentrated formula into the empty bottle, fill with water and you are ready to go. You can’t get any easier then that.
Although concentrates use less packaging, decrease shipping impacts and reduce waste, testing has shown U.S. consumers are averse to refilling household cleaning bottles. SC Johnson believes that the effort to shift consumer mindsets around concentrates is a bigger opportunity than it is a challenge, and the company is making a commitment to the exploration.
Currently, people buy 21 million bottles of Windex cleaners each year. If just 20 percent of those were refilled, each year it could:
· Save 350,000 pounds of plastic – that’s 26 million ballpoint pens
· Avoid using 175,000 pounds of virgin plastic – that’s 3 million soda bottles
· Avoid transporting 735,000 gallons of water – that’s more than 6 million pounds by weight
The product is available for purchase exclusively online at www.scjgreenerchoices.com. The site includes an open forum for consumers to allow SC Johnson to solicit product feedback in real-time, respond to consumers and make changes. Additionally, the Greener Choices site covers four main topic areas: Conserving Energy, More with Less, Reduce & Recycle and Everyday Alternatives.
I had a chance to try out the new product and it was really simply to use. It’s the same exact Windex that I normally use. I have not noticed any difference as far as the product’s performance is concerned.
Here is a tip – when filling the bottle with water make sure to do it slowly, otherwise a lot of bubbles will fill up in the bottle and you have to wait for them to disappear before you can continue to refill. That is what happened to me (see the picture below of the bubbles).
The only downside to the new Windex Mini is that it’s not readily available on store shelves across the country. If I could easily find this product at my local grocery store, Walmart or Target I would certainly use the Windex Mini all the time over the traditional packaging. Currently you can only buy it online (you can purchase it directly here, http://www.scjohnson.com/en/WindexMini/default.aspx). The price is $7.50 for 3 packages.
Currently SC Johnson is offering free shipping with the initial order, which is great. After that it’s $3.05 to ship the same 3 packages. They also ship USPS parcel post, which means it can take a week to ten days after the order is processed to receive it. When I need to clean I cannot wait too long for the cleaning products. I would rather be able to run to the grocery store down the street and get it when I need it. Hopefully in the near future Windex Mini will be available everywhere.
I hope that more companies follow in SC Johnson’s steps and make products available in concentrated formulas in smaller packaging. I would much rather rinse and reuse a bottle rather then have to toss it away. Most of the time bottles that contained cleaning products are not safe to reuse with other products. That is why it’s better just to refill the bottles with the same or similar products.
For more information please visit the SCJ Greener Choices, or SC Johnson websites linked above.
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
ababe28 says
It’s not available in the mini where I am either!
Boo Hoo!
Julie says
This is great that they have less packaging now. I love when companies do that!
Penelope says
I wish they still made the wipes…I can’t find them anywhere.