Belgium-based company Ecover, a manufacturer of green household cleaning products, has acquired San Francisco-based environmentally friendly cleaning product company, Method, making it the world’s largest green cleaning company.
According to Adam Lowry, who founded Method twelve years ago in his garage with Eric Ryan, “The partnership gives us greater scale and resources and a global platform for our supply chain and research and development.”
Ecover, founded in 1979, has 35 different products currently retailed across 40 countries. According to Ecover chief executive Philip Malmberg, the aquisition, “will not only create the world’s most dynamic and visionary green cleaning company but also establish a great platform for growth for both brands. By leveraging each other’s strengths, this partnership will support the elevation of the green cleaning category as a whole.”
Ecover has a bigger presence in Europe and Method has a stronger presence in the States. Method’s sales approached $100 million last year, with products sold in more than 40,000 retail stores in the US, Europe and Asia, including major chains like Target and Kroger.
Method announced earlier this summer that they will be utilizing plastic from the Pacific Garbage Patch to use in a plastic soap bottle that will be released in November.
According to TriplePundit, both companies have similar concepts when it comes to manufacturing – Method has focused on reducing its carbon footprint in its product distribution as well as installing solar panels and eschewing the use of water in some of its facilities. Ecover on the other hand, designs its own factories in order to lower its environmental impact.
Source: TriplePundit