Photo courtesy of Greg Genco.
Connecticut College is one of the first colleges nationwide to have a refill station for waste-free, low carbon and waterless solid laundry detergent sheets. Regarding the campus’ implementation of the ten year Sustainability Plan from 2018, this new refill station, located in Cro, will help Conn move closer to reducing their total waste and water consumption. The company behind the creation of the refill station is Generation Conscious, a sustainable toiletries company co-founded in Feb 2020 by Greg Genco. Genco started his education at Conn in 2008 before transferring and graduating from Amherst College in 2012. I spoke with Genco on Sept. 17 via Zoom about Generation Conscious and what this news means for Conn.
The mission of Generation Conscious’ is to address eco-classism and make sustainable products as accessible as possible to college students, especially for first generation, low-income students, who Genco explained, disproportionately come from “environmental-justice communities,” emphasizing how it is important that those students are prioritized. Nationwide, Generation Conscious is working with students and their administrations from other universities and colleges such as Hamilton College, Princeton, Rice University, University of Miami, and the University of California schools to add refill stations on their campuses. It’s important for Generation Conscious to be able to “provide people with plastic free products that everyone can access and to also ensure that those who may not even have access, making sure that the school pays for those students upfront.”
Everyone who has purchased a refill plan has already received a reusable container and ten detergent sheets in that container. According to the SGA Chair of Sustainability Milo Becker, there are 220 students who have bought refill plans so far. When comparing regular laundry detergent that can be purchased at the bookstore versus their laundry detergent sheets, Genco noted that the benefits of purchasing the detergent sheets are twofold. Firstly, “priced refills of the laundry detergent sheets are 20 percent cheaper than Tide Pods.” Secondly, the amount of solid waste management is reduced “by not having to dispose of a single-use plastic container helps to improve our whole ecosystem” which would ultimately improve land and water quality. While Genco acknowledges that laundry detergent is only “a small percentage of the total waste,” he hopes to “inspire people to start to critically think about how they consume and what they are consuming.” Becker states Generation Conscious has partnered with SGA, DIEI, and the Office of Financial Aid to “combat eco-classism by subsidizing the cost for 300 students who would benefit from the aid the most.”
To further address eco-classism on campuses, Generation Conscious is also creating opportunities for first-generation, low-income students to further get involved with the installation, distribution, and the marketing sectors of the company. “We wouldn’t just create a sustainable company if it wasn’t just prioritiz[ing] and centering low-income black/brown communities and workers,” Genco stated. “The implementation of the workforce development program will aim to hire a first-generation, low-income student to maintain the machine. In addition, students will be given the opportunity to learn about the circular economy and be able to participate in monthly executive meetings with the Generation Conscious team”. Students who are interested can reach out at info@generationconscious.org with a short letter of intent of only a few sentences and a resume in order to be considered.
By the end of the fall semester, Genco hopes to see about 10 percent of the Conn campus utilizing the machine on a monthly basis. By next year, ideally 15 percent of the campus will use the machine on a monthly basis. When asked about what students can expect from Generation Conscious in the future, Genco mentioned hand soap strips and multi cleaner purpose strips. From there, the company will determine student demand and preference to identify the next products in order to make sure that they serve as many students as possible before releasing a new product so that we are only releasing products that students actually want to use. Becker hopes to see tooth tablets be available for students on campus as soon as Generation Conscious is ready.
If you are interested in purchasing laundry detergent sheets, it is never too late to purchase the refill plan. In fact, Becker encourages students to sign up because of how easy it is to receive refills for the whole semester. Students can buy their subscription whenever they want on Generation Conscious’ website, or scan the QR code at the refill station which will bring students to a purchase link. For more updates on future events and products, follow their Instagram @gencoworld, or go on their website. Overall, this refill station is an exciting addition to campus and is only the beginning of Conn’s transition to a more waste-free campus.
