How a trip to Everest Base Camp led twin brothers to tackle a major pollution problem

The horror of finding a mountain of plastic, rubbish and debris at Everest Base Camp motivated young Gold Coast entrepreneurs to return home and tackle world pollution with a clean sheet.

For Gold Coast identical twins Brodie and Roger Cook, taking on the enormity of world pollution meant starting small.

“We saw a problem, we were shocked, and we decided to do something about it,” Brodie said.

The Lucent laundry sheets

The pair wanted to reduce the amount of plastic and waste and help everyday people, not just “eco-warriors,” make similar small changes every day.

Starting out from their garage on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia, the 26-year-olds have developed unique plant-based laundry sheets that are completely bio-degradable, offering daily planet-saving change in the process.

“We didn’t set out to do laundry sheets, we were just focussing on being environmentally conscious,” Cook said.

“We see all over the news the horrible pollution issues around the world and it’s so easy to be discouraged and wonder how any of this could ever be solved.

“We know we don’t have the capability to solve the world’s pollution issues, but we do have the ability to make a difference and do what is right.

“We’re starting small, with a product that is used in our everyday lives and is a huge source of plastics and pollution.”

Launching Lucent Globe laundry sheets in March, the twins aim to help convert the daily wash away from traditional laundry detergents and towards plant-friendly alternatives.

The laundry sheets are made from coconuts and contain the enzyme protease, which helps the breakdown of organic molecules such as blood, dirt and other tough stains.

The laundry sheets are free from phosphate and other chemicals.

They are also completely biodegradable, which means they don’t just fully dissolve, they biodegrade rapidly to minimise any impact on the environment.

Brodie & Roger Cook and their first product – laundry detergent sheets

The laundry sheets themselves are packaged in a 100% recyclable box, which removes the need for any single-use plastics such as bulky plastic laundry liquid bottles.

“We’re born and bred here on the Gold Coast and we love the pristine environment. We’ve also been fortunate enough to see other parts of the world, often quite remote places,” Cook said.

“We did travel to Base camp at Mount Everest. The rubbish and the amount of plastic that we saw…it’s not what you wanted to see, it feels like the place is being ruined. It was a great experience, but we were also very shocked.”

Cook said the pair sold their first 1000 boxes of laundry sheets in five weeks and had won a strong following locally on the Gold Coast.

“We really just wanted to do something that would help and make it easy for others too,” he said.

“Laundry sheets do make it easy: there’s no need for measuring and filling up a little cup or scoop, you just put a sheet in with your clothes.

“There’s so many benefits to it such as helping cut down the amount of waste and the amount of plastics, and these laundry sheets do all of that.

“They really are for the everyday person, not just people who are environmentally conscious. You don’t necessarily go out of your way to look for eco-friendly products, but this is one way you can help.”