• by Les Luchter , July 23, 2024

 

In what it’s calling a “pint-sized” partnership, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) -- whose 150+ members include industry heavyweights Clorox and Procter & Gamble -- has enlisted a miniature laundry room to demonstrate how to store laundry detergent packets safely to prevent accidental exposure to children or adults with cognitive disabilities.

The laundry room, small enough to fit in a dollhouse, was built by influencer Dr. Kwandaa Roberts, an ob/gyn who’s better known as the creator of D2C miniature retailer Tiny House Calls. 

In an Instagram video, Dr. Roberts’ hand reaches into her tiny laundry room as she spills out tiny detergent packets from a tiny decorative jar, tightly secures the lid of a tiny liquid detergent bottle and places it in high cabinet, and moves a tiny step stool out of reach.

In accompanying text, Dr. Roberts provides three laundry safety tips: Always store liquid laundry packets in their original containers; securely seal packet containers after each use; store liquid laundry packets up high and out of sight and reach.

The video, text and a link in Dr. Robert’s bio direct consumers to packetsup.com, an ACI location that provides more info and offers a free reminder “cling” to affix to cabinets or washing machines.

The ACI’s Packets Up initiative, now seven years old, was originally created to get liquid laundry packets -- introduced just 12 years ago --- placed high enough in laundry rooms  to prevent their access by kids.

Then came COVID-19 -- and what ACI senior vice president Brian Sansoni told Marketing Daily in 2022 was the “disturbing trend” of social media photos showing not only liquid packets but also powder pods being “taken out of their original containers” and used as decorative items. As a result, ACI added “Store, Not Décor” to its key safety points.

And while Dr. Roberts’ teeny laundry room may be stretching the point, a recent study conducted by Wakefield Research for ACI found that 46% of U.S. households have a washer or dryer “tucked in a closet or within another room in the home.”

Dr. Roberts joins a growing list of influencers who have worked with ACI on the Packets Up initiative. In the last couple of years, they’ve included a child safety advocate, a speech-language pathologist/dementia educator, a pediatrician, and a plain old mom. Last month, ACI teamed with professional organizing company Hoderly.

The miniature laundry room, which took about a month for Dr. Roberts to build, will now be displayed in ACI’s Washington, DC offices.

Pods and packets now make up 23% of U.S. laundry detergent sales, according to Statista.