breaksoap from Dave Hakkens on Vimeo.

Dave Hakkens is not a new name in the world of sustainably conscious designers. Our recent profile explores his work to eliminate the constant waste in replacement of technology and in turn empowering consumers to take charge of sustainability. With projects like Phonebloks and Precious Plastics Hakkens is continuing to tackle this ever expanding problem.

Hakkens has now brought out a new eco-friendly soap concept that eliminates the negative environmental impact that hand soap dispensers have. Hand pumps contain a lot of chemicals (not only in the product but also in the packaging) and the main reason for their widespread use is that they are much more hygienic. There are 80 million tonnes of waste per year in the UK alone and a recent resurgence in sustainable design is bringing products like Break Soap to light. Low impact materials with minimal impact on the environment are not only beneficial to sustaining our planet, but they are innovations that shift our consumer’s behaviour, they generate a relationship, often inspiring interactions and connections between user and product, removing the purchasing of monotonous products.

The product itself contains 90 different sizes of soap blocks for a more or less intense wash. The idea is that you only break off one piece at a time, therefore avoiding contaminating the rest of the soap. Although it may seem like the death of the hand soap dispenser is inconceivable, Break Soap is definitely starting the transition.