How did the idea for Frey Brothers come about?
The reality is that laundry is an incredibly personal part of people’s lives. You spend 95% or more of your day in contact with the fragrance and chemicals that have gone through your laundry: you’re wearing clothes that have been through the wash, sleeping on sheets, using towels, etc. The industry is incredibly commodified, with products and brands that don’t resonate with most people. This became wildly apparent to us while we were attending college which is when we first started making decisions on which laundry detergent we would use. When we would walk down the grocery aisles, we realized that nearly all the scents and advertisements had similarities which seemed very old fashioned and outdated. We were just using the same products that our family had used in the past, and none of the products actually resonated with us.
Also, there was a realization that, in this day and age, you should be able to have an easy way to have your detergent delivered to your home, as many products are these days. As our interest grew, we started looking into it more and realized that many mainstream formulations use ingredients which can be harmful to your clothes, your skin, and the environment. When you spend nearly every waking minute in contact with your clothes, sheets, towels, and other washables, you definitely don’t want harmful ingredients in contact with your skin. That is when we knew something had to be done. FREY was born out of a line of products designed to take better care of the clothing you invest in and the environment you live in while making a positive impact.
How does the system work?
FREY Detergent is formulated to be safer for your clothing and the environment, with a scent inspired by some of the top fragrances. FREY is B Corp certified, and uses natural ingredients, and has no phosphates, whiteners, brighteners, OBA’s, FBA’s, parabens or many of the other harmful ingredients found in other products. We also use concentrated formulations and distribution systems to minimize both water waste and other forms of waste. Additionally, FREY uses a surfactant which is less irritating to your skin than ingredients other detergents use, and a gentle specialized blend of enzymes to ensure that along with having a good impact on your clothing, your skin, your scent, and the environment, it is an exceptional cleaner.
How are the detergents from FREY different from what’s out there?
The most noticeable difference is the scent, with a fragrance inspired by clean colognes and perfumes rather than “fresh meadows” and “spring breeze” like almost all mainstream products advertise. The second noticeable difference is that, after only a few washes, your clothes will still retain their natural color and quality more than many other brands that use harsher chemicals.
Other differences, as mentioned, include our home delivery system, our concentrated formulation designed to minimize water waste, and the cleaner ingredients we use that are much better for the environment. Another fact we are proud of is our strong philanthropic program -consisting of planting a tree for each purchase and washing the clothing of those in need, from low-income families to the homeless.
Tell us more about the science behind the brand?
FREY is formulated without phosphates, whiteners, brighteners, sulfates, phthalates, or a number of other harmful ingredients found in most currently available products. Its surfactant (the main cleaning agent in most products) is also plant derived from coconut and more readily biodegradable. We also use a specialized enzyme blend to maximize cleaning power while minimizing damage to your clothing.
Anything else to add?
One of the things we are most excited about is how our customers are now discussing laundry and our projects. This sounds odd but while we did set out to make a great set of products the by product was that our products actually are reshaping how people think about laundry, turning it from less of a chore and more into an experience. The majority of our customers have actually said that they are more excited to do laundry just by using FREY.
Our customer reviews are some of the most creative, hilariously descriptive reviews we’ve read about any product. Over 97% of our customers prefer the scent of FREY over the scent of their previous detergent, and over 80% feel more confident about their scent. We are actually helping people get excited about what used to just be an old chore to suffer through. We’ve had an amazing response to our first set of products, and are extremely excited to be releasing an additional new scent line, as well as to begin expanding outside of laundry products.
