Who we are
Our History
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2004
Andy and his team went looking for natural antibacterial ingredients to replace a chemical called Triclosan for a product they were working on.
(Triclosan is widely used in the toiletries industry as an antibacterial ingredient, it has caused some concern amongst scientists though as it can be extremely toxic).
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2005
The first ingredient the team came across was an antibacterial wipe being used in hospitals. It had been developed as antibacterial and derived from plants. It was also extremely tough on germs, but very kind to the skin - Perfect! Sadly though some of the ingredients weren't right so they couldn't use it.
The search for the vital ingredient continued and they came across another natural antibacterial technology. This technology derived from oranges was as good as anything at killing germs but not toxic. In fact it's so natural and mild to the skin you could virtually drink it. Andy met the inventor and told him we'd like to use his ingredient in our product. He liked us, so he said why not.
At this point the range of products was called Green Clean. Andy soon realised that Green Clean just wasn't right as that wasn't what we he was trying to achieve. He wanted to make really great products that happened to be green. Andy felt a lot of people see green as a compromised choice, as they have to compromise on the performance, the look and feel and the price.
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2006
Whilst Andy and Will (his boss) were having a discussion about the product the name became obvious, patently obvious in fact. Because so much is Patently Obvious... isn't it?
Patently obvious we all need to reduce our impact on the environment. Patently obvious we all need to be aware what we are using on our skin and where it came from. Patently obvious we should try to recycle and be less wasteful!
So the name was born and Patently Obvious it was.
So the product had a name, a great natural antibacterial technology that was tough on germs, kind and mild to the skin, came from a growing crop and was very readily biodegradable, so the team went into the lab to develop a great formula.
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2007
Whilst the formula was nearly ready the team knew they would need something to put the products in. Driven by the state of our landfills and angered by those products which use way too much packaging the team managed to persuade a local company to make bottles from 100% Post Consumer recycled plastic.
They were also able to print directly on to the bottles removing the need for any secondary packaging; perfect! Meanwhile the final testing of our new formulas were taking place and we even found some of them to be more than ten times milder on skin than leading baby shampoos!
-
2008
The team is proud to see the first bottles of Patently Obvious hand washes, foamers, shower gels and sanitisers launching in Boots stores nationwide.
The first of its kind, Patently Obvious is made with natural or naturally derived ingredients and is paraben and SLES free. The packaging is created from 100% recycled plastic and the products are manufactured in the UK.