Creative individuals all over the world have been asked to submit their ideas and solutions at eYeka.com with the winning submission for an environmentally friendly shower in line for a cash prize and a trip to London to develop the idea.
In-home use is responsible for a significant proportion of the carbon footprint of shower products and with water becoming evermore precious there is an identified need to develop the world’s first commercially viable shower of the future.
Phil Giesler, Vice President, New Businesses Unit for Unilever said the move was in line with taking increased responsibility for the way in which Unilever brands are consumed and that it would allow for the potential of crowdsourcing to deliver a coherent solution to a complex challenge.
Michiel Leijnse, Water and Innovation brand director for Unilever said: “We all love our morning shower yet the showering process hasn’t changed in decades. It consumes substantial amounts water, requires a significant amount of energy to heat that water and it isn’t great for the skin.
“As part of our commitment to making sustainable living commonplace, we’d like to reinvent the shower in a way that reduces its environmental impact while enhancing the user experience,” said Michiel.
The move comes after the announcement of a partnership between Unilever and co-creation community eYeka in order to further tap into its open creativity platform across Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Russia and South Africa. Through the partnership, eYeka’s online community of over 250,000 creators will have the chance to develop ideas for a number of familiar Unilever brands.
François Pétavy, CEO, eYeka said: “eYeka’s mission is to leverage the world’s creativity to enable organizations and people to create a better future together. This initiative is a tremendous opportunity for our community to have an impact on our environment. We are proud to be invited by Unilever to participate in such a meaningful endeavour.“
Notes for the editor
Submissions for the ‘shower of the future’ can be made at www.eYeka.com and should meet the following criteria:
- The need to be cost efficient and affordable to the end user
- Have an innovative design but that fits within a typical modern bathroom
- Should use no more than 10 litres of water per use
Through its Open Innovation platform Unilever offers experts the opportunity to help the company find some of the technical solutions it needs to achieve its ambition of doubling the size of its business while reducing its environmental impact
Unilever has partnered with eYeka for a range of its brands including Clear, Close Up, Comfort, Cornetto, Lifebuoy, Lipton, Lux and Pond’s
About eYeka
Welcome to the World's biggest creative playground! eYeka enables marketers and their agencies to accelerate the creation and marketing of more relevant products by leveraging a wealth of creative ideas developed by a community of over 250,000 creative individuals in 154 countries. 40 leading brands such as Unilever, Mondelez, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Danone, Hyundai, Toyota, Citroën and Microsoft are already tapping into eYeka's community. Discover why at www.eyeka.net.