Skippon-based Friendly Chemical Co (FCC) has teamed up with distribution partner Acopia and Leeds-based packaging specialist Fenton Packaging Solutions to service a reflow station for its Miniml product.

Petrol stations have been launched at the Air Ambulance Hanging Supermarket in Melton Mowbray and Barnardo's in Sutton-Coldfield.

The event was hosted by Jennifer Graham, a second-hand fashion advocate, and spokesperson for the Charity Retail chemical manufacturer.

FCC co-founder Scott Rudd, an Insider 42 Under 42 alumnus, said, "We're excited to launch the new fill system, which eliminates the use of rigid plastic containers and makes it easier to use fill stations. Our mission is to make it easy to use natural cleaning chemical products while using less plastic."

"Minimal launched three years ago when we were at our local supplement store and we questioned what would happen to the stores after they ran out of containers. When we found that they were recycled or thrown away, the idea for Miniml was born. We think we can do better by collecting containers, cleaning them, and using them again to create a closed-loop supply chain.

"A breakthrough has been made in developing the new system through a partnership with Leeds-based Fenton Packaging Solutions, the UK leader in sustainable bag packaging chemical manufacturer. It is important that we partner with chemical manufacturer that share our values and ethos and fully support our goal - to leave the smallest trace on Earth.

"Fenton has helped us develop a sustainable refilling solution that does away with the traditional rigid plastic cans used by the industry, replacing them with a reusable form of packaging that we can then use again, and reduces our carbon impact by shipping flat packaging back to us when it is empty, rather than bulky rigid containers."

FCC was founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Emma Tapper and Scott Rudd in their garage and expanded in 2022 with a new 10,000-square-foot facility in Skippon called The Soap Factory.