Australian circular economy pioneer Zero Co is shutting down

Zero Co, the Australian cleaning goods startup promising a sustainable alternative to throwaway packaging, will cease trading at the end of the month, says founder Mike Smith.

The announcement signals the end of a startup that championed the circular economy model, but struggled with changes to its packaging and distribution model in late 2024.

In a statement shared to Zero Co's social media profiles late Tuesday, Smith said the six-year-old venture will hold a final sale before its digital shopfront closes on April 30.

"To every single person that’s been part of this amazing journey and incredible mission, I say this: thank you," said Smith.

Startup Daily reports the business will close while solvent.

Zero Co offers laundry detergents, cleaning liquids, shower washes, and dishwashing powders for use in refillable dispensers.

Instead of simply disposing of that packaging, Zero Co initially encouraged customers to mail their empty liquid sachets back to the business for reuse, reducing the amount of single-use plastic that would otherwise head to landfill.

That model gained traction soon after Zero Co's launch in 2019, with the startup raising $740,000 through Kickstarter.

The business parlayed that early success into a $5 million equity crowdfunding raise on Birchal in 2021, breaking the $1 million barrier in just five minutes.

In the same week, Zero Co booked $6 million in Series A funding from Square Peg, with its new investor boasting the startup had already cracked $1 million in monthly sales.

"Home cleaning and personal care has seen very little innovation in decades, and the category is dominated by a small number of massive consumer goods companies," Square Peg wrote in its investment note.

"We believe Zero Co's unique brand, community and distribution model, along with their infectious environmental mission, is the key in disrupting the industry."

The startup won SmartCompany's Smart50 Rising Star award the next year.

Beyond producing reusable dispensers and product sachets, the startup also pledged to remove 10 plastic bottles' worth of plastic waste from oceans and rivers for each product purchased.

On Tuesday, Smith said the policy resulted in the equivalent of 45 million bottles being pulled from vulnerable rivers and oceans.

While the startup flourished through 2021 and 2022, Zero Co radically changed its approach in 2024 by sunsetting its reusable sachet model.

Speaking to SmartCompany at the time, Smith said only 42% of customers actually sent their sachets back to Zero Co for reuse.

Analysis of the business' overall carbon emissions showed the closed-loop model was no longer optimal, he said.

Zero Co moved to a new model, with sturdier 'forever' dispensers made of recycled plastic and paper containers for its cleaning liquids and powders.

As the business retooled its supply chain and manufacturers, it planned further growth.

Documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show the business counted revenue of $10.79 million for FY24, while halving its yearly pre-tax operating loss to just over $336,000.

The business' goal of $100 million in annual revenues by FY29 would come through "rapid expansion", the report said.

New product lines, global markets, and wholesale partnerships were key to that plan, according to the report.

But the transition to paper-based refills challenged Zero Co in late 2024.

Taking to social media, Smith said the business faces challenges with seals on some products, hampering its rollout and prompting Zero Co to offer refunds.

Challengers persisted in early 2025.

In posts to the business' social media pages, customers described weeks-long waits for Zero Co's popular laundry and dishwashing products.

"Thanks for your patience while we work through some production delays," the business wrote in February.

"While we don't have a confirmed return date yet, we're working hard to get your favourites back on shelf."

Some laundry and dishwashing products are not present on Zero Co's final sale page.

SmartCompany has contacted Smith for comment.

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