pear-fect!

A couple online articles/blog posts, etc. have begun to show up mentioning that they've received a box from method cradling two of their new Orla Kiely products, a hand wash and dish soap! (You can read one post here on Apartment Therapy!) method does this from time to time for their advocates, as well as for PR promotion. So while I'm not sure if this is an advocate tada! this time out or not, I'm gonna start crossing my fingers and watching for a surprise in the mail! If you happen to get this sweet little package, let method lust know (and what you think of the new scents and packaging!) 

sneak peek - orla kiely + method

 I got a secret for you! Fall is only two-ish and so months away! And living in North Carolina, I can't wait til it gets here! Seriously, Mother Nature can keep summer. It sucks. Major style. Like, it sucks words I can't even type on this blog or I'd get in trouble and have to go wash my mouth out with soap. But it would be method soap, so that wouldn't be so bad.

Anywho, along with fall comes method's new limited edition hand wash line! This time they collaborated with designer Orla Kiely to create their shrinkwrap bottle designs! You might remember she also recently had a line of exclusive items at your local Target stores!

  

photo via Angela Matusik at Shelteriffic, 2012

Lusters will also be getting four new scents! These include bay leaf, vanilla chai, primrose, and pear ginger. (I'm really excited for the bay leaf and pear ginger!) All will be available in gel and foaming hand wash, and the pear ginger will also be available in dish soap and all-purpose cleaner!  

The new hand washes are already hitting store shelves at some Targets, but the actual date for release is mid-August. Special thanks to method luster Rhonda for giving me this tip!

Are you excited? What do you think of the new fragrances?

image via method home, 2012

lustful speculation

Hey fellow lusters, I got a question for you! I realize it's a long shot, and wow has it been a day, so perhaps I'm just delusional, but just on the off chance, I want some advocate speculation. So method just posted on their Facebook page this wonderful shot of their fragrance director, Suzanne, giving a discussion on the process for creating method scents. Awesome! Look at all those reference photos, and the different items sitting on the shelf that she'd used to help her come up with all method's amazing sniff-mmm-ahh's! But wait, what... what is that? There, in the right corner, next to the 7-load bottle of laundry detergent. It kinda looks like some foaming hand wash, but it seems like it's in a really, really big bottle? There's a bottle of waterfall foaming just down the line, on the left, and yeah, I know there is some perspective going on here, but still... it also seems to be "dressed" in their new shrink wrap packaging... hmm.

Am I crazy? What do you think? I'm guessing a) it's just perspective and you need to go get a drink and go to bed early, Nathan; or b) a new kitchen hand wash (those come in big bottles) but in a foaming version (and a new scent); or c) brand new packaging for their dish soap, which lots of people complain you can't just sit on your sink and hit the pump or it'll shoot out all over you (and this bottle type would solve that problem, no? Or just picking it up off the shelf and squirting some on your sponge, you lazy mcDaisy! Ha!) Time will tell, time will tell...

What do you think?

sneak peek - fabric softener

Check it out! Look for method's fabric softener in brand new packaging, hitting store shelves now! I like it! Many advocates were regularly confused by the extremely similar packaging for the laundry detergent and fabric softener, so it looks like method heard our concerns and shook up the package design in order to make them more noticeably different. I like the nice, soft feel to the look of the bottle! Just like what the product is supposed to do!

Muchas gracias to method luster Jeff for taking and sending in this photo!

new debuts!

Spring is just around the corner (March 20th!) and true to fashion, method has begun sneaking out some great new products for us! And we all lust new method products, right? Take a look at the first two photos which feature method's spankin' new bottle design! You can view the new clementine scented all-purpose spray bottle here!

Their all-purpose sprays have also been reformulated with something they are calling powergreen technology, which helps the cleaners work even harder at naturally tackling stains and messes! And the glass cleaner is now a glass and surface cleaner. So you can use it all over your house, it's not just for glass anymore! (Mint scent everywhere? As the Kool-Aid man would say, Oh Yeah!)

Next up is a nifty new scent for their antibac line (oddly enough still in their old bottle design.) The new scent, which will be added to the lemon verbena kitchen line, is orange zest!

And finally, we have a-freakin-dorable new kids hand washes shaped like Mickey and Minnie Mouse heads (with official Disney logos on the bottle!) These will be available in lemonade and strawberry fizz scents! I'm not sure if these are Disney park products, or if they'll show up in stores; but they are available on method's online shop right this very minute (along with everything else I've mentioned here!)

And this is just the beginning, because in just a couple of weeks (mid-April) we'll also be seeing four, yes four, new limited edition hand wash scents hitting shelves (including lemon mint! Yes, you heard me right! And I've already announced another of the scents in a recent post here on method lust, so if you're a good little reader, you already know two of the four!) And speaking of limited edition scents, I noticed recently (this obviously passed me by) that their waterfall scent is now permanent (no more limited edition wording on the bottle!) Mandarin mango and waterfall are here to stay, while violet bloom and red currant are currantly currently still limited editions.

Are you excited for these new products? What will you snap up? (Cause it's all about the snap!)

sneak peek - clementine all-purpose spray

Take a look at method's newest all-purpose spray addition! - Clementine! (It's become a very popular scent! First dish soap, now spray cleaner, soon to be hand wash... no wait, I didn't say that last one. You've heard nothing from me! What? I can't hear you!...)

This also gives you a look at the newly designed spray cleaner bottles (which are starting to show up at some Targets!) You can even purchase the clementine spray cleaner right now on methodhome.com. Let method lust know when you start seeing the clementine hit your local store shelves!

dish soap lustin'

Lust the video! So cute! Two things: 1) the cap actually does come off the "leaf" shaped method dish soap bottle (it just takes a little more elbow grease); and b) look for dish soap refills to hit store shelves this spring! Yay!

(Cue camera shot looking down on Nathan as he stares up at the sky. Camera pans away slowly as Nathan shakes his fists angrily in the air while yelling "Sea minerals! You are the new sweet water!")

...and speaking of a better sponge (she has some great suggestions!) I just found these (new?) Scotch Brite natural sponges at my local Target. I hadn't seen them before, but apparently the scrubbers and sponges are made from 100% natural fibers (50% natural agave plant fibers); while the soap pads are made from 100% recycled plastic. Therefore you can compost the scrubbers and sponges (at least that's what their website says,) along with some other nifty info. You can find out more about these products here.

Now I'm not about to claim these are some amazing earth friendly sponges, but I've used Scotch Brite sponges for a while now (hey, I'm not perfect, as much as everyone thinks I may be - right, right?) and I was happy to find a more natural, eco-friendly version. And they're all beige colored! I love my beige. My entire house is beige, brown, and tan. LOL with the occasional pop of orange or grey blue. I know, I know. But I love my beige. Leave me be.

method fun!

fabric softener sneak peek!

method luster Stephen sent me in this photo of his Target discovery! Looks like the new laundry bottle/lighthouse fabric softener has started to hit the shelves! Here's a pic of their new fresh air 50-load fabric softener (which appears to be just as concentrated as the new laundry detergent! 4 pumps = 1 load/50 loads!! Let me know when you start seeing them at a Target near you! Thanks, Stephen!

soap dish!

The New York Times has just ran a (very to the point) article both in print and online touting some of method's awesome new products (appearing soon at a store near you!):

"Method’s Single-Handed Soap Dispenser | By Tim McKeough

The cleaning-products company Method is updating its range, aiming to keep every corner of the home spotless — and equipped with sculptural bottles. The new line of dishwashing soap ($3) is notable. “We had been trying to crack dish soap for years,” said Eric Ryan, one of the company’s founders.

Method’s new pump bottle is designed to appeal to people who apply soap directly to a dish or sponge as well as to those who fill up the sink with suds. It has a beefy base and a pump with a wide top so it can be used with one hand, without being picked up.

Method is also introducing its first antibacterial products, with cleaning sprays and wipes ($3 per container) that the company said kill household germs with a patented botanical formula; another addition is kitchen soap that removes food odors from hands ($3)."

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look for the new products to start hitting Target shelves (hopefully) this weekend!

sneak peek - dish soap

UPDATE Looks like I might be right about my August instead of September guess! A fellow advocate asked method about the apparent lack of fabric softener on store shelves, and their response was: "are you psychic? check the shelves mid august." So expect to see a new "lighthouse" fabric softener bottle (in the new laundry scents) this August; and I'd definitely say this is when many of the other new items (kitchen hand wash line, new dish soap, etc.) will also hit! It's just a matter of a few weeks! We can do it! (Well, actually I'm not so sure, but I'm gonna try! Real hard like!)

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Well, that was quick! Thanks to this snappy new article over on thedieline.com, we now get a really nice sneak peek of method's brand new dish soap (version 4.0!)

As I've mentioned before, they're taking their new, highly awarded (in fact they just won another one!) and lauded laundry "lighthouse" shaped bottle, and placing it on your kitchen sink! Along with that, we know now that at least one new scent will be clementine (which I'm dying to give a sniff! Clementine, mmm!) Another interesting bit is this new bottle will hold 18 oz. of dish soap, compared to the previous 25 oz. (which from the image seen on thedieline.com site, seems to have been maintained throughout all three previous bottle versions.) Not sure if this will mean a reduction in the price or not (I'd go with a not, given how everything seems to be going up, up, up! Have you eaten at Subway lately?! Oh wait, I digress...) But the extra good news is it's concentrated! So you use less! So I'd call that a win-win!

More soon! In the meantime, read this! (And... one more exclamation point! There, done.)

target a go-go

Well, everyone has been asking method what's up with the apparent lack of replenishment when it comes to their favorite dish soap being carried by Target! Many Target stores appear to be out, empty shelves, crying for more cute colored bottles! People just can't find their dishy suds! And with method announcing (via their recent Q&A chat session on Inc.com) a new dish soap in their lighthouse/laundry shaped bottle, the answers have finally been revealed!

Target has placed all the current method dish soap (mine still has it on the shelves) on clearance! And I gotta tell you (don't get all freaked out yet, as I don't know the answer) but I'm not sure if the current scents (cucumber, lavender and pink grapefruit) will make the move over to the new line, or not. From the pics we've seen, I'd say we can definitely expect one new scent! Other than that tidbit of knowledge, time will tell. method said we could expect to see the new detergent in September, but with Target already clearancing the current version out, I'd guess it might be more like mid-August!

Now, along with Target clearancing out the dish soap, they're also clearing out the go-naked gel hand wash, and all the multi-surface cleaning wipes! I'm not sure if we're about to see a new line of wipes as well, or if Target is just finished carrying them!

More information to come, don't ya know! In the meantime, I'd stock up just in case, OR there is always Lowe's Hardware for your method dish soap needs, until the new line hits the shelves!

lauded laundry

(Read to the bottom, you won't be disappointed!) method's new laundry detergent is getting lots of applause! From advocates, bloggers, design pros, and the industry in general! Personally, I love the new bottle! Four pumps, and it's done! I can't get over how easy it is to use. It's funny how we have to retrain ourselves when something this revolutionary comes along. Every time I pump it out, I just look into the washing machine and go "that can't be enough detergent to clean my clothes?! There's nothing in there!" But I go with the flow! Less is more, Nathan. Less is more! And I get perfect results every wash!

Recently, method has even won an International Design Excellence Award! FastCompany.com had all the dirt:

"Method Products, the eco-friendly cleaning-products company, believes it has a winning strategy for scouting ideas. "We try and identify dirty little secrets in the categories we work in," says Joshua Handy, Method's senior director of industrial design, whose business card lists "disrupter" as one of his titles.

When Handy's team researched laundry detergents, it found three key problems. First, most laundry detergents are primarily water, requiring big jugs that, as they are hauled from factory to store to home, require the burning of lots of carbon. Second, Americans are chronic overdosers -- we use far too much detergent, which is bad for the environment, not great for clothes, and rotten for washing machines. Finally, laundry rooms tend to be messy, blotched with sticky patches of lint-covered soap spills.

Method's solution: develop a highly concentrated detergent (eight times the norm) and deliver it in a rugged pump-equipped bottle. The first clue that the team was onto something big: "People wouldn't give us back our prototypes," says Handy.

To the IDEA jurors, the innovation isn't just the detergent or just the bottle; it is the whole product. "Even though the pump structure is nothing new in cosmetic packaging, combining it with ultra-concentrated detergent prompted new consumer behavior that reduces both resources and water use," says Starbucks executive Fumi Watanabe, a judge in the packaging category. "Why hasn't anybody done this before?"

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And method was also recently invited, and attended the Dwell design conference!

"It’s crazy that a laundry detergent product is on the show floor at a design conference,” says Matthew Loyd, the vice-president of brand experience for method (or as he’s known internally, the “Brand Poo-bah.” But really, it’s not that crazy. Dwell on Design is the pages of Dwell brought to life and there are few things as necessarily for day-to-day living in the modern world than cleaning products.

method, a San Francisco–based company known for their teardrop-shape soaps and environmentally friendly attitude and approach, is one of over 200 companies sharing their wares and the stories of their products on the Los Angeles Convention Center show floor at the fifth annual Dwell on Design. Before taking the stage for panels about how to get published and prefab architecture, Dwell associate editor Miyoko Ohtake sat down with the method creative team to chat about the products and the new method Laundry Detergent, which debuted in January 2010. Here is Miyoko’s conversation with method design director (aka “Artsy Smartsy”) Sally Clarke.

What was your role in creating the new Method Laundry Detergent?
The creative team is involved in the development. Rather than being given a product at the end and told to make a label for it, we’re involved from the beginning.

How did this product come to be?
We started doing laundry and had the 3x version. People were catching on but we still thought there was a better way to do laundry. We tried a tablet monodose method but it wasn’t working so one of our designers made a prototype, showed it to Method co-founder Eric Ryan, and it was “Eureka!” We do a lot of design prototyping and experimenting..."

Read the rest of the article at Dwell.com!

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Yet what could possibly be the biggest news out of the Dwell design conference?

"Yippee! (method) told me at Dwell on Design that there is a method softener coming out in September! I've been waiting for it. - HoganMaggie"

Looks like method is also adding fabric softener to their new "lighthouse" laundry bottle packaging (probably also in the updated detergent scents!) I think you can trust me when I say this fall is gonna rock, method products wise! Just you wait!

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What have your experiences with the new laundry detergent and bottle been like? Pros, cons? Yays, boos? Applause, slaps across the face? Tell us!

give me a g-l-e-e-!

Did you catch the method product appearance in last weeks wonderous (but then again, they're ALL wonderous!) episode of Glee, on Fox? If you did, you'd have seen this cute little quilted creamy hand wash bottle on their bedroom side table! Wait? What's that, in the bedroom?

Yep! It seems they decided to use it more as a lotion bottle in appearance, then a soap bottle. And you know what, I think that's a great idea! method needs to bring back their hand lotion (green mint, please!) and present it to us in those adorably quilted petite bottles they've been using for years for their creamy hand wash! It'd be perfect, and it's a really nice bottle to, of course, like all their products, keep out for others to see!

method... gives Glee!

packaging a compelling customer experience

Be sure to read this interesting article on package design, from The Dieline! method gets a big ole' mention (and of course they would, rockin' packaging!) Check out this excerpt:

"...How about Method’s packaging? Method’s environmentally-safe home and personal use cleaning products feature beautifully-designed, clear packaging on many of its products. Packaging for the entire Method line has the look and feel of upscale cosmetic packaging. Talk about experiential!

An examination of environmental cleaning products shows that there’s a great deal of similar bill-board-type packaging in the category. Only Method’s packaging is strikingly different. Contemporary, clean, refreshing. As Method’s web site states: “(co-founder) Eric (Ryan) knew people wanted cleaning products they didn't have to hide under their sinks”. Not only does this product claim cleaning effectiveness and safety, it’s meant to be seen. What a concept for commodity products!

While a number of eco-conscious cleaning products are on the market now, why is it that Method has garnered nearly a whopping $100 million in sales in a slow-growth category? Why is it that the brand has also created a community of avid brand loyalists? Products that are made to be seen, are obviously grabbed and used more. More product used, faster repeat sales. Since there are myriad cleaning products on the market, including eco-friendly options, it’s apparent that Method’s experiential packaging accounts for part of the brand’s stunning success."

Be sure to head over to The Dieline to read the complete article!