New film shows South Australian brand having a ‘wipe’ at the big guys

Independent South Australian filmmaker Mackbel Films is proud to premiere its latest work having followed two local entrepreneurs for two years in their FMCG David vs Goliath battle to have their plastic free wet wipe range hit the shelves in December 2022.

You can watch ‘SLINGSHOT’ here:

And the Director’s commentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pUuBfSPufw

The Hygiene Co. Managing Director and co-Founder Phil Scardigno knew that this scale of business transformation was only going to happen once as he established new brand CleanLIFE with fellow co-Founder Corey White.

“I was decommissioning my existing plant servicing the construction industry with non-solvent waterproofing treatment. Moving into a completely new industry with medical grade wet wipes was a significant transformation.”

David Mackey from Mackbel Films knew that this was a story he had to tell.

“I thought wow, that is a huge pivot. Phil explained to me he was selling his existing business, applying for a Therapeutic Goods Administration license, and refurbishing the plant with all the latest Industry 4.0 technology to then put product on the shelves, says David.

“The enormity of the scale of what he was actually doing can be shown through the extension of our work, we were intending on a simple 10-minute feature but it turned into an excellent opportunity to capture a phenomenal story of an entrepreneur’s spirit and vision.

“These types of stories don’t come along every day.”

Phil and Corey agree that Mackbel Films have captured the story well, including the highs and the lows.

“It was an injustice to the Australian manufacturing sector that most of the wet wipes on Australian shelves were imported and made of plastic, says Corey.

“You’ll see in the film that Phil and I did the sums. Even at a conservative estimate, we’re talking about over 25 million kgs of plastic going to landfill every year that we could eliminate if we make the switch to plastic free. 

Phil couldn’t get his heads around the fact that all these wet wipes were made overseas.

“Essentially, it’s like bringing a swimming pool in from overseas already full of water. I’d walk supermarket aisle after supermarket aisle with Mackbel Films capturing my disbelief in real-time, there really were no Australian-made options, says Phil.

“CleanLIFE has been supported right from the start by Franklin dos Santos and the fantastic team at Foodland, as well as nationally by Chemist Warehouse. We couldn’t be prouder of these relationships and what we’ve made happen.”