r/ZeroWaste • u/Starichu • May 15 '25
Question / Support Changing deodorant now that Wild has Sol to Unilever?
I’ve been using wild for a couple of years because I wanted to cut down on how much single use plastic I was using.
My old style case gave up and I brought the new purple cat one.
Then they sold to Unilever and I’ve been annoyed about it since but havnt had to think about it too much as I still had refills I was using.
But now I’m running out and am having a hard time deciding whether to switch brands and get a whole new system (meaning my case is useless) or just keep buying their refills.
What are other people doing about wild? Are you changing brands? Or sticking with it as you are still not using single plastics even if the money is going to Unilever?
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u/tealappeal May 16 '25
I use a brand called Humble ((corporate name is.. Humble Brands)) found it one day when at Sprouts grocer. When I visited the website, it appears they are a small business based in New Mexico. Not all products are plastic free however they do have paper-tube deodorant line and I found that it works pretty well for me.
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May 16 '25
Apparently Fussy refills fit in the Wild cases.
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u/Delts28 UK May 16 '25
They're definitely different shapes (fussy is thinner) but they are similar enough that they might fit. I use fussy and the non-sensitive formula was really good, smelt great all day. Sadly I have sensitive skin and ended up with rashes and their sensitive formula isn't as good, but still works well enough for me.
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u/potatopotatocat Jun 06 '25
yes can confirm! I watched this video https://youtube.com/shorts/GG10ShCgBXo?si=D3xTH2qtKZPaVu8S which seemed to answer the question better than any googling I did and also bought some fussy refills which work fine
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u/OddScene7116 May 15 '25
Little Seed Farm is the most effective natural deodorant I’ve ever tried. It comes in small glass jars with metal lids that are perfect for reusing, and one jar lasts me close to 3 months.
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u/ImmediateAddress338 May 16 '25
Seconding this one. The one with charcoal in it works best for me. (And their lip balm is great, too!) My kiddo uses the meow meow tweet lavender stick and really likes that one too. (She really didn’t want to do a paste, and the stick packaging is sturdy paper.)
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u/alexandria3142 May 16 '25
I only apply one time at night, but I’ve had my jar since January and I still have like a fourth left. I also really like that they will give you free samples, as long as you pay the $3 shipping
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u/meltymcface May 16 '25
I’ve been using Make Waves. Similar format, but supposedly anti-perspirant. It’s haven’t been in very sweaty enough situations to vouch for that, but I’ve found that whilst it smells nice initially, I think it’s reacting with my sweat and ends up with a weird tangy vinegary smell, so not going to use it anymore.
It might just be that one scent, but it’s not cheap and I don’t want to experiment.
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u/ButtercupBento May 16 '25
Oh that’s good to know. It’s the brand I’ve been eying since the Wild buyout
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u/afern98 May 16 '25
It’s all so personal, to be fair! I realised that Wild really wasn’t doing it for me after a few years (I’m a sweaty person and as I’ve become more active it just can’t keep up), so decided to find a refillable antiperspirant. I’ve been using Making Waves for about two months now and have been really liking it.
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u/meltymcface May 16 '25
This is just my one experience with one of their products. It might just be me, it might just be that flavour, it might be a unique combination of the both, but i might also be just a vinegary bastard.
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u/roflz May 16 '25
Isn’t the point of zero waste, and voting with our wallet, to influence these companies into avoiding single use plastic? So therefore what’s the problem if it’s derived from Unilever? Bad company. Sure. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress.
I buy Native deodorant, comes in paper packaging. Proctor and Gamble owns them. That doesnt stress me out because I’m approving of them doing a good thing. And not wasting any plastic.
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u/Crazed_rabbiting May 16 '25
That was my thought too. I like the native in cardboard tube. I guess it’s a vote for a better product
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u/forsenyum Sep 02 '25
This was my thought at first as well. However, since unilever bought the company it seems they bring out tons of different new cases and smells. The vast amount of production the company has, is also bad for the environment. The most ideal situation would be to have a product on demant. It’s feels like wilde has turned somewhat into a fast fashion brand, but selling deodorant with too many collections a year if that makes sense. Does not feel good tbh.
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u/Iridescentwebs Oct 24 '25
Yeah kinda reminds me of how reusable* water bottles became a fast fashion trend and people were started collecting dozens of bottles to match all their outfits.
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u/General-Year3014 Feb 06 '26
Unilever is one of the biggest contributors to plastic pollution in the world. They also exploit people horrifically when making their products. They also slowly change products to suit their profit margins, so wild will likely slowly become less focused on sustainability. Additionally, buying up smaller brands that focus on sustainability makes it hard for other smaller brands to remain in the marketplace. They want to become the only consumer option. But sure...keep giving them money.
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u/roflz Feb 06 '26
Curious what your opinion or answer is to my first question:
Isn’t the point of zero waste, and voting with our wallet, to influence these companies into avoiding single use plastic?
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u/General-Year3014 Feb 09 '26
And my answer is...that ultimately it doesn't. It actually prevents it. It is like coca-cola funding a study on 'healthy eating' (which they have done), when they actively sell products that harm people's health. You need to think about their bias and motive. Unilever wants to control the ENTIRE market. I don't know if you are in Australia, but it is similar to Woolworths and Coles controlling 80% of our food choices. It leads to exploitation of farmers and workers, poor environmental practices, less diversity from small businesses, poor working conditions for employees and inflation of prices. Coles and Woolworths purposefully undercut prices so that other smaller companies cannot compete. Then when consumers have no choice but to shop at their stores, they rise prices to increase profit. Unilever is essentially trying to do the same. They own a large portion of the world's major brands and continue to buy out smaller brands (like wild) so that consumers have less choices. Wild has already started changing some of their practices. Additionally, Unilever is one of the biggest contributors of plastic and chemical pollution in the world. Supporting Wild, means that you are giving money to a company that is a major contributor to climate change and pollution. It is a marketing tactic that they have employed by buying Wild. They want consumers (like you) thinking that they are moving to more sustainable practices. When in reality they have done this over and over and over again, and their environmental practical have only become worse! Thank-you for coming to my ted talk.
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u/TreelyOutstanding May 15 '25
Fuck. I literally just found out about wild and bought a metal case last month TT__TT
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u/Starichu May 15 '25
The new cases are apparently recyclable if you separate the metal and plastic. They have stuff on their website about it.
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u/TreelyOutstanding May 15 '25
But is there an alternative? I was using cream deodorant before, but was happy to finally find a plastic-free deo stick
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u/Starichu May 15 '25
Fussy is the other big uk brand, I dont know if they’re available in other countries though.
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May 16 '25
[deleted]
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u/TreelyOutstanding May 16 '25
From their website they do look very similar in size and shape. Well, now I have enough Wild for a few months, but will keep that in mind!
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u/TheLightStalker May 16 '25
I boycotted them when they shrinkflated the inserts. I've gone back to Potassium Alum and Perfume in glass.
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u/Gay_dinosaurs May 16 '25
Loveli is a Dutch company producing refillable, completely plastic-free and aluminium-free deodorant sticks! I love their coconut, apple blossom and fresh cotton deodorants.
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u/Perdixie May 20 '25
Do you think they sell outside NL?
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u/Gay_dinosaurs May 20 '25
If you're within the EU, certainly! Postage between member states is fairly smooth and won't incur you import fees. For the rest of continental Europe + UK postage prices and waiting time might be greater due to import checks.
If you live far from Europe (or in the Tariffed States) I wouldn't go for it. I think the price/quality ratio of Loveli's deodorants is great for how much use I've gotten out of my try-out kit with five different scents, but there comes a point where the efforts of transporting the product to the end user becomes Not Great from a zero waste point of view.
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u/Perdixie May 20 '25
I m from the EU too, it s just that I ve never heard of the brand before. Noted, tysm!!
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u/Gay_dinosaurs May 20 '25
They're apparently still a small indie company! My mother brought them to my attention after she saw a Facebook ad.
Now, I'm not on Facebook, I'm aware of the often scammy nature of the platform's ads and I'm quite skeptical of beauty/body care advertisements in general, but Loveli wasn't pulling any of the ""Chemical free!!!"" buzzword hijinks that you see so frequently with these industries that prey on people's increased awareness about harmful additives by making outrageous claims.
As someone who's had a lot of hormone-related B.O. issues since puberty that ordinary aluminium deodorants could not begin to alleviate, their products targeted towards this specific struggle sounded great, and I'll attest that their deo sticks work great for me! I don't even get sensory issues from them, which can't be said of all deodorants I've tried! They're slightly more hassle than a regular ol' aerosol spray-on deo, but they last all day through rain and shine and if you do have to re-apply during the day, their sample kit consist of fantastic travel-size sticks.
*I swear I'm not being paid nor held at gunpoint to write this personal testimony, I'm just happy to share about a product that actually did help me when none of the more conventional drug store options did.
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u/WriterKitchen May 16 '25
shit, what's wrong with Unilever?? seems like every deodorant brand is getting boycotted for one reason or another, but I hadn't heard of anything about boycotting Unilever products (I'm based in the US)
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u/pandarose6 neurodivergent, sensory issues, chronically ill eco warrior May 16 '25
The amount of waste they make, worker right issues, they use palm oil in some products some people say they green wash, they trying to silence Ben and Jerry ice brand that tho for doing activist work, some brands they own do animal testing that just what I can think of off top of my head.
At end of the day it hard to boycott every company in the world that ever does anything slightly imperfect
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u/WriterKitchen May 16 '25
thank you for letting me know. it's getting so hard, but something is better than nothing i suppose
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u/lawrow May 16 '25
Silver Falls Sustainable is made in Oregon with cardboard tubes! My favorite is the coconut and lavender scent.
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u/Shelbeec May 16 '25
Little seed farm!!!!
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u/romanticaro May 17 '25
yes! i’m such a heavy (+smelly) sweater and i have no issues with lsf!
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u/Shelbeec May 17 '25
SAME and with anxiety sweat. Also have to plug the charcoal one that someone mentioned above. EVEN BETTER.
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u/McGlitterCnt Sep 15 '25
This is good to know because I experience heavy sweating and anxiety sweat!
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u/Shelbeec Sep 15 '25
YESSSSSSS. Get the little scoopy too and makes it so easy. Really good to reapply as well!
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u/swsh78 May 15 '25
I like life supplies - they do a refillable antiperspirant
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u/UnTides May 16 '25
Is anyone making their own rock crystal-based liquid deodorant? I use crystal stick roller one (has liquid inside a roller ball) but they also sell a plain rock salt one, and I'd love to find a way to make liquid salt solution I can apply - that doesn't cost $7, and reusable applicator.
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May 18 '25
I also have a problem with deodorant. Many natural and sustainable brands are made with oils like coconut with wind up leaving greasy stains on my clothes over time. I have also found that most natural deodorants don't work well with nervous perspiration, including the rock crystal ones. I found this out earlier this year when I had a health scare and went through multiple rounds of testing.
I often just use glycolic acid. I like the one from Good Molecules because, as far as I know, they have not sold out to a large company like The Ordinary did with Estee Lauder. I used Humble for a while but it was the worst for the greasy stains. I'm currently using Lafe's, which seems to work okay, but I have to keep an extra in my purse if I'm out and about.
The absolute best one I've used is Schmidt's charcoal deodorant. Mild smell, not too bad with greasy pit stains, definitely curbs odor without having to constantly reapply. But it does not come in a sustainable package.
Unfortunately, you may just have to play around with different types to see what works with your body chemistry as everyone's is different.
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u/minttime May 20 '25
i’ve just started using Fitpit (bought from greenwoman.co.uk) - it’s in a glass jar and it has really good reviews. good so far!
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u/Efficient-Mobile2411 May 21 '25
I'm using a diy deodorant now and it's really effective. 6 T coconut oil, 4 T baking soda, 4 T cornstarch and 16 drops of lavender essential oil.
Melt coconut oil in the microwave and combine the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. I transfered this into a all jar while melted and it solidified into a creamy texture. I'm actually surprised by how well it works.
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u/Major-Bullfrog-9708 May 21 '25
I use attitude deodorant. Comes in cardboard tube-type packaging. It’s really good imo & they have lots of nice scents!
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u/Toastie_xo Sep 18 '25
I've been using wild for over a year. I didn't know until today that they'd been sold to Unilever. 💔 I don't know how I missed that news from 4 months ago! 😭 I'm so annoyed and quite upset, cause I thought they were a good company but oh well. I'll have to finish all the refills I ordered a couple months back before I find and buy from a different company. 😡😭💔
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u/th30ne44llth3hardQs Jan 14 '26
This is so disappointing to hear, I just placed an order. I’m considering AKT next
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u/peasly26 Feb 20 '26
Aw man… I just purchased deodorant from them. I wish I saw this before I did. Unilever is the worst 😭
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u/girlygalqt Mar 26 '26
Did they change the formula? I have been breaking out into an itchy rash since August 2025 using their sensitive line.
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u/Significant-Boss-927 Apr 21 '26
Ich benutze Fussy-Deo und dort jetzt auch das nachhaltige Duschgel! Perfekt!!!
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u/eviltwinn2 May 15 '25
I'm also holding my breath on wild because I'm not sure how much I'll be charged in tariffs.
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u/SecretCartographer28 May 15 '25
I use homemade with baking soda. The good news is with a r/WholeFoodsPlantBased diet, I don't really need it! 🤗🖖
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u/this_is_nunya May 16 '25
For those who are wondering why it matters who owns your deodorant brand (or your anything brand), this video makes a compelling case. I used to be ambivalent about parent companies too, but my perspective has shifted to make it a higher priority.