About this episode
Gwen Whiting is the co-founder of The Laundress and founder of the new private members cleaning community The Fill Club . Gwen studied textile design in college and started her career at Ralph Lauren working in women’s and home design. As she began to grow her high-end work wardrobe, she grew frustrated with the lack of high-quality, effective cleaning products available. She realized there was a huge white space in the laundry category and knew she could do something about it. In 2004, she launched The Laundress with her co-founder, and over the next 15 years, grew the company without any outside investment. The Laundress came to be known for its excellent products and elevated design. In 2019, the company was acquired by Unilever, a move Whiting hoped would help bring its products to a global audience. In 2021, she left the company, and in 2022, watched in shock as The Laundress recalled all of its products due to elevated levels of bacteria. Before the incident, she had no desire to ever return to the laundry world, but after observing the scandal from the outside and realizing how much she still wanted to help her core customer base clean better, she decided to get back into the laundry game. The result is her new venture, The Fill, a private members cleaning community and collection of sustainable cleaning solutions. Head over to our Instagram @secondlifepod to enter our giveaway celebrating 7 years of Second Life! Giveaway ends Monday, January 27th at midnight PST. Terms and conditions apply.