On a mission to change an industry that produces millions of dollars in waste, University of Canterbury student Emmalee Abbott Joe is hoping to fix that.

After a backpacking trip in Malaysia, Abbott Joe experienced the waste that occurs when travelling from all the small bottles that accommodate airline policies.

“I felt really bad with visiting these beautifully stunning places in Southeast Asia and just knowing that I was leaving all that plastic there,” she says.

“That’s where I encountered the problem and then I decided to create FROTH.”

FROTH is shampoo, conditioner and body wash dissolvable tablets designed specifically for travellers and backpackers – removing waste that comes from bottles and packaging.

How she created the product was thanks to her skills as a chemical formulation scientist at the University of Canterbury.

Read more: Kiwi invention gets recognised on the global stage

Inspired by the chemical formulation of laundry sheets, Abbott Joe found the best way to create dissolvable tablets.

Abbott Joe revealed that the initial product was a shampoo bar in a chocolate bar shape that could snap however there were some flaws that she later continued to innovate on to come to the final product.

This innovation has led Abbott Joe to win Red Bull Basement, a competition for innovators and their ideas – accelerated by AI technology.

As the Aotearoa representative, Abbott Joe is now in Tokyo alongside 40 other finalists where she is gaining mentorship and networking with industry leaders. This final will announce the winner for 2024.

Abbott Joe was able to reach top 10 around the world out of all the applicants.