Could you live with just three toiletries?

Will you be comfortable using just these three toiletries: toothpaste; a soap bar for the face, body and hair; and oil spray for fragrance and moisturising the hair and body? These are the only personal care products that one US-based personal care startup Akamai is advocating for people to buy,  the Guardian UK reports. It is also a very unusual business strategy, with the company’s focus on ethical consumption and encouraging people to spend less. There’s no doubt that this idea is kind of counter-intuitive in a capitalistic sense, but it is sure to attract a following.

The company also calls for people to take less shower because you know why? Apparently, too much scrubbing and dousing are not good for the body and people who rinse often but avoid frequent use of soap and other products, smell less as their bodies self-regulate even if they sweat or exercise a lot, according to the CEO of Akamai, Vincent Cobb.

It is conceivable that this company’s business strategy will raise some debates, the least of which is not just the pros and cons of frequent bathing or lack of. Apart from the obvious hygienic concerns, is also the thorny issue of environmental sustainability. While not everyone is a climate change enthusiast, even sceptics must admit that it does not hurt anyone (least the earth) from acting a little more environmentally friendly.

To that extent, there’s some sense in the message Akamai is drumming, which I choose to interpret as this: To cut down on consumerism and to focus only on the necessity. It certainly does me no harm and certainly not to my wallet either, in fact, my wallet will thank me for it. Therefore, I encourage everyone to do the bit they could, in any way they can for the Planet – it is the only one we have.