Skipper Presale: You've got questions, we've got answers!

We know it can feel strange when a brand you know and love makes big changes like these, but we feel confident that you’ll love what’s ahead and in time will understand our decision. In the meantime, all we can hope for is your support!

We’re still the same team, with the same ambitious mission and optmistic vision for our future.

Our vision is to make zero-waste easy and accessible to all. Not just in Australia, but globally. Together as Tirtyl, we’ve come so far. However, the name has always been a challenge. Most people found it confusing to pronounce, and difficult to spell.

To further expand our impact as we grow locally and abroad, we decided to change names to Skipper and take the opportunity to refine the look of our products and brand based on customer and market feedback.

Why Skipper?

A Skipper is the captain of a ship, and that to us represents leadership. We chose Skipper as we are aiming to empower people like you to be the Skippers and captains of your own zero-waste journey.

It represents our vision - for us, our customers and the planet and still has that connection to the ocean that Tirtyl did. You can watch our announcement video here.

We will be announcing Skipper in mid-Jan to the public but wanted to inform our early and loyal customers first and provide context of this change. Our goal from here is to ensure this change impacts our customers as little as possible, after all it is you who got us this far.

We are still offering glass hand wash dispensers, but we’re switching our glass spray bottles and aluminium bottles to a blended recycled & virgin HDPE plastic material.

We’ve made this change based on customer feedback to further improve recyclability, safety and longevity. In particular:

• The bottles are more durable than our aluminium dispensers and will last many years. We continue to have zero single-use plastic across our entire product range and packaging.

• The HDPE bottles have a unique velvety matte finish, giving them a luxe look and feel. These aren't your regular plastic bottles. It's not just about durability and recyclability, these need to be proudly displayed!

• The HDPE is semi-translucent, so it is easier to fill and understand when it’s time to clean the bottle. Glass is a suitable alternative for our hand soap, but for safety reasons we can't use glass for the remaining dispensers, especially those for the shower.

• The silicone on our Tirtyl spray bottles currently has no recyclers in Australia and we received feedback from recycling centres that painted aluminium bottles are easily mistaken for plastic bottles.

• HDPE plastic has the highest rate of recyclability of any plastic in Australia and can be recycled up to 10 times, in contrast to PET plastic which can only be recycled once or twice before the material loses its utility and integrity.

Overall, HDPE plastic seemed like an obvious choice for our new dispensers. Our philosophy is that plastic alone is not the problem for our planet, but rather the irresponsible manufacturing and consumption of plastic. These bottles will last for many years, and once it's time to go, it is genuinely likely to be recycled if disposed appropriately.

There’s no catch! It's important to us that the changes we're making impact our customers and early supporters as little as possible. One way of achieving this is to offer our community the chance to transition with us without having to pay extra for it.

If you purchase refills for any Skipper product, we will provide the matching tin and the dispensers you require for free.

The may select the amount of free dispensers you require up to a cap for each product, and in some cases you will need to buy a larger refill pack to access the maximum number of free dispensers.

For example, if you buy a 6-pack of hand wash refills, you will be able to select up to 2 free dispensers of your choice. If you buy a 12-pack, you can access up to free 4 dispensers. The idea is to only grab what is required to replace what you have, so it’s a bit of an honesty system here!

The maximum number of free dispensers you can claim per category is shown below, noting that every refill pack will include the matching tin too.

Side Note: We wouldn't offer this without thinking about managing waste, so we've created a handy video guide here on how to upcycle your Tiryl dispensers/tins should you wish to keep them (we get it, we're attached too). We've also got a seperate dedicated section in our FAQ below on this.

Great question. We debated how we could make these changes to our business without impacting our customers and early supporters. We tackled this in three ways:

1. We created the transition offer — free replacements tins and dispensers for just buying refills. Most of our customers expressed interest in transitioning to the new range, and we wished to make this easy to do so.

2. We've ensured that Skipper refills are compatible with Tirtyl dispensers/tins and vice versa. The only exception is our Laundry Sheets, where we've made the sheets larger as Skipper and as a result they will not fit the Tirtyl tin. If you love our sheets, we recommend getting the Skipper tin.

3. We've made a list and video here sharing examples of the countless ways you can repurpose your Tirtyl dispensers/tins if you wish to keep them around. We surely do!

Dispensers:

• Handy spares
• Propegate plants
• Store/Keep herbs fresh
• Paint brush holder
• Pencil/pen holder
• Mini terrarium
• Fill UC bottle with water for spraying plants and cleaning glass

Tins:

• Storing tea leaves, spices cookies or other dry goods from the kitchen
• Storing crafts, sewing items and utensils
• Drawer organiser (make-up, socks, you name it)
• Succulent planter
• Mini herb garden
• Tooth brush holder (get craft and paint it first!)

Lastly, should you wish to responibly dispose of your Tirtyl dispensers and tins, they should have a great chance of being correctly recycled given the materials are glass, tinplate and aluminium.

We recieved feedback from our customers that whilst the Tirtyl Towels were useful for the kitchen due to their absorbancy, they were not effective at cleaning many other surfaces. They lacked abrasion and would leave a streaky-finish.

We polled our customers in May 2023 whether they would prefer microfiber cloths with our Universal Cleaner instead, and after sharing the pros & cons versus compostable cloths, 74% of customers voted yes.

At Skipper (and Tirtyl) we regard customer feedback highly, and whilst we appreciate it may not be everyone's preference, we decided to make the switch and pair the Universal Cleaner with our new microfiber cloths, made from 80% recycled polyester & 20% polyamide (nylon).

Like all polyster material, the cloths can shed in the wash. We recommend checking if your washing machine is fitted with a filter, and if not, exploring an accessory such as the "guppy-friend". We tried to introduce these as an accessory a few years ago, however the product is patented.

If you loved our compostable cloths, we have good news. We will continue to sell these as an accessory item and in the transition offer too, under a new name, the Skipper Dish Cloths.

Via the link that will be sent to you when the presale goes live in 2 days. Keep an eye on your inbox! 

You can only take up the presale offer once.

For example, if you purchase hand wash and laundry sheet refills in the presale, and then a few months later decide you also want another product like the universal cleaner, you won’t be able to revisit the presale link. So, make sure you grab every product you know you'll want in one order!

We’ve done this to ensure our whole community gets the opportunity to take up the presale.

The presale offer will be available for all Tirtyl customers for at least 6 months - so that whenever you need to refill, you’ll be able to redeem your Skipper tins & dispenser for free, but as mentioned above, you can only take up the offer once.

Yes, you sure can. The new products are compatible with your existing dispensers and tins, even the new pumps will fit your Tirtyl dispensers. Likewise, Tirtyl refills will work in our Skipper dispensers too.

The one exception is the laundry sheets tin, where we have increased the sheet size and the tin as Skipper. So if you use our laundry sheets you should upgrade to the new tin.

The possibilities are endless! You can use them to propagate plants, keep cut herbs fresh, or even get crafty with the kids and have them paint the dispensers and tins. The tins could become planter boxes, cupboard organisers, or even a container for your cookies. We’ve created a video to help you here.

Don’t think you want to keep them around? That’s fine; you can recycle the glass and aluminium as normal and your pumps will need to be recycled through Terracycle.

We have over 100,000 customers in Australia and it is the busiest time of year for our friends at AusPost, so we are expecting orders to take up to a few weeks to dispatch once the stock is ready. At present, our estimated ship date for most orders will be early-mid January, and we will provide updates throughout so you always know when to expect your Skipper goodies.

We will be packing orders on a first-order, first-shipped basis, so our best advice is to get in quick!

Unfortunately, we cannot split presale orders, if you require refills while waiting for your presale order we'll still be selling Tirtyl refills with free shipping and we'll pack and send these to you within 1 business day.

To play it safe and avoid excess when Skipper arrives, we recommend ordering any refills you’ll need up to the end of February.

Face Wash

Our most anticipated product, the new face wash contains all the ingredients that you’d expect from an expensive face wash such as niacinamide, salicylic acid and jojoba oil, but without the price tag!

New scents for all products

We’ve also improved our scents across the range, taking inspiration from local botanicals too! See the complete list here.

Improved Formulas

As pioneers of the just-add-water category, we’ve made many exciting improvements to our products across the whole range. Check out our full list here.

Improved Laundry Sheets

Our laundry sheets are bigger and better! We’ve increased the size by approximately 50% to ensure only one sheet is needed for larger loads, and we’ve improved the formula with enzymes which enhances cleaning and stain removal performance.

Improved Tins

We’ve increased the size of our new tins, so you can store more refills and purchase less frequently.

Improved Pumps

A rather exciting improvement, we’ve created a custom pump and improved its reliability and longevity.

We’ll continue to offer free pump replacements as Skipper, should you ever need them.

Toilet Blocks

We’ve introduced toilet blocks to keep your loo sparkling clean with minimal effort. Contrary to single-use cleaning tablets, or plastic brackets that clip to your loo, our toilet blocks are placed into your cistern and will clean your toilet every time you flush for approximately 3 weeks.

Like always, scrubbing with a brush is still recommended from time to time.

More information to follow so stay tuned!

Accessories

We’ve released a few lifestyle accessories to celebrate the launch of Skipper!

   •   Skipper Tote - made from heavy-duty organic cotton

   •   Mesh Bags - also made from organic cotton

   •   Two Skipper Hats - a Bucket Hat and a Corduroy Cap

The Tote and Hats will be offered to you free for any pre-sale order over $100, and up to three mesh bags will be included in your presale order depending on how many products & dispensers you get.

For new customers, our Skipper Tote and mesh bags will be included in bundle orders too.

We’re glad you asked! Our team member Molly has created a video where she highlights the new look and shows the new products. You can check it out here.

You’ll also get to browse the products when the presale website goes live!

Everything you know and love, plus our new products too. This includes our highly anticipated, just-add-water, foaming face wash!

For our new products, this is your chance to pick up the matching dispensers / tin for free by purchasing refills only.

This is a special offer for our early supporters who helped get Tirtyl to where it is today, and who are shaping where we're going tomorrow. We kindly ask that you only order for yourself, as we haven’t shared the presale or Skipper to the public yet.

If you spend over $100 during the presale, you will receive our organic cotton Skipper Tote and your choice between the Skipper Bucket Hat and Skipper Corduroy Cap.

You’ll also get free shipping if you spend over $50. Orders under $50 will incur a flat-rate $6 shipping fee.

Our vision is to make zero-waste easy and accessible to all — so we've made sure to keep our Skipper refills affordable. There are some pricing changes, but the good news is they are mostly price decreases.

We are also changing 'Refill and Save' too. We’ve adjusted the tiers to be 10% off over $100 of refills, and 20% off over $200 of refills. We removed the 40% tier as it was being taken advantage of by resellers. Ouch!

Refill & Save will not apply to the presale, and will go-live once Skipper launches to the public in January.

Our pricing changes are highlighted below, noting that these prices do not include the above refill and save tiers, which would be an additional saving to the below:

We still have a small amount of Tirtyl stock on hand, and you can continue to order through the Tirtyl site as usual. We will also have Tirtyl products available on the new Skipper website once we launch for a limited period of time until stock clears.

Tirtyl pumps will be available to purchase for a longer period of time, but it is also worth noting that the Skipper pumps are compatible with Tirtyl dispensers too.

Yes, even though we might not have their details, please let them know to email us at hello@skipper.org and we will be able to arrange access for them.

We’ve listened to your feedback and as a result, have kept some scents, tweaked a few and upgraded others! We're proud to showcase some of Australia's most beautiful and unique scents, such as Blue Cypress, Rosalina, Lilly Pilly, and even Jacaranda! See the full list below:

Hand Wash

   •   Vanilla, Coconut & Chai Bergamot
   •   Blue Cypress & Sage Cucumber
   •   Lavender & Lilly Pilly
   •   Unscented

Body Wash

   •   Grapefruit, Cedar & Rosalina
   •   Jacaranda, Geranium & Neroli

Face Wash

   •   Kakadu Plum, Jojoba & Aloe

Laundry Detergent Sheets

   •   Orange Blossom, Lily & Pomelo
   •   Unscented

Universal Cleaner

   •   Sweet Orange & Bergamot

Dishwasher Tablets

   •   Unscented

Toilet Blocks

   •   Jasmine & Rose Geranium

As pioneers in just-add-water products, we’re always testing new formulas to improve performance, reduce our ecological footprint, and support Australian agriculture.

In transitioning from Tirtyl to Skipper, we’ve taken the opportunity to make several upgrades to our formulas:

Hand Wash

   •   Increasing tablet size
   •   New suite of Australian-inspired scents
   •   Adding Aloe Vera & Vitamin E
   •   Replacing Sodium Lauryl Sulfate with Sodium Coco Sulfate (derived from coconuts)

Body Wash

   •   Adding Australian essential oils and plant extracts (i.e. Jacaranda & Rosalina)
   •   Adding Aloe Vera & Vitamin E

Laundry Sheets

   •   Adding enzymes to improve stain removal
   •   Using microencapsulated scent beads to improve the longevity of the smell

Universal Cleaner

   •   Reducing sodium bicarbonate % to reduce fine streaks
   •   Adding Australian essential oils

We recommend consuming refills within 12 months of purchase, however most of our products will last up to 24 months when stored in their wrappers and tins.