Soak iT Up just got named to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 2026 CO-100, one of the top 100 small businesses in the country, in the "Disruptors" category.
A little disbelief while typing this: Soak iT Up just got named to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 2026 CO-100, one of the top 100 small businesses in the country, in the "Disruptors" category. We were picked out of more than 12,000 applicants nationwide.
Here's the thing that made me start this company in the first place. Americans go through 13 billion pounds of paper towels and 6.5 billion greeting cards every year, most of which ends up in a landfill. Two separate waste piles, both from things that were only ever meant to be used once.
Here's how Clards actually happened. I was standing in the greeting card aisle, annoyed that I was about to spend $8 to $10 on a card that would get read once and land in the trash. Then I thought about a Swedish dishcloth my daughter had given me, that paper-like, reusable, compostable material, and thought: why couldn't that be a greeting card too? Clards were born right there in the aisle.
Turns out that little moment of annoyance was onto something bigger. Americans go through 13 billion pounds of paper towels and 6.5 billion greeting cards every year, most of which ends up in a landfill.
That's Clards. A greeting card that turns into a reusable, washable, compostable cleaning cloth. One Clard can replace up to 3,000 paper towels. It's the card and the gift in one, no landfill required.
Getting named a CO-100 Disruptor is an honor, and hearing that this wonderfully weird idea is resonating with people outside my own walls means everything. It tells me we're onto something real.
To celebrate, use code DISRUPTOR10 for 10% off through October 2026 at soakitup.shop.
Thank you for being part of this. Every Clard someone buys is one less card and a few less paper towels headed for a landfill, and honestly, that adds up faster than you'd think.