What sets Febreze Air apart from its competitors? On a cloudy Wednesday in New Jersey, I met virtually with Emily Calandrelli, host and co-executive producer of the hit Netflix series Emily’s Wonder Lab, and Febreze senior scientist Morgan Brashear to discuss the science behind Febreze Air, including its odor-eliminating technology and how it works differently than other air fresheners by using a 100% natural propellant and water-based formula.
 
Brashear is the senior scientific communications manager at P&G for all of its homecare brands and has been with the company for ten years. She has a self-proclaimed passion for explaining the science behind all of the brand’s products.
 
Calandrelli has partnered with Febreze to learn about the science behind the brand’s products herself so that she can translate it to other people.
 
What Makes Febreze Unique?
 
According to Brashear, Febreze Air was designed with two major things in mind: how to disperse the product into the air and what is being dispersed.
 
“Generally, in aerosols the traditional propellant is hydrocarbon-based. Things like propane, butane and isobutane are typically used to help push everything out into the air,” says Brashear. “But these propellants are highly flammable. Instead, Febreze uses natural compressed nitrogen gas as the propellant.”
 
Rather than being mixed with the rest of the formula, the nitrogen sits compressed on top of the container with all of the formula underneath. According to Brashear, when the trigger is squeezed, the pressurized gas pushes the formula through the tube and out into the air.
 
Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air we breathe, so it’s safe for an aerosol, but it also has many other uses.
 
“Nitrogen is a wonderful gas that we use in so many things because it’s an inert gas, meaning it does not easily react with other things. For example, chip packaging is filled with nitrogen gas to keep the food fresh longer,” Calandrelli explains.
 
Additionally, nitrogen is not a volatile organic compound (VOC), so it is not dangerous to human health and does not harm the environment.
 
“The second important aspect of Febreze Air that sets it apart from other air fresheners is its 90% water-based formula, specifically designed to eliminate multiple different types of odors,” Brashear comments.
 
The two hero ingredients in Febreze Air besides water are cyclodextrin, a starch ring derived from corn and potatoes, and citric acid.
 
“These odor elimination technologies work together to neutralize the pH of odors, literally changing the molecular structure of odor particles—not just masking them,” says Brashear. She likens what Febreze does to “noise cancelling headphones for your nose.”
 
Beyond being effective at eliminating unwanted odors, the formula is safe around children, plants and pets. “Each ingredient goes through a full safety assessment and every combination of ingredients is analyzed to ensure they are not harmful,” Brashear explains.
 
Caring for the Environment
 
Sustainability is central to Febreze’s operations, since it is included in P&G’s Ambition 2030 sustainability initiative.
 
In 2018, P&G refocused its energy toward 2030, with a new set of goals and an embrace of new practices intended not just to reduce its footprint and conserve precious resources, but to help restore the world, ultimately leaving it better than they found it.
 
The company’s goals for 2030 include inspiring responsible consumption with 100% of its leadership brands, reducing the company’s use of virgin plastic in packaging by 50%, achieving 100% recyclable or reusable packaging globally, refilling and reusing more bottles, and building greater trust through transparency.
 
“One of the benefits of Febreze is that by actually eliminating odors in things, especially large items that cannot be easily washed, you’re able to sustain that item for longer,” Brashear remarks. “In that way, Febreze can actually help prolong the lifecycle of items, reducing waste.”
 
“How to be more sustainable is something I think every company should be asking themselves,” Calandrelli adds.
 
Furthermore, P&G and Febreze have partnered with Terracycle.
 
Terracycle collects hard-to-recycle materials, such as ocean plastic, and turns them into new products, diverting waste from landfills. It accepts all brands of air freshener cartridges, plugs, trigger heads, and plastic and film packaging, cleans them, and melts them down into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products, such as park benches and picnic tables.