TemanBumi, Detergent From Shells Made By Brawijaya University Students

MALANG - Students of Universitas Brawijaya (UB) make an innovative product in the form of an environmentally friendly detergent from lokan shells which has a 9in1 formulation to solve problems when washing clothes, which is named "TemanBumi".

"This name was chosen as a form of concern for protecting the earth like a friendship," said member of the detergent team, Roofi Cahyaningtyas, as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, August 17.

TemanBumi was initiated and created by a group of UB students who are members of one of the Student Creativity Week (PKM) teams in the field of entrepreneurship which won funding for PKM 8 fields in 2022 from the Directorate General of Higher Education through Belmawa.

Besides Roofi Cahyaningtyas, the team was also strengthened by Mayza Nur Sabilla, Tarisa Putri Lukiyanto (Aquaculture), Aldi Surya Alamsyah (Fishery Products Technology), and Muhammad Nazri Adlani (Physics).

"The idea of making TemanBumi detergent started because of the proliferation of laundry businesses in areas where there are boarding houses and rented houses, which has led to an increase in detergent demand in the market," said Roofi.

Roofi explained that due to the development of this laundry business, many business actors directly dispose of detergent waste into water bodies, causing environmental pollution.

The National Standardization Agency (BSN) in 2017 set a new Indonesian National Standard (SNI) so that only environmentally friendly detergent products are circulating in Indonesia. "This is an opportunity for us to make TemanBumi detergent," he said.

TemanBumi is made from extracted lokan clam shells combined with other materials, then printed in the form of granule balls which are packaged with gel plastic in the form of water soluble film of sodium alginate which dissolves in water, so as to minimize the use of plastic waste for packaging.

TemanBumi has four aroma variants, namely Bubble Gum, Lavender, Milk Coffee, and Wild Berries.

TemanBumi has a 9 in 1 formulation as a detergent that is antibacterial, anti-rust, anti-redeposition, biodegradable, brightener, fabric protector, low suds, skin sensitive friendly, and stain remover.

With this complete formulation, TemanBumi is sold at a fairly affordable price, which is IDR 45,000 per cup (20 pcs) with usage per pcs for 5-6 kg of clothing.

TemanBumi is also sold per pcs at a price of IDR 2,500. TemanBumi is marketed online at market shops, such as Shopee and Tokopedia under the store name TemanBumi.ofc.

"The use of TemanBumi detergent is very easy, just put the clothes in the washing machine, then put the TemanBumi detergent into the washing machine with packaging that does not need to be torn because it will dissolve with water, then fill it with enough water and adjust the washing cycle," said Mayza, a team member other.

According to the assistant lecturer from FPIK, Qurrota A'yunin, TemanBumi's detergent products can motivate the detergent-producing industry in Indonesia to compete in creating everyday products by applying the principles of green manufacturing.

It is hoped that the presence of TemanBumi detergent can provide a solution to meet the needs of laundry entrepreneurs and can reduce the negative impact on the environment.

"TemanBumi, Nyuci is Happy!", the tagline of the TemanBumi team.