Business of the week: Twipes, glorified toilet roll created by City University students

In a weekly feature, we profile a fascinating company doing business here in Islington. This week it is Twipes: an environmentally friendly wet wipes start-up which has won Sadiq Khan’s approval.

Most people associate start-ups with tech firms. But two City University students have won an award for inventing glorified toilet roll.

Ellenor McIntosh and Alborz Bozorgi won first prize at Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s entrepreneur competition for their “Twipes”.

The Finsbury university has a thriving start-up lab in Goswell Road. It was here where the duo, both from Islington, created Twipes: hygienic wet wipes on a roll designed to fit into existing toilet roll holders.

Ellenor and Alborz wanted to tackle the environmental issues surrounding wet wipes. Normal wet wipes flushed down the loo are clogging the River Thames as they are not biodegradable. But Twipes are free from harsh chemicals and dissolve in water within three hours.

The mayor’s competition, which involved Dragon’s Den-style pitching, challenged entrants to make the capital more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Ellenor and Alborz were presented with a £20,000 prize, and they are in the process of manufacturing their first batch of 5,000 Twipes rolls. They aim for wipes to be stocked next month.

Ellenor said: “It really gives us some fantastic validation, having the Mayor of London, believing in Twipes to give us this award.”