MOORESVILLE, N.C. — A North Carolina veteran is trying to cut back on the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills.

What You Need To Know

• Chris Videau started Sheets Laundry Club in 2020
• They sell a variety of household cleaning products and personal hygiene items that contain zero plastic
• He decided to start the business after he experienced permanent lung damage
• Videau and his business partner recently appeared on Shark Tank

Chris Videau used to run up to six miles a day. He was in the military and running was part of their everyday training. But now he can barely run half a mile.

“I am actually out of breath when I am walking up the hill, and that is not where you want to be when you are 44 years old,” Videau said. “I exercise, but I can’t rebuild the strength in my lungs that I once had.”

His lungs are not what they used to be. His doctors said he has the lungs of a 70-year-old, which is why he now has to take medication every day.

“Every morning when I wake up I take a steroid shot for my lungs,” Videau said. “I take albuterol as needed, and I have another rescue inhaler steroid.”

He believes it was due to his time serving in the military abroad. Videau served in Iraq from 2007 to 2008. 

“Every bit of waste that the military made was put into burn pits,” Videau said. “It was constantly burning on every base in Iraq, and I flew to all of those bases.”

When he started developing respiratory issues in 2008, he went to see a pulmonologist, who said he had scar tissue on his lungs.

“His impression is that it was from the benzene that was inside the plastic in the burn pits,” Videau said.

His doctor told him the lung damage was permanent. Videau knew he couldn't change the past, so he decided to do something about the future.

In 2020, he created a business known as Sheets Laundry Club. All of their products and packaging are made without plastic.

“Less than 10% of laundry detergent jugs nationwide are recycled,” Videau said. “A lot of them end up in landfills.”

The business started in his garage and quickly expanded into a large warehouse. He now has 46 products for cleaning and personal hygiene. Even their plastic wrap for packaging is biodegradable.

“It biodegrades in six months and doesn’t leave any harsh chemicals in the environment while doing that,” Videau said.

Since the company started, it has shipped more than 700,000 items to consumers. Videau said this has drastically cut down the amount of plastic people use.

“It’s a huge impact,” Videau said. “When I started, I didn’t realize there would be so many other people passionate about eliminating plastic or ridding it from their lives.”

Sheets Laundry Club recently appeared on Shark Tank. The founder of Kind Snacks, Daniel Lubetzky, made them an investment deal for $500,000.