SERIES: Our Liquid Industry

An interview with Adam Short
Head of B2B Sales, Renegade Brands

By Becca Anderson

Everywhere you go, you can get gluten-free this or sugar-free that. It’s not just food items that are being impacted by consumer preferences—detergents and cleaning supplies are increasingly shaped by consumers with allergies and sensitivities. Renegade Brands is making a name for itself in this arena.

Tell me about how Renegade Brands got started.

Adam Short: Established in 2012, Renegade Brands is the industry disruptor built to tackle the toughest challenges in sports laundry. Today, we’re an industry leader in performance laundry solutions engineered for athletic, healthcare, and commercial laundry applications.

We combine proprietary laundry detergents that deeply clean, eliminate odors, and are gentle on sensitive skin with a service model designed for modern laundry operations.

On your website, you emphasize the science behind your products (“Scientifically Clean”). Give me some idea of the ways you do that—do you have your own lab, or use existing labs, what kinds of things are you testing, etc.

A.S.: A key differentiator for us is our commitment to third-party, science-based validation. Our Free & Clear detergents, which carry the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification mark, underwent independent testing to rigorous scientific standards to assess their suitability for people with asthma and allergies.

For laundry detergents, this includes:

• Allergen removal efficacy (e.g., dust mites, cat dander, and pollen)
• Prevention of allergen re-deposition during washing

• Performance under normal household use
• Thorough ingredient review to ensure that there are no added fragrances and that any chemicals with allergenic or sensitizing properties are either absent or at suitably low levels

These tests are conducted in independent laboratories, ensuring unbiased, credible results. This layer of scientific scrutiny sets certified products like Sweat-X Sport Free & Clear and Pro-Clean Pure Pro Laundry Detergent apart from standard market offerings.

We hold all of our laundry detergents to a similar standard, backed by in-house and independent testing. This can be seen through our three flagship product lines: Nano X Laundry Detergent, Renegade Pro-Clean Laundry Detergent, and Sweat-X Sport Activewear Laundry Detergent.

With a focus on product development and on-going product improvement, we’re proud to provide Scientifically Clean® laundry solutions with our entire portfolio of laundry detergents, stain removers, odor eliminators, laundry powders, and more.

What areas of the industry do your products treat? Tell me how your product line has expanded.

A.S.: With a family of detergents originally formulated for athletic wear, we quickly saw potential for broader impact. Building on our knowledge and proven technology, we developed new products and protocols to tackle the laundry conditions of the athletics, hospitality, healthcare, corrections, laundromat, commercial, and consumer laundry industries.

Nano X Laundry Detergent uses proprietary NANOVASIVE™ technology to penetrate fabric and remove embedded sweat residue and odors from athletic fabrics. Today, over 550 professional and collegiate sports programs across the United States and Canada use it for their stain removal and day-to-day laundry operations.

Renegade Pro-Clean Laundry Detergent provides innovative cleaning solutions that replace multiple cleaning products with a simplified system, eliminating the need for inefficient and complex wash cycles. We feel it is the most effective solution for commercial laundry systems.

Sweat-X Sport offers athletes and athletic individuals a sports laundry detergent that effectively removes sweat, odors, and stains from performance fabrics. Unlike traditional soaps, our activewear laundry detergent eliminates lingering odors and buildup, keeping gear fresh and comfortable. It uses natural, non-toxic and biodegradable ingredients.

How have customers reacted to your products?

A.S.: Our salesforce is composed of seasoned laundry professionals and equipment management experts who have spent years in the industry, giving us a firsthand understanding of how to defeat the most stubborn stains and odors. With this expertise and trust, our “Renegade Family” swears by our detergent lines, often validating their performance by providing before and after pictures and client testimonials.

Here are a few of our favorites:

“Simply put, your products are amazing. Since switching over 5+ years ago we have noticed that our laundry comes out not only looking but smelling cleaner. Our athletes for all sports, not just hockey, have all commented that throughout the year their clothes continue to stay clean, where, in the past, smells would eventually start to linger and stains set in. But what’s even better than the product is the service and the people we get to work with. Working with everyone on the team is some of the best customer service I’ve experienced across the business. For something as routine as laundry, I didn’t think I’d have such a positive experience every step of the way.” – Kevin Ritz, Head Equipment Manager, University of Maine

“The blood wash cycle is key. It saves us time in the middle of the game to get a jersey washed and sterilized before the start of the next period.” – Donny White, Colorado Avalanche

Renegade Brands exemplifies the kind of innovation and consumer focus we champion. Their commitment to developing trusted, high-performance cleaning solutions aligns perfectly with our mission to improve indoor air quality and reduce exposure to asthma and allergy triggers. – Leah McInerney, The Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program

How do Renegade Brands products stack up, price-wise, with other brands on the market?

A.S.: Our simplified system replaces the need for multiple cleaning products, reducing the number of chemicals in the laundry room and delivering savings across the operation. Our clients benefit from realized savings in water, energy, labor, reclaims, and lost linens. We achieve this with a 20% reduction in wash cycle times, 33% reduction in energy and water usage, and a 50% reduction in rewashes.

The products that caught my eye at the Clean Show were the Pure segment of your lineup. Talk about how you got the health organization designation and what research went into this, what success you’ve had marketing these products.

A.S.: The journey began with Sweat-X Sport Free & Clear becoming the first Certified laundry detergent by the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program in 2021. Motivated by consumer response, we pursued and achieved certification for Pro-Clean Pure Pro Laundry Detergent, designed specifically for commercial and healthcare settings. This progression signalled a holistic brand commitment: trusted ingredients, powerful performance, and certified credibility.

The impact of our Free & Clear has been realized through strategic market expansion in healthcare and senior living environments, e-commerce growth and consumer adoption on Amazon, and amplified brand visibility in partnership with the Certification Program. In 2025, the Certification Program awarded Renegade Brands the Leadership in Senior Care Laundry Solutions recognition for our contributions to health-focused laundry innovation.

What plans do you have for the future? Any new products coming out that you can talk about?

A.S.:Building on the success of our current certified offerings, Renegade Brands is actively developing a new line of Asthma & Allergy Friendly® laundry and cleaning products. This future-focused expansion reflects our deepening partnership with the Certification Program and commitment to delivering safe, effective solutions for every space.

Beyond our Free & Clear detergents, our R&D department works to continuously improve our entire product line with chemical and injection system innovations to keep up with the ever-changing demands on commercial and residential laundry.

How wide is your distribution now? Is Canada included?

A.S.:With our national team of laundry experts, we’re proud to serve the entire United States and Canada. Our athletics detergent line is trusted by over 550 professional and collegiate teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Calgary Flames. In addition, we provide laundry solutions to over 50% of MLB, NBA, and Power 4 NCAA teams. It remains our core mission to expand our reach within professional and collegiate athletics, while continuing to grow our market share in hospitality, healthcare, corrections, laundromats, and commercial laundry.

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Have more questions? You can reach Adam at adam@renegadebrands.com.