Environmental protection is at the core of Earth Mama Organics. The Clackamas, OR-based brand manufactures “obsessively clean herbal care For Everyone and Their Mother,” and combines “generations of women’s wisdom, traditional herbal remedies, and evidence-based research” to formulate certified organic herbal teas, castile-based soaps, healing balms, lotions, deodorants and sunscreens.

Now pushing the boundaries on tackling the plastic waste problem, the forward-thinking brand has made a pioneering move to take responsibility for its own plastic waste.

Earth Mama’s mission has always been to “Do No Harm to either people or the planet,” according to nurse and herbalist—and CEO—Melinda Olson. Founded over 20 years ago, Olson says, “We’ve been actively pursuing the safest packaging with the least environmental impact, and the most sustainable shipping practices since the very beginning.”

They have been practicing sustainable shipping for over a decade. “We buy unprinted newsprint that is destined to be recycled and give it new purpose as dunnage for all of our shipments,” explains Olson. “We also save and reuse our B2B case-pack boxes for consumer packaging.”

Still, some sustainable packaging dilemmas are difficult to solve.

Olson says, “So far, we haven’t found a viable packaging option that protects our customers from harm while reducing plastic content. Earth Mama products were originally packaged in glass until we started getting reports of dangerous breakage. We see babies every day who love to put the balm jars in their mouths, and we know that containers inevitably end up bumping and slipping around changing tables and bathrooms, too. This led us to packaging our products in tumble- and teething-resistant bottles and jars made of non-leaching PET because of its long track record of safety and ease of recycling.”

Becoming Plastic Neutral

Finding even more sustainable packaging is vitally important to Earth Mama, and it’s top of mind for finding plastic-free options, says Olson. In the meantime, she explains, “We’ve partnered with RePurpose Global to remove as much plastic from the environment as used by our company—including all the plastic used in Earth Mama’s products and distribution.”

The brand then funds the ethical recovery and processing of an equal amount of plastic waste from the environment. Even better,” says Olson, “rePurpose Global focuses on removing ‘low-value’ plastic waste in its calculations, like candy bar wrappers, snack bags, etc., since these plastics are most likely to end up in the environment.”

This commitment by Earth Mama is enabling the removal of over 88,000 lbs. of plastic waste otherwise landfilled, burned, or flushed into the oceans every year.

Supporting Plastic Waste Workers

Earth Mama’s Plastic Neutral funds help to support Project Sada Shakti in Bangalore, India, which recovers an equal amount of plastic waste from the local landscape, while providing waste workers with a livable wage and a dignified working environment. Combined with all the other projects, the rePurpose Global community is able to remove over 11 million pounds of plastic waste from the environment annually, and empower 10,000+ marginalized waste workers across the globe.

Ultimately, Olson says, “The more we know, the better empowered we are to make choices that safely nurture ourselves, our community and our Earth.”