About Us - The Eco Lips Story
In the early 1990s, Andrea Danielson began
brewing small
batches of natural lip balm in her kitchen for her friends and family.
She took great care in handcrafting the balm and packaging it in small
amber
glass jars to preserve the freshness of the pure ingredients. Andrea
didn’t realize that by giving a sample of her natural lip creation to
Steve
Shriver, her life would be changed forever.
Having larger than average lips, Steve was continually searching for a
better
lip balm. When Steve met Andrea in 1995, he immediately fell in love
with
the lip balm, and moments later he also fell in love with Andrea. They
were married in 1997 and Steve, a lifetime entrepreneur, quickly spent
Andrea’s
life savings on ingredients and packaging for the couple’s first
product, Hemp
Lip Buzz.
By 2003, Steve and Andrea had built a specialized private label
natural body
care company focusing on making high quality products for many other
successful
brands. Their company rapidly became a leading natural body care
manufacturer in the Natural Products industry.
Much of the growth of their business was due to their top sales
representative
and entrepreneur, Jim King. Working out of his California office, he
founded and grew a successful and environmentally friendly promotional
products
company called Access Eco. He enjoyed the process of building other
peoples' brands through promotional products, but something was
missing.
Jim had a vision of creating a lip balm brand like no other. He
became obsessed
with lip balm! Jim looked at every lip care brand currently on the
market, buying them, one by one, until he had acquired over 200
different
samples. From petroleum-based lip care to natural brands, he packed
all
of these samples and flew to Iowa to meet with Steve about his dream.
Jim and Steve spent hours mulling over a 10-foot conference table
layered with
what would soon become their competition in the lip balm industry. The
goal was to create a brand image and an organic formula that would take
market
share from petroleum-based lip balm brands.
Voilà! Eco Lips was born! Jim and Steve swiftly brought the product
to market and began raising awareness of the importance of
pesticide-free
organic products.
Today, Eco Lips organic lip balm is handcrafted in
Cedar Rapids,
Iowa. With the mission of satisfying the needs of every customer, Eco
Lips has been first to market with several innovative organic lip care
products
and packages. With environmental initiatives in place, a focused
marketing and sales strategy, award winning packaging, and a relaxed,
yet
productive work environment, Eco Lips is making its way around the
world, one
set of lips at a time.
Why Organic?
NATURAL vs ORGANIC
The term “organic” can only be used on products that are grown and
produced without pesticides, and other harmful chemicals. Products that
host the USDA Organic Seal are produced under the high standards set
forth by the US Dept. of Agriculture. There is no legal definition of
what the term “natural” means. Natural foods can include organic foods,
but not all natural foods are organic. Look for products with the USDA
Organic seal and you’ll be making the right choice for your health and
the environment.
WHAT IS ORGANIC?
‘Organic’ refers to how food is produced. Organic food is produced by
farmers whose production systems avoid the use of synthetically
compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock
feed additives. Organic farming systems utilize biological methods such
as crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures and mechanical
cultivation to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant
nutrients, and to control weeds, insects and other pests. All organic
foods are required to be certified under an organic certification
program. Organic farmers place a greater consideration of the impact of
the farming system on the wider environment inclusive of wildlife
conservation as well as public health.Organic agricultural practices
hold great promise toward remedying the negative effects of global
warming. Here’s four examples how: Use of farm-yard manure, green
manures, and cover cropping methods keep soils nutrient-rich, improve
soil structure, restore organic matter (making for quicker nutrient
uptake), maintain and/or increases soil fertility, and increase soil
moisture retention all of which enables the farming ecosystem to better
self-regulate. The complete exclusion of synthetics in the farming
operation (herbicide, pesticide, fertilizer, etc.) eliminates
high-maintenance soils and crops, and subsequently lowers levels of CO2
and associated GHGs released into the atmosphere, while simultaneously
lowering nitrate leaching rates and removing risks of ground and
surface water pollution. With respect to usage of non-renewable energy
resources, organic methods of agriculture use far less direct and
indirect energy sources (fuel, oil and synthetic chemical applications
respectively). Combating resource depletion, organic methods increase
the biodiversity of flora and fauna, contribute to integrated pest
management efforts (natural pest control), as well as shape aesthetic
landscape values.
5 REASONS
TO GO ORGANIC
1. Organic food tastes amazing! Organic food tastes better than
conventional because it’s not coated with chemical residues from
pesticides and fertilizers. Organic food, which often times is
synonymous with local food, optimizes time by allowing food to grow at a
natural pace in the garden or field. This coupled with a shorter farm
to market distance ratio than means fresher food as well.
2. Organic food is healthy! Organic food on average contains higher
Vitamin C (powerful antioxidant) levels as well as higher levels of
calcium, magnesium, iron, and chromium. The bioavailability of
nutrients in organic foods is at a greater level than that of
conventional.
3. Organics are better for the environment! Organic production
systems do not allow the use of chemical fertilizers which pollute our
rivers and streams. Instead, organic production systems utilize
composted manure and leguminous cover crops in rotation with cash crops
to naturally feed nitrogen to the soil.
4. Organics support communities! For small farmers, organic
agriculture has offered an alternative market where organically grown
food commands a fair price. Workers on organic farms have reduced
exposure to harsh cancer causing chemicals.
5. Organic products are free of hidden-costs! While the consumer may
pay a premium at the check-out counter for organic products as opposed
to conventional products, the consumer pays more for what isn’t in the
product: the hidden costs of conventional include the millions of
dollars tax payers pay each year for chemicals in drinking water due to
pesticide practices in conventional farming.
At Eco Lips, we buy food grade ingredients when possible.
|
