May 2022 Featured Interview
Plastic Isn’t Fantastic, Says this Entrepreneur Mom
Interview with
Jocelynn Anderson
Co-Founder of Well Earth Goods
About Well Earth Goods:
Based in Oregon, Well Earth Goods strives to minimize waste by using products from sustainable resources. The company's quality products support a minimalist, waste-free lifestyle for all ages and help keep the earth well. Co-founders Jocelynn and her husband, Lee, have devoted themselves to helping others change their habits and find better solutions to reduce a reliance on plastic.
Based in Oregon, Well Earth Goods strives to minimize waste by using products from sustainable resources. The company's quality products support a minimalist, waste-free lifestyle for all ages and help keep the earth well. Co-founders Jocelynn and her husband, Lee, have devoted themselves to helping others change their habits and find better solutions to reduce a reliance on plastic.
Although Earth Day was last month, May is the time to celebrate mothers, so why not another tip of the hat to Mother Earth? And what better way to honor her than by weaning her (or, more accurately, us) from the indigestible diet we feed her of ever more plastic waste that clogs her arteries.
The world generates upwards of 3.5 million tons of plastic and other solid waste a day, according to researchers at the World Bank. The U.S. leads the pack, with 250 million tons a year (which, unlike plastic, breaks down to about 4.4 pounds of trash per person per day).
“Since 1960, plastics production has surged almost 100-fold,” The New York Times* reported recently. Furthermore, according to the same article, one recent study estimates that in 2015, “plastics created 4.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.”
That’s why Jocelynn Anderson, a mother herself, was compelled to launch her company, Well Earth Goods, in 2018.
The world generates upwards of 3.5 million tons of plastic and other solid waste a day, according to researchers at the World Bank. The U.S. leads the pack, with 250 million tons a year (which, unlike plastic, breaks down to about 4.4 pounds of trash per person per day).
“Since 1960, plastics production has surged almost 100-fold,” The New York Times* reported recently. Furthermore, according to the same article, one recent study estimates that in 2015, “plastics created 4.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.”
That’s why Jocelynn Anderson, a mother herself, was compelled to launch her company, Well Earth Goods, in 2018.
Co-Associate Editor Carol Lippert Gray spoke with Jocelynn about her passion to reduce plastics in our environment, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and finding work-life balance.
What was the impetus?
Something in me had always hated waste from a frugal, practical, simple/clean living point of view long before the zero waste movement and climate change, etc. I had lived fairly low waste, but it took effort. I struggled with overwhelm after the birth of my second child and some of my good habits slipped. As I recovered and got back to better habits, I wanted to make it easier for others to access less wasteful habits and easily create less waste.
Something in me had always hated waste from a frugal, practical, simple/clean living point of view long before the zero waste movement and climate change, etc. I had lived fairly low waste, but it took effort. I struggled with overwhelm after the birth of my second child and some of my good habits slipped. As I recovered and got back to better habits, I wanted to make it easier for others to access less wasteful habits and easily create less waste.
What had you done previously?
When Well Earth Goods (WEG) launched, I was working as a speech pathologist and had two toddler boys. My husband, Lee, and I planned to pack boxes after the kids went to bed as more of a hobby that we enjoyed. We did not anticipate WEG growing as fast as it did. I left my career in January 2020, which was so needed. I was working two jobs with two toddlers, working crazy hours, and burning out. Leaving my speech pathology job brought balance into my life and allowed me to be more present for my babies, my family, and the company. It was incredible!
When Well Earth Goods (WEG) launched, I was working as a speech pathologist and had two toddler boys. My husband, Lee, and I planned to pack boxes after the kids went to bed as more of a hobby that we enjoyed. We did not anticipate WEG growing as fast as it did. I left my career in January 2020, which was so needed. I was working two jobs with two toddlers, working crazy hours, and burning out. Leaving my speech pathology job brought balance into my life and allowed me to be more present for my babies, my family, and the company. It was incredible!
Why are you on a mission to reduce plastic waste, and what impact does a reduction of plastic have on our health and the environment?
Plastic doesn’t biodegrade. It breaks into smaller and smaller pieces (you can usually see this on the tideline at the beach). The really tiny pieces are called micro plastics; recent studies have found them in the placenta, bloodstream and lungs. This plastic is entering our bodies and our food chain (mostly through fish, salt, and plastic packaging leaching into or onto food). Plastic is endocrine disrupting and was found with more frequency in cancerous human tissue. Ugh!
What if most of this plastic didn’t exist in the first place? What if we used very little plastic, so it was easily contained in landfills and didn’t end up all over the streets and in our rivers and oceans? We would live in a much less toxic and much more beautiful, healthy world.
How many products are you sending out?
Since our launch, we have sent out 83,000 packages of plastic-free items using plastic-free packing materials.
An example: Instead of large, hard-sided, plastic containers of detergent pods encased in more plastic, customers who order Well Earth Goods laundry detergent receive a neat little waxed-paper envelope containing premeasured detergent strips.
I love visualizing how much plastic we have saved from landfills or the ocean. We receive large boxes of inventory daily and ship out about 3,000 packages per month from our home but have not increased the size of our family garbage can. (Although, we had to get a dumpster for recyclable cardboard.)
Plastic doesn’t biodegrade. It breaks into smaller and smaller pieces (you can usually see this on the tideline at the beach). The really tiny pieces are called micro plastics; recent studies have found them in the placenta, bloodstream and lungs. This plastic is entering our bodies and our food chain (mostly through fish, salt, and plastic packaging leaching into or onto food). Plastic is endocrine disrupting and was found with more frequency in cancerous human tissue. Ugh!
What if most of this plastic didn’t exist in the first place? What if we used very little plastic, so it was easily contained in landfills and didn’t end up all over the streets and in our rivers and oceans? We would live in a much less toxic and much more beautiful, healthy world.
How many products are you sending out?
Since our launch, we have sent out 83,000 packages of plastic-free items using plastic-free packing materials.
An example: Instead of large, hard-sided, plastic containers of detergent pods encased in more plastic, customers who order Well Earth Goods laundry detergent receive a neat little waxed-paper envelope containing premeasured detergent strips.
I love visualizing how much plastic we have saved from landfills or the ocean. We receive large boxes of inventory daily and ship out about 3,000 packages per month from our home but have not increased the size of our family garbage can. (Although, we had to get a dumpster for recyclable cardboard.)
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How do you find your suppliers?
We find suppliers through various avenues. Mostly a lot of online digging until we find makers of products we’re interested in. We always prioritize small companies, women-owned (such as moms running businesses), Made in America, and products made closest to our state of Oregon. We even created some of our own products – such as our NotPaper Towels, wood boxes for the towels, elderberry kits, and utensil kits. We had family and community members make them for us. What were some of the challenges the company faced during the height of the pandemic? The company has faced some pandemic-related challenges, including having to let some staff go (among them, her stepdaughter, who handled social media). Our entire team felt like family. It was equally hard to let them go. We just had to separate personal from business to do what was best for WEG. That being said, there were some tears involved (from me). But there’s always beauty in change. Lee and I got to dive deeper into the daily operations of the business and work/communicate regularly as a team. |
Product Photo Courtesy: Well Earth Goods
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Where do you see the company in five years?
We love being a small, family business. We were approached by investors early on but chose to turn them down and stay small. When our economy recovers, we hope to bring our small team back and continue to serve our community and our planet. We strive for a balanced business/family culture for our whole team and a simple lifestyle that prioritizes family, gives back to our community, and takes care of our planet. We are thankful we are still busy enough that it’s almost more than Lee and I can handle on our own. So, with a thriving business and young family, where do you find sanctuary? This is huge for me as someone who used to struggle with anxiety and balance. I trust in God's plan for my life and our business. The weight isn’t on my shoulders and that helps me to relax and enjoy the process. There are two things I prioritize: 1. I make sure I play with my kids! 2. At the end of every day, I take an hour-long sauna and give myself what I need. I incorporate dry brushing, music, stretching, prayer, reading, meditation, lymph work, or listening to nutrition or business podcasts depending on the day. I really try not to work during this time. I love the detox benefits, and it helps me sleep well. |
Jocelynn’s Top 5 Ways to Minimize Your Carbon Footprint:
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