By: Suzannah Lott
In preparation for Earth Day 2021 we are diving into our past, present, and future of products to office practices to share how we enact our commitment to making sustainable choices. When Cherie and Jon founded Saalt, they made a commitment to our customers, employees, and planet to provide high-quality reusable products in an industry dominated by disposable options. We know there’s even more involved when committing to an environmentally conscious business outside of creating reusable, earth-friendly products. We doubled down on our efforts to find more ways to be kind to the planet personally and professionally. We pride ourselves on office recycling and composting, but how do we better educate our employees for in-and out-of office efforts? We've implemented recycling into our new employee training! Lunchtime waste is now collected in our new compost bin and throw-away plates, cups and cutlery are nowhere to be found in the break room. Now, we all understand how to make better decisions about the Hefty® EnergyBag®, the compost bin, and paper bin, and most importantly ‘when it doubt, throw it out’ to ensure we aren’t running recycling center efforts with an incorrectly discarded plastic #4.
Company water bottles are issued to each new employee, and a fully stocked coffee bar eliminates the need for mid-day runs to the coffee shop and unnecessary waste. As for the sparkling water lovers? We collect and crush all cans, separate the tabs, and donate them to the Idaho Humane Society and the Ronald McDonald House of Idaho respectively. Providing education to our employees about how to reduce their carbon footprint within HQ and at home, and connecting our sustainability work with community organizations help our good business do good.
For good measure though, let’s revisit our product and the impact you can make! The Saalt Cup, it’s a no-brainer to make a switch and immediately see an impact (less bathroom trash waste? Yes, please!). According to Earth Day Network, the average person using disposable products uses approximately 16,900 tampons in their lifetime. That is A LOT of waste when one user might only need 3-4 cups in their entire lifetime. Bonus, you don’t have to worry about toxic chemicals with our medical grade silicone menstrual cups. So, how does our most recent product launch, Saalt Wear fit into our sustainability efforts? Glad you asked. One pair of Saalt Wear won’t last your lifetime, but we knew sustainability needed to be woven into the fabric of our underwear. Literally. The thread used to make Saalt Wear is made of post-consumer recycled water bottles, and a pair of Saalt Wear consists of approximately 3 PCR water bottles. Even more astonishing is the 300,000 water bottles removed from the environment to create our first purchase order of Saalt Wear, making Saalt not only plastic neutral, but paves the way for a big announcement. From daily efforts in the office to harnessing our team with knowledge to take back to their homes, we are working to do good business while doing good for the planet. For our current customer, you are our Saalt family making this dream possible. For our future customers, welcome to movement, we are glad you’re here.
