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The Live Lightly Podcast, hosted by Jessica Franklin, a busy mom, wellness enthusiast, and Mother Nature lover, focuses on living a sustainable and healthy lifestyle and empowering busy moms to do the same. Jessica shares her journey of eliminating chemicals and plastic from her household and discusses the challenges of finding truly sustainable products amongst greenwashing. The podcast features interviews with founders of sustainable companies, who share their stories and the obstacles they faced to make their products healthy for you and the planet. Experts on environmental issues and chemicals also provide insights on the connection between household products and food and people's health and the environment. The Live Lightly Podcast empowers and inspires busy moms to make sustainable choices for their families and Mother Earth!
Jessica (00:00)
welcome back to the Live Lightly podcast. Today I'm joined by Amanda Runkle. She is the co -founder of Me Mother Earth, which is a woman -owned plastic -free online shop that prioritizes two things, their customers and Mother Earth. They offer a range of products that minimize plastic usage, utilize natural materials, and promote effortless reusability. Their mottos are Small Steps Matter, Let's Stop Plastic, and Help Our Mother Earth.
And change begins with you and me. Welcome, Amanda. Thank you for joining me today.
Amanda (00:35)
We're absolutely excited to be here.
Jessica (00:37)
Yeah, I'm super excited for this conversation. This is like one of my geeking out topics. I just don't know why I like talking about eliminating plastic use in my household so much, but I do.
Amanda (00:49)
It's like a rabbit hole you fall into and then you can't get out.
Jessica (00:55)
Yes, I'm still in it, but your store provides so many solutions that I didn't have back in the day When I started this seven years ago, it was like slim pickns' on the internet piecing together everything, but before we get into that, I want to just have our listeners know a little bit about who you are and what inspired you to start Mother Earth.
Amanda (00:57)
Yeah.
Yeah, so we started it unofficially, well, officially, but unofficially in 2018, but I still had a full -time job and it was just kind of like, we want to have, financial independence. We want to have the ability to go on vacation whenever we want and trips whenever we want. So that's kind of what spurred us to start our own business. My husband and I started it together. And then I was able to like leave my job.
we weren't making money yet. I just did it, you know, like feet all in, jump into it. And, you know, when you put all your effort into one thing, you're definitely going to go somewhere, right? So really, we started in 2019 where we were like all in, and we only had one product. It was a collapsible straw kit.
And we did a lot of pop -up events, a lot of little markets in the Las Vegas area. We would travel around to California. My background's in event marketing. So I always find it to be the most fun type of marketing, because you're face -to -face with consumers, and you get to tell them why you should be using a reusable straw versus a plastic one, and why it's going to reduce waste
Jessica (02:23)
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (02:32)
And we just love the face -to -face aspect. And I do miss it a little bit being an online shop. So we still occasionally do some pop -ups here and there. And we have, you can come shop in our office in Las Vegas. We open it up on Mondays, So locals can come in and shop there. But we're,
now an online store. And it's just been a journey, right? We started with one product, and then we're like, we realized, you know, there's a lot of plastic in our homes. Like, what else can we be providing? And it wasn't easy to find all these types of products even just a few years ago. It's really kind of blown up in popularity.
Jessica (03:09)
Mm -mm.
Amanda (03:14)
Which is good and bad, like some companies obviously are just trying to join the bandwagon. We'll get to talking about greenwashing later, I'm sure. But yeah, so it was just a process of seeing the plastic that was in my home and then trying to find a product or a solution that would fix whether the packaging just needed to be changed or actual...
the materials of the product needed to be changed and finding solutions that worked for me. And I'm pretty picky, so then I knew it would resonate with other people and they would also have that need. And so, yeah, now here we are six years later and we have over 100 products. And...
Jessica (03:52)
Yeah.
Amanda (03:59)
Yeah, we're doing pretty well. We sell wholesale and on our website and we do have some products on Amazon because, you know, as a small business, you kind of have to for discoverability. But, yeah, it's been great.
Jessica (04:10)
Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah, when I started seven years ago, I really wish that you had been there. I remember when I started my journey seven years ago, it was, shopping on online and
Amanda (04:26)
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (04:27)
two day delivery and free returns, right? And every time I found a product I was excited about, I'd get it and it'd be like in a box full of plastic. Like, you know, packaging, that was super unnecessary. Or it was in a plastic bag, right? I didn't know what to do with any of it. And I'm like, great, here's my bamboo toothbrush. So it was super frustrating to go through that process or you would get the thing.
Amanda (04:44)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Jessica (04:57)
and the thing wasn't really well made or it was packaged in a little plastic, you know, whatever packaging and like, why? Isn't the whole point like to get away from packaging that's plastic, not just the toothbrush that's plastic. So yeah, I totally understand. And it sounds like if you were going through that journey around the same time, like what were your resources as someone who was looking to sell the product?
Amanda (05:06)
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (05:26)
yourself.
Amanda (05:28)
Yeah, so my husband, how we even got started was we were originally just going to sell on Amazon. And my husband did an Amazon course. He took a course and was like, we can do this. But I didn't wanna just sell any product. I wanted to feel good about the products that we were gonna sell. So.
Jessica (05:36)
Mmm.
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (05:52)
like our first products, the straw kit didn't do well on Amazon. So, you know, it's it's not without trial and error, but like in -person events. And when we sell to wholesale retailers our straw kits do well. It's something that you need to see in person. So like that kind of translation was a challenge. So then we like our floss or biodegradable floss and our toothbrushes. We had those on Amazon. So originally we were just going to sell on Amazon. But honestly,
Jessica (06:08)
Mm.
Amanda (06:20)
that takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of time before you're making any money that I mean, it's super competitive. So then that's when we were doing like the pop up events and started to expand our offerings because we wanted to offer, you know, a little bit of everything versus just the two products at the time it was like the toothbrush kit and straw kit. So the in person events, we got like a lot of feedback.
Jessica (06:27)
Mmm.
Amanda (06:48)
for the products that we wanted to sell and the ones that were doing well and how to package and present the products. So we started with just the one and it takes a lot of research before we launch a product. I am so picky, like I said, I usually am testing something for several months before we get samples, we've gone to trade shows in other countries.
to try and find suppliers. And it's a process too, because like you had mentioned, the plastic packaging, even a lot of the manufacturers of sustainable products still wanna put it in a plastic bag. And you're like, you're not getting the whole picture here. We don't want any plastic along our entire supply chain. We don't even want plastic tape on our cartons. So it is a process and we're not perfect. And...
and we've made mistakes along the way, absolutely, but we testing, spending the time testing and like researching, especially for things that have ingredients because I'm not a chemist. I don't have a background in chemistry. So, you know, I want something that works, but I also want something that is not gonna like harm the planet or be like really highly.
Jessica (07:45)
course.
Amanda (08:06)
chemical based or high fragrance. There's a lot of things that I want to eliminate from my home. So it's not just like the plastic free, it's also like the toxins and more natural way of living, which I think comes later. First, you're starting with the plastic waste and then you're like, this is like, what is in this? Then you're asking those questions, right? It gets you to start asking those questions about like,
what is in this product that I'm using. I'm breathing in every day and my pets are breathing in and then you kind of go from there.
Jessica (08:39)
Yeah, yeah, totally. And it's funny because I was kind of like the opposite where I started with ingredients, as someone who's always kind of been in the wellness minded industry and health and doing research on all the things and like when I learned about organic food, I was like,
Why? Why is it different than regular? Like, why are they labeled differently now? And so I learned about all the chemicals. And then I started thinking what kind of chemicals are in the products I'm using? Because there are some pretty strong warning labels on the back of everything that I have, like, call poison control. You know, what is up with that? so for me, it was the opposite. And then I learned about plastic. And I was like, now I have to pivot and find everything that.
is not packaged in plastic. And so I started that. And then I was like, wait, but the ingredients. And so then it was like, OK, now I have to find it without plastic packaging and with ingredients that are not chemicals and that are organic or well -sourced, you know, because the sourcing of the ingredient is also important for the well -being of Mother Nature and the planet that's providing those ingredients from the plants.
Amanda (09:32)
Yeah. Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (09:53)
And yeah, it's just been like a process for me in that way where I kind of had to just think now what? The next thing is, you know, having to eliminate all of the ingredients that are not sustainably sourced. Maybe they're better, but they're not sourced well, you know? So yeah, it's a different path for everyone. And it's definitely like, let's get into greenwashing maybe because I feel like greenwashing has...
Amanda (10:10)
Yeah. Yeah.
Jessica (10:20)
made it harder and harder. When I first started there weren't a ton of options so it was more like lack of option and now there's like overwhelmingly too many options and most of them are total junk either they're...
Amanda (10:35)
Yeah, I was gonna say, are there too many options? Are there too many claims maybe on certain products? Because I don't think, I think the packaging laws in the US are incredibly weak and that's why you can swap the recycling symbol on any product when really less than 5 % is getting recycled, especially for plastics. So.
Jessica (10:57)
Yep. Yeah.
Amanda (10:59)
Yeah, I mean, the greenwashing, I know there are some like accounts on Instagram that I follow that kind of like debunk like certain brands and they'll go in a big box store and just kind of like pick something off the shelf that may be says like natural or maybe it has like green packaging or it says.
post -consumer recycled plastic. So I guess it's a little better, but it's still plastic. And a lot of these companies have the funds, and that you have a team of people that can research packaging options for you. And you choose to package it that way. We're a small team. We have like,
Jessica (11:26)
Right.
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (11:40)
three people, we're three people, you know? So when we're sourcing a product, not only are we finding the manufacturer, asking all those hard questions about the ingredients, testing it ourselves and on our friends and our family, and we're having to figure out the packaging solutions and it isn't as readily available and it is more expensive. Sustainable packaging is more expensive than plastic, plastic is cheap and that's why so many corporations have gone that route.
Jessica (11:41)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (12:08)
But yeah, just simply putting like eco or natural or green on the packaging tricks the consumer into thinking that, I'm doing something good for the planet. When in reality, you know, there's a big corporation that probably owns that little company that's on the shelf that makes it look like it's like a natural company. But really, it's just like a brand below like a huge giant that is like one of the top polluters in the country in the world.
Jessica (12:35)
Yep. Yeah.
Amanda (12:37)
So it makes it challenging as consumers to like kind of like if they're wanting to, you know, I didn't come out of the womb thinking, plastic is bad and like all these chemicals are bad. You know, it's a journey. It's a process. Like you start with something like a straw or even reusable bags and then you kind of learn from there and transition slowly. It's a slow process because you want to use it the things that you already have in your home before making that swap because it's...
Jessica (12:50)
Thank you.
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
Right.
Amanda (13:05)
Swapping everything out is wasteful first off, and it's not super cost effective either. So you want to do it, it takes time. So as a consumer, going into a store, like, I want to find an eco -friendly product. And then you're seeing eco, natural, and green packaging. It kind of tricks you into thinking, yeah, that's good. I'm doing something good.
Jessica (13:11)
Yeah. Yeah.
I've been greenwashed and tricked many times. I have to admit, you know, because you're not aware of it yet, and sometimes it takes a while to dawn on you and you're just like, wait, this refill bag is still plastic. I might be refilling my soap container at the sink, five times versus buying five different,
Amanda (13:32)
Mm -hmm.
Mm
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (13:52)
pump containers that are filled with soap. But at the end of the day, this bag is still plastic and I didn't want that, right? And then, yeah, wait, but what are the ingredients in there?
Amanda (13:58)
Yeah. Is the company taking it back? Yeah, is the company taking it back though? Because there are companies that do use the plastic pouches because it's lighter. So you're going to reduce emissions and shipping costs and things like that and make the product more affordable ultimately if the company is paying less to ship it. But if they're not taking it back and not making it circular, then it's
Jessica (14:11)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Amanda (14:25)
it's total greenwashing, because it's like a step better, but not really, because it's still plastic. Yeah.
Jessica (14:27)
Yeah.
Exactly, still going in the landfill. And at least the bottle might've had a chance at getting recycled if you have the curbside bin. I mean, who knows? And even that, it's like not, even if it's turned into something else, it's maybe only once or twice until eventually that item can no longer be turned into something new and ends up in the landfill forever and ever. So yeah, it's definitely a process of learning all of that stuff. And it can be totally
Amanda (14:39)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (15:01)
crazy making and sometimes I know I went through my journey just, overwhelmed and I have to take a break. And I just have to do what I've got going on and then I'll return to this when I feel like I have the time and the energy to do the research.
Amanda (15:06)
Mm -hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
I feel like that's kind of like the all or nothing mindset that is, yeah, it's kind of, it's so negative though, because, you know, a lot of people think like, big corporations are the ones ruining the planet. Why should I make a change? It's like, because this is gonna take like collective effort to get corporations to start changing their packaging, like hit them where it hurts in their wallets,
Jessica (15:22)
Totally. Yeah. It was.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Amanda (15:43)
it's gonna take us all making this movement, making this transition together to make the real change. And that's the only way change has ever happened in history is like collectively banded together and said, we want this to be like this. And that's how you get change. So to say like, whatever, it's private jets, it's Taylor Swift on her jet, that's killing the planet and I'm not gonna do anything about it. It's kind of the same as saying like,
Jessica (15:50)
Mm -hmm.
Yes.
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (16:12)
I can't do everything, so I'm just not going to do anything. And that's not what we try. We try to say progress over perfection. We're not perfect. And there's lots of areas that I know we can improve as a company. And even just as a person, I have a hard time going to the grocery store and not purchasing plastic. It's next to impossible.
Jessica (16:23)
Thank you.
Amanda (16:35)
And that's just the world we live in. So I'm just doing my best. And if we all did our best, how much plastic waste would we reduce overall? And that's like less emissions because plastic is made of oil. And yeah, so there's so many things that.
Jessica (16:35)
Sure, our food.
Hmm. Mm -hmm.
Yeah. Yeah. And it's That fact has been really well covered up for so long. And I wish that there had been conversations like this going on when I was starting back seven years ago, because if I talked about it with a friend,
Amanda (17:00)
Mm just... Yeah.
Jessica (17:10)
I was looked at like I had six heads, like what are you talking about?
And it just felt like I was.
Amanda (17:14)
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (17:18)
I'm alone and I didn't really know where to begin. And when I made mistakes, I wanted to like kind of put my head back in the sand or put on the rose colored sunglasses and just be like, it's all good. there's so much plastic out there and how much can I actually make a difference to impact what's going on?
I'd have those moments, right? But I'd wax and wane and go back and forth between that and like, no, I can, because how did it get this way in the first place? The problem got this way in the first place because everything is packaged in plastic. And up until the moment where I realized how unsustainable that is, I've been participating in that. And everybody has, unwillingly, unknowingly.
Amanda (17:47)
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (18:04)
And that's why the problem is what it is. And so if people, individuals make changes and encourage each other and inform each other and we raise awareness, then we can make a difference and the tides can shift. It's just, you know, one thing at a time. Like you're saying, you have to just do what you can and.
Amanda (18:04)
Yeah.
It's funny that you like mentioned people look at you like you have six heads, I still get that because I'm the one that brings my own Tupperware to pick up a pizza to go. And I have my place now that I go to and they know me and they they make accommodations for for me. And, it's kind of unnerving to like ask for those things. But sometimes you just have to ask and most of the businesses especially like,
Jessica (18:28)
Nah. Me too.
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
Amanda (18:51)
businesses you frequent are going to be more than happy to use your own cup, not give you plastic cutlery, not put your takeout on a plate so you can bring in your container and scoop it up and take it to go without the styrofoam. It is like an extra step that you have to make, but I think it gets ...
Jessica (18:54)
Yeah.
And then just throw it into your container. Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (19:17)
people, other people are going to see you do that first off. You're not alone when you go in there and they're going to be like, well, that's pretty cool. Look at that. And you're kind of like leading by example. And I think that has always caught on eventually. And I think more people will get on board with doing that stuff.
Jessica (19:20)
Mm -hmm.
I think people are starting to be aware and paying attention.
And they just don't know where to start. You know, I think that's the bottom line is like people want to do better. And when they learn about plastic pollution and what's going on and how it's affecting health and the environment, they want to make changes. And I think your store is the perfect place to start because you can start small and you can start with the things that you see immediately, which I would say, you know, just look to your kitchen. Like that's.
Amanda (19:46)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, thank you.
Jessica (20:11)
where things I think get used up quite a lot and thrown in the trash like sponges and paper towels and you can save like hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year just with that one swap.
Amanda (20:21)
I'm saving so much money. Yeah, paper towels, I feel like paper towels is the easiest thing to do, because you know what I did? I just hid them. I put them up in the cabinet, and then I put a basket of folded rags and unpaper towels.
Jessica (20:28)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Amanda (20:38)
I can grab it as like a napkin or and then Swedish dishcloths are like the best thing ever for cleaning up spills and you just wash and reuse them. They honestly last forever, forever. Like I think we say like nine to 12 months on our website, but I think I've had some for several years and I just scatter them around my house. I have some in my laundry room and some in, you know, my bathrooms and you can use them for.
Jessica (20:49)
Forever. Yeah.
Amanda (21:03)
everything like wiping down mirrors and all sorts of stuff. And so that's like a one -time investment and then you never buying paper towels again. And you're saving so much storage in your home too. Do not have like a big old thing of paper towels in your home. And...
Jessica (21:17)
Totally. Yeah, and you're saving yourself trips to the big box stores to buy the stuff. And even if it's buying them at a discounted price, you're still buying something that it's not reusable. And so you're setting yourself up to always be dependent on that product and having to rebuy it so much more.
Amanda (21:23)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (21:43)
you should ever have to rebuy something like that. paper towels are the easiest thing because the money that you save, even though the cost upfront seems a little bit like, hmm, this is more, if you do the math, it's like, it's so much. And also sponges that are thrown away basically, if you're using a sponge that's wet in your sink, you know,
Amanda (21:53)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Okay.
Jessica (22:11)
you should be throwing it away once a week, technically. And if you're not, then I would rethink how clean your countertops and your kitchen table is getting when you're using a sponge that's filled with bacteria. And the longer you keep it, the more bacteria Even if you're using a cleaner that has chemicals in it that are,
Amanda (22:11)
nasty.
Yeah.
Jessica (22:34)
you know, killing bacteria, it's not generally going to take care of that much bacteria. And the way that we use those cleaners isn't generally proper because if you read the back of the bottle, it says spray a surface and let it sit for like a half an hour, right? And then, yeah, no, like spraying and then wiping it up. And then like, did it kill the germs and...
Amanda (22:49)
Mm -hmm. Who has time for that? No, people aren't doing that.
Jessica (23:00)
were the chemicals necessary and now they're on your table still because you definitely didn't wipe them all away and now there's also probably bacteria from the sponge.
I think that's a super easy swap and the coconut brushes are a little bit different than a sponge, but so much better. And when you just know that you're not putting bacteria all over everything,
Amanda (23:15)
Yeah.
Jessica (23:20)
because I hated that part about sponges in the first place. And then also like throwing it out all the time, I would felt terrible, but there's not really, there wasn't really anything else. So that was my first, those were like my first swaps. And then I think that Castile soap was kind of the next thing because it could replace so many different types of cleaners in the house. Can you talk a little bit about like how many different, and yours is really concentrated, right?
Amanda (23:24)
Very nasty.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, our liquid castile soap is a concentrate and it comes in a 16 ounce aluminum bottle. So I think it's honestly the only plastic free castile soap I think on the market. I've not seen anyone else. I know Dr. Bronner switched to a carton, which again is another thing where it's like, okay, that's better, but it's still lined with plastic, has a plastic cap, it's mixed materials, it might not get recycled. Not really sure why they made that move better, but they could have been doing...
Jessica (23:49)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Amanda (24:14)
even better than that. And aluminum is 100 % recyclable forever, infinitely.
But liquid castile soap, you can use it for pet shampoo, you can make your own facial cleanser, your own shampoo, you can use it for all purpose cleaner, you can use it as a dish soap, a hand soap. We pair it with like our, we have a foaming soap dispenser. So it's just like a one to one ratio with water and it comes out like super concentrated foam to wash your hands or wash your dishes.
Jessica (24:32)
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (24:39)
You can literally use it for everything. There's a recipe, just like do a little Google search, there's a recipe for pretty much everything you can use Castile soap for. And it's only a handful of ingredients. So it's like one of the cleanest cleaners that you can possibly be using in your home. And it really works. And it really works. So it does, you only need like a couple bottles and you can take care of like cleaning, you know, your whole home, filling your hand soap, filling your dish soap, you know.
Jessica (24:46)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Absolutely.
Amanda (25:08)
all of the things. So it's a great product. I like products that have multiple purposes and multiple ways that you can use them because sustainability looks different for everyone. And what works for me might not work for somebody else. So we like to have options that serve multiple purposes. So that's one of the products that I'm really proud of. And it's made in the US and super great ingredients.
Jessica (25:21)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, and that's what I love about a lot of the things on your website, because you don't have to think about the ingredients. You've already done that part. You don't have to think about the packaging, obviously, because that's the whole point of your store. You've already done that part. You don't have to think about, is it going to be shipped to me in plastic? You're not doing that. And so all those layers are already totally taken care of. You've taken all those steps already to find something that works.
Amanda (25:42)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Yeah.
Jessica (26:04)
and its quality and the ingredients and the sourcing and it just takes so much guesswork and so much research out of the whole process. I mean there's still a lot of things that can be done but your website is a beautiful way to get started and just feel confident that literally anything that you decide to get on your website is the right thing.
Amanda (26:31)
always have like a wish list of products and it takes a while to a find a manufacturer that can make it, especially at like a quantity we're a small business. So like we're not buying 30 ,000 units of something to start off with. yeah, so finding a manufacturer that will work with us as a smaller.
Jessica (26:39)
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (26:53)
business that will work with our packaging requests because lot of that's done by machinery, like bottles being filled So finding somebody that's willing to work with a specific type of packaging seeing if that works for them and then vetting the ingredients and all that kind of stuff and testing that out takes time. So yeah, it's a process whenever we launch a product.
Jessica (26:54)
Thank you.
Yeah.
Amanda (27:15)
So we when we first started out, we didn't make as many of the products ourselves. we had to source from other small companies to fill in the gaps. So we could be like kind of that one stop shop. And there's always other products that I want to launch and I kind of have to like cool it like, we we have to take our time because good things take time, right?
Jessica (27:36)
Right, it's a process and patience is part of that process and not giving up. I'm sure that there have been times where you're just like, my gosh.
Amanda (27:39)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm. Yep.
I mean running a business is something else. I never went to school for this. I, you know, it's a learning experience every single day and every single day could look different. There's always problems, but it's like the way that you handle them, right? And I'm a pretty good problem solver. And yeah, I mean, we had like one of our...
Jessica (28:05)
Yeah.
Yes.
Amanda (28:14)
most stressful things was we had a fulfillment center, we moved to a fulfillment center like to fulfill our orders. And it was because now I get a lot more freedom in my day to day to like, do more product research, I do all of our packaging and branding. And I'm still doing a lot on social media and stuff like that, too, because you have to wear so many like a founder, right?
Jessica (28:21)
Mm -hmm.
Sure.
Amanda (28:37)
but we moved to fulfillment center and they did our orders. Well, the first one we had was just terrible. Like I didn't realize how bad they were until we have like, we have a new one now. And I didn't realize how bad they were, but I still have stress dreams to this day about like, you know, they would ship like full wholesale orders to the wrong customers and they'd mix them up and,
Jessica (28:48)
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (28:58)
they would take like weeks to receive our products into inventory and we would have to drive up there and we'd see our products just sitting there. Yeah, they were just awful. And that was probably like the worst experience of my life. I'm never moving fulfillment centers again. Because once we pulled our product, not only did they charge us so much money to just even get our own inventory back, but it was all like, they just went to the shelves and like completely cleared the shelves and.
put them in boxes. We had two storage units that it was all, everything was mixed up. Everything was mixed up. And like to this day, like sometimes I'll like go and open a box and I'm like, this is supposed to be all of this and it's not like this is still. Yeah, I'm still finding like mixed cartons of different. Yeah, it was terrible. But now we have a really good one and they're a smaller company. So.
Jessica (29:30)
my gosh.
a little...
Thank you.
Amanda (29:54)
I just go for smaller companies. They care more about your business. They like do happy dance whenever they get your order. And you're going to get much better customer service from a smaller business than a big corporation like any day.
Jessica (29:56)
Mm -hmm.
And that's the same to say for using a smaller business like you to source all of these products rather than going to the grocery store and trying to figure out if something on the shelf that the grocery store is offering as a greener solution is going to work or be high quality or what was the sourcing and what are the ingredients
Amanda (30:33)
-hmm.
Jessica (30:33)
It's not gonna happen at the grocery store, I'm sorry to say. A small business like yours, a hundred percent you're going to get quality and service and Yeah, you have to sit down and make an order and wait, you know not two days
Amanda (30:35)
Yeah.
Jessica (30:48)
And the thing is, that creates a problem in and of itself, not only for people our age, but for kids. I see it in my son, like who's basically grown up in this age of immediate fulfillment of whatever it is that you need. And it's not really good to, have that sort of mentality about life because.
Amanda (30:54)
Yeah. Yeah.
my gosh.
Yeah.
Jessica (31:16)
it doesn't teach any patience or resilience or anything like that. So I feel like I've really backpedaled and shifted into the direction of supporting small businesses now that there are enough of them like you offering quality replacements in the right packaging and all of that and the right shipping materials. it's a no brainer.
Amanda (31:33)
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (31:41)
And if I have to wait five to 10 business days, like I just get used to the fact that that's the case. And also you know, yeah, if you get things and they're shipped to you, that's a convenience. And if I have to pay eight or $10 to have that shipped to me, then so be it. I didn't have to get in my car and spend 20 minutes going to wherever. And then I'm going to leave that store with 10 times more stuff than I ever wanted to get.
Amanda (31:42)
And then.
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
I think like the free returns mentality too is so detrimental to the planet because returns are not free. They're not free for the business. First off, if you return something on Amazon, you know who pays for it? The vendor. Amazon doesn't pay for that. The vendor, the seller.
Jessica (32:15)
Yeah. No.
Yeah. Nope.
Amanda (32:26)
So like if you were like buy our floss on Amazon and decide you don't like it, you return that. Well, you know what? we pay for that. So it's not free and it's not free for the planet too because it's either, you know, we either have to pull our returns or we can opt to store them. Or I know Amazon for bigger products and things like that. They auction off like pallets and companies like, will
purchase those pallets of returns and resell them. We have a company local in Las Vegas that runs an auction. And their whole business is buying Amazon returns and then reselling them.
Jessica (32:54)
Hmm.
Well, at least they're keeping them out of the landfill. I guess we have to look at the good part of that. But yeah.
Amanda (33:05)
out of landfills. A percentage of it though, but it's really, it's, I mean, there's still like such a large percentage that is going to waste with that free returns mentality. No returns are free.
Jessica (33:21)
Yeah.
affecting the small business that it came from and the planet that provided those resources and then now it's going to be thrown into landfill. So yeah, it's a good point to make that I think is absolutely hidden and nobody thinks about it because it's not really talked about. So I love that you brought that up.
Amanda (33:26)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Yeah, I think it starts with like, again, you get that instant gratification of buying something, right? So it doesn't make you really have to think about that purchase as much. So you're just like, click, click, buy it. If I don't like it, I'll return it because it's free, right? But if you really had to think about that purchase before you bought it, maybe you don't need it. Maybe you don't need it. Maybe you can find it at a local store.
Jessica (33:53)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Right?
Amanda (34:09)
Yeah, maybe just thinking about that purchase before will eliminate so many returns, but because they have that free returns offering, like if they had if people had to pay for their returns, there wouldn't be that many returns. They would see a lot of more people like trying to resell it or in their community or Facebook marketplace or donating it.
Jessica (34:22)
That's right.
-hmm.
like you said, you'd be thinking more about buying it. And if there is really a need and you can't get it in another way, then you do it and you just take that risk that it might not work.
Amanda (34:34)
Mm -hmm. Yep.
-hmm.
Mm -hmm.
going zero waste, low waste or plastic free really saves you money too, because you're thinking more about your purchases. You're being a more mindful consumer across the board and then you ultimately spend less because you're not going to target runs and spending $350 and you're like, what did I even buy? I had like five things on my list.
Jessica (34:59)
Mm -hmm.
Absolutely. I've totally done that so many times I didn't need to have a different, color throw for my couch because it's fall. Right. But because I saw that display and it looked really cool and it's fall you just get like sucked in.
Amanda (35:16)
Yeah.
Yeah, or maybe you could have thrifted that because I feel like most like that kind of stuff. I see so much of that at thrift stores, especially fall decor. my gosh. It ends up at a thrift store before going to a landfill.
Jessica (35:32)
Right. It ends up in the thrift store.
So go to the thrift store first and buy online from stores like Me Mother Earth to support small businesses who are doing the right thing for the planet and for people and that you can trust, I just think it's such a much more fulfilling Once you make that shift, it's so much more fulfilling to be like, I'm supporting a small business, a locally owned business, a couple, you know then to just be like well, I
Amanda (35:42)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
Jessica (36:06)
Hmm, more money to the corporation who's destroying our planet with their products. You know.
Amanda (36:08)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm or the ones that like are saying like we're gonna be plastic neutral by like 2050 like that doesn't take 20 years Like does that take 20 years to do?
Jessica (36:17)
What does that even mean?
Right.
Amanda (36:23)
is a corporation. Well, it's not a corporation. Sorry. It's a nonprofit organization. And we just partnered with them, Repurpose Global, and they do a plastic neutral certification. But the companies that they take on have to set realistic goals for reducing their plastic consumption. And for every item that they sell in plastic, two items are removed from the environment.
Jessica (36:30)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
Okay.
Amanda (36:47)
So that's how they're becoming like plastic neutral. So Repurpose Global is doing a lot and I really like our new partnership with them because they help with, so where is the waste going, right? you think that our waste stream is really good and it's going to a landfill, it's getting recycled, but a lot of the times we are shipping off our waste to developing countries.
And they have waste management systems that are non -existent. You know, they don't have a trash service and they're overwhelmed with the amount of waste that they're receiving. And so this organization Repurpose Global enables people that are trash collectors and actually gives them a job and is making, you know, infrastructure around waste management and these.
Jessica (37:19)
Mm -hmm.
I don't know.
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (37:40)
developing countries that are being overwhelmed by the amount of waste that is coming their way. And it's not necessarily from their own population. It's coming from other nations taking advantage of the fact that these countries like really need the money
Jessica (37:44)
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (37:56)
But there are lots of greenwashing around, companies making claims to reducing their plastic production in so many years. And it's like, OK, really?
We need to cut off the tap, right? We need to cut off the tap with consuming and then stop it before it reaches the ocean. So how do we do that? Better waste management systems, cleaning up rivers and areas that it could potentially wash downstream and end up in the ocean. So you've got to stop it before it gets there.
Jessica (38:09)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (38:27)
And those are some of the solutions that are really working besides, you know, just, cleaning up the beach, which is a great thing to do. I love doing it. I can't go to a beach without picking up plastic, but it's, we really need to cut off the tap and we need to stop producing the plastic and manage where it goes
Jessica (38:28)
Yes.
Yeah.
You're right, we have to stop the production of it, I think is the number one priority. And in order for that to happen, consumers just have to shift into a new direction by being aware and then empowered to make new choices with businesses like yours that they can support instead of the ones that they grew up with. I think people are just using stuff that they've always used out of habit.
Amanda (38:52)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (39:17)
people grew up with those smells and it reminds them of being a kid and, you know, to use that laundry detergent or that cleaner or whatever. And then, yeah,
Amanda (39:21)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (39:25)
it's a transition and being the change is a huge piece of the puzzle. People that are aware of people that are, you know, willing to jump in and be like, okay, I'm not sure what I'm doing, but I'm going to start and I'm going to try. And yeah, your, your products are obviously in multiple areas of my guide
Amanda (39:29)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Jessica (39:46)
So you can find ME Mother Earth in the oral care chapter because you have an amazing line of bamboo toothbrushes and I do want to talk about this a little bit because I feel like a lot of people have an electric toothbrush and they don't want to give that up and I get it. My husband is on that side of the fence and me I'm just like all.
Amanda (39:46)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Jessica (40:10)
Bamboo, no problem. I have no issues with that, but he's been using an electric toothbrush for years. So having the bamboo head with the bristles that are also not made of plastic or synthetic materials that are made of compostable materials is an amazing option to reduce that piece of heavy plastic waste
Amanda (40:12)
Yeah, yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (40:32)
So I love that and I want to point people to that. It's in the guide in the teeth section and also just so many other great products that you have for oral care. The floss that's also biodegradable and refillable and the containers that are not, there's no plastic involved, like zero. I just love it.
Amanda (40:50)
No, no, and refillable. I mean, how much in your lifetime are you going to be brushing and flossing your teeth? This is such a small thing that everyone can do to reduce plastic waste every single day. There is a bit of a learning, a transitional period, because if you're switching over to a toothpaste tablet, it's weird. It's not something that you've used your whole life. So it takes a little bit of like,
Jessica (41:06)
Mm -hmm.
Amanda (41:19)
I can do this, like getting used to it. And then the texture of bamboo in your mouth. Like I know some people, it takes them a little while. It took my husband a little while to like get used to switching to a bamboo toothbrush. Cause he was like, I don't know. This like makes my mouth feel weird at first, but you're going to want to like make the change. And I think like it's motivating to not be like having plastic in your mouth every day.
Jessica (41:42)
all those chemicals are being dumped off in your mouth
And I even switched to those toothbrushes for my dog because she kind of, she was on it a little bit while I brushed her teeth. And before, when I was using a plastic toothbrush that I ended up with after taking her to go get groomed and they brushed her teeth and they handed me the toothbrush and I was like,
Amanda (41:51)
yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jessica (42:06)
It's already been used, okay. So I used it until I kind of realized like this might not be the best thing because she's kind of gnawed on it a little bit and that's plastic and if one little piece of that goes in her mouth, she's gonna swallow that and that's a big piece of plastic. So I just replaced her stuff too with bamboo, which is kind of strange, but why not, right?
Amanda (42:08)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah. No, why not? I mean, I use my old, you're supposed to change your toothbrush like every three months. So I just like boil the old one and that one gets like demoted to my dog.
Jessica (42:37)
Yeah, that's a great idea. Just boil it, sterilize it. They're not going to get any of your microbiome. Yeah.
Amanda (42:43)
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And that just gets used for my dog because I mean, I don't brush my dog's teeth every day. So.
Jessica (42:54)
No, no. And also, yeah, I usually use mine for repurpose mine for cleaning little corners and scrubbing tile and things like that. But that's another great way to repurpose if you already have enough toothbrushes that you're cleaning with But yeah, there's so many little tips and tricks. And if you're listening and you want to, know where to get some of these tips and tricks, I'm sure that you probably share a lot on your Instagram.
Amanda (43:00)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Jessica (43:20)
Which, where can we find you?
Amanda (43:21)
Yes. On Instagram, we're most active on Instagram. So it's at me .motherearth. And then our website is memotherearthbrand .com. We have a YouTube, we have a TikTok and a Pinterest, but I'm not as active on those platforms. Instagram is the one. Yeah, Instagram is the one that most active on. Although we are working on some more like
Jessica (43:26)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Okay, takes a while.
Amanda (43:48)
kind of tutorials, because we want people to be able to like take care of the products that they purchase from us and know how to make them last the longest and best ways to dispose of them and things like that. So those are some of the things that are coming for like YouTube later. That's my goal for the year. But yeah, we do share a lot on Instagram, just tips and tricks, not necessarily about products, not necessarily about buying our stuff all the time. It's overall, wellness.
Jessica (44:02)
Okay, cool.
Amanda (44:13)
the planet and our bodies and you know, we have two homes. The planet and our body.
Jessica (44:18)
Yes, definitely. And if we care about our health and our wellness, which is what Live Lightly is all about, we are also, responsible for keeping in mind the health and wellness of the planet. And the best way to do that is through the products that we buy as consumers, just everyday products.
It's just swapping it out for something different, which is really cool, because then you're not buying stuff you don't really need. It's stuff that you're buying anyways that you do need. And now it's just like, hey, it's better for me and my wellness and my health and my family and my home and my dog and pets.
Amanda (44:41)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Jessica (44:57)
And it's better for Mother Earth, who's providing everything, clean soil, clean air, clean water, for us to live healthy, long lives. So it's really just a shift in, mentality, too.
Amanda (45:10)
Yeah, 100%. 100%. And once you, once you start, you're going to fall into that rabbit hole that we talked about.
Jessica (45:16)
Totally. You know, fall into the rabbit hole, I think, of just wanting to know what's next when you need to buy something new. Not necessarily the rabbit hole of like having to do all the research
Amanda (45:21)
Yes.
with your podcast and our social and we have a blog too. We take care of some of the research for you.
Jessica (45:33)
much all of it. And then yeah, the podcast and my free guide, which it's a free resource for anybody who wants it. It's on livelightly .eco. So livelightly .eco under free guide. and when you do that, you're also joining my email list, which I send
not only to let you know that a new episode is coming but also tips and just other resources for people who don't have the time, energy, or want to spare their sanity from having to do all the research and sifting through the greenwashing. Because like you said, when we started our conversation,
Amanda (46:03)
Yeah.
Jessica (46:12)
There are so many options out there, but actually not so many options out there. Whatever is out there, I've sifted through it in hours and hours of research and it's in that guide. just take it out any time you need something for your household. And even like I said, your products are in different chapters because,
Amanda (46:15)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Jessica (46:33)
your products check so many different boxes
Amanda (46:35)
Well, and we're always here to help too. Like our small but mighty team is always here to answer questions so we can answer those questions before you buy it. And so the product will work for you because that's what we ultimately want. Because then you're going to be hooked and you're going to want to reduce plastic in so many areas of your home.
Jessica (46:41)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, exactly. So I loved having this conversation with you today. It was super fun. And thank you for sharing your stories and the struggle and all the challenges that you've gone through. I just really think that it's important for people to kind of know like how much goes into something that looks so simple, right?
Amanda (46:52)
Yep, exactly.
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Jessica (47:16)
There's a lot and years and years of hard work and research and dedication and it's all from the heart, you know, so thank you.
Amanda (47:23)
Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you for having me. It's been a lot of fun.
Jessica (47:27)
Yeah, absolutely.