Founder Spotlight: Jo Mack (ecoLiving)
Meet Jo Mack
Company:
ecoLiving is a UK based company and the leader in manufacturing, designing and creating 100% plastic-free, zero waste, vegan household products. All products are manufactured responsibly in the UK or EU.
Startup Stage:
Bootstrapped
Location:
West Sussex, England
When did you launch the business?
2014
What led you to where you are today?
I know for sure I am glad I didn't know how many hours a day I would have to work in the beginning! The start of the journey was exciting, tiring, and had a steep learning curve. I wish I had known/had the confidence to bring more people on sooner. When you work passionately and independently on a business it is hard to let go and to give up part of the work yourself and put trust in another person running aspects for you. But by doing so you get much more time to drive the business and focus on the parts you are truly best at. Getting the right people doing the right jobs as soon as you can enable more rapid growth and don't be afraid to let go!
What do you wish you knew before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey?
What has proved to be challenging for us is getting suppliers and manufacturers to think differently and find ways to work with what we are aiming to do For example, all our suppliers work to cut plastic from products and deliveries - not an industry standard so it's always a work in progress! For example, we were the first to get the cotton buds produced in the EU and with zero plastic in the packaging -as they all previously had a plastic window - this took hard work negotiation, and even new machinery. Likewise, the plant-based eco floss we have produced was a game-changer, and working hard with experts in the industry to source the corn raw material and turn it to floss!
What is the most difficult decision you've had to make regarding your business so far?
This is our challenge when you are changing 'standard' 'traditional' ways of manufacturing but always worth it.
What can you help the VEGPRENEUR community with?
We would like to think we could inspire people to change their buying habits and change their everyday products. We are experts at knowing the background of materials and ingredients and could support in helping find vegan and plant-based products that are truly eco friendly - we can spot a greenwash a mile away!
How can the VEGPRENEUR community help you?
It would be fantastic to connect with other vegan entrepreneurs in other regions and find a support network to mutually promote and push our products to new places and reach new customers.
Fun fact about you:
I can eat can a vegan donut without licking my lips.
Anything else you would like to share?
All of our products are manufactured responsibly in the UK or EU. As a company, EcoLiving is committed to doing the least harm to the environment. The company is carbon neutral, and also plants trees through the Eden Reforestation projects for reforestation, agroforestry, and reducing extreme poverty through the employment of local villagers and is part of 1% for the Planet. EcoLiving has a catalog of over 250 household products and growing. We are always looking for new, ethical and eco-friendly ways to improve the items we use in our daily lives. Currently, EcoLiving is stocked in over 5000 UK-based stores and in 12 EU countries and growing every day.
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