Interview with Alison Larkin, owner of Eco Logics / Green Kits

by: Dennis Salazar

5 Nov

Green Kits for Every Household Need

We are very fortunate to work with a number of companies offering a wide variety of green products ranging from toys to organic food products. Every once in a while a company catches our attention because of their unique approach to an increasingly crowded segment of the market. One of those companies is Eco Logics, otherwise known as Green Kits. We recently interviewed Alison Larkin, president of Eco Logics, and are pleased to share her comments with our readers.

DS: Alison, please help us to understand the relationship between Eco Logics and Green Kits, including a brief history of your company.

AL: My husband and I came up with the idea of green kits before we ever thought about incorporating a business. Once we decided to run with Green-kits “The Product”, I hastily named the venture Eco-Logics while en route to the lawyer’s office. The idea was that if the product failed, the company could go in another direction.

DS: Where did the concept of kitting your products into consumer friendly prepackaged kits come from?

green kit household products AL: It was a dual aha moment. We had been using environmentally friendly products for some time and our friends would ask what the best eco-cleaner was, or what the best recycled paper towel was. This was in the back of my head as I one day perused the craft store to buy some painting supplies. I had been an artist in college and wanted to get back into oil painting. I had my arms full of the different things I needed to get started – linseed oil, palette knife, canvas. I wished they had some sort of “Get Started Oil Painting” kit for the novice. The idea for Green-kits was conceived in that very aisle.

DS: Let’s focus on your kits in the cleaning area which is currently getting a lot of attention. With so many choices out there, from small manufacturers to now huge ones, how did you decide which product lines you felt comfortable selling?

AL: At first I sold what I knew, which was a limited range of products. As Green-kits became more mainstream, I found that manufacturers were more than willing to send samples of their products for inclusion in our line. We actually test the products for several weeks and report back to the maker with what we think – good or bad.

DS: One of the things I noticed is your decision to sell only 100% cotton reusable shopping bags when so many others offer imported non-woven polypropylene bags. I give you a lot of credit for this because this could not have been an easy decision to make from a cost competitive perspective?

AL: Yes, we certainly price ourselves out of many sales, I’m sure. I don’t knock polypropylene bags if it helps someone stop choosing the one-use bags. But we decided if we were going to offer bags, they would be organic cotton. We currently offer the only organic cotton sack (modeled after a plastic sack) that I know of. I think it’s also noteworthy that our bags are made by women in their homes, not in a factory setting.

DS: Do you have any new kits you are launching this holiday season?

AL: We have a kit that we have been field testing called the Green Savvy Kit, which contains a smattering of everyday products, from notepads to lightbulbs. We are also going to have some holiday gift packs which will include samplings of the various bag styles available – totes, sacks, produce, and lunch. And of course everything is available gift-wrapped in recycled and organic materials.

DS: Alison, I see you use Terrapass to offset your shipping carbon footprint which is an area I am very interested in for our own web store. For the benefit of readers who may not be familiar with carbon offsetting, can you please explain how that works, Also, with so many options out there, I am curious how and why you selected them.

AL: We contacted a few places when we were getting set up on the web store. There wasn’t as much to choose from back then (now UPS offers a carbon-free option!). We went with TerraPass due to their exceptional customer service. This was before they had a commercial option. We worked out how many boxes were shipped each day, weights, sizes, and destinations. They worked on what the carbon offset would be and called me back with the rate. I found the approach to be practical and accurate.

DS: Thank you Alison and I hope our readers will beat the rush and do a little holiday shopping at your Green-kits Store.

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