BareElementsLLC

Bare Elements, LLC started in December 2018 as two friends, Alanna and Jess, getting together just for fun to create a natural deodorant and shampoo for personal use. Both Alanna and Jess had been trying to find natural products on the market, but were not having luck finding something that worked for them. They decided they wanted to try to create something themselves, and figured worse case scenario at least they'd have a fun girls-night!

Both being very thorough people, a lot of research was done before the first attempt. As a result, the first attempt was a super success! Although it wasn't their initial intention, they were so excited with their success, they wanted to share it with friends and custumers of Alanna's store. They ordered in a small bulk of typical plastic containers without much thought. At this point Jess and Alanna were somewhat mindful about reducing waste, but never even considered that alternative packaging was available. When the box of plastic came in the mail they were overwhelmed with the realization of just how much plastic is used in personal care packaging. They decided that they absolutely had to find an alternative to plastic packaging and the plastic-free mission was born. (Yes--they used up the plastic first--more on the plastic-free journey later!)

Alanna and Jess officially released Bare Elements products on the shelves at Alanna's store on Valentine's Day 2019. At first they only sold in store and at a few local artist markets. Friends and other custumers were so impressed by both the product and the packaging that they inspired Alanna and Jess to go bigger and open an Etsy shop. Continued support from customers have allowed them to continue to expand their product line, create an LLC, and trademark the name Bare Elements!

Currently the business is operating grass-roots. They both use personal time outside their other jobs to grow the business--and they love every moment of it--especially the days they work together! They hope to continue to build and grow so that one day they will be able to make charitable donations to causes that are important to them.

Since the "plastic nightmare" realization, Alanna and Jess have both joined the zero-waste movement and continue to strive towards plastic-free solutions not only in their products but in their every day lives. Alanna's store has also been transitioning to plastic-free solutions for the rest of their products! They work to inspire others to make changes and also to create plastic-free options where they are hard to find! They spend a lot of time researching the sustainability and safety of the ingredients they use. They are constantly doing research on finding the safest, most natural, and most sustainable ingredients and suppliers.