By Nancy Varekamp | CNews Editor
When Tanya Hartnett launched her business plan in January to create and market body care products, she expected customers to appreciate the convenience of free home delivery. Little did she realize a pandemic would make it so practical.
Moreover, Tanya delivers by bicycle as part of her earth-friendly business that serves northeast, north and some southeast neighborhoods.
Circumventing fossil fuels for shipping is just part of the sustainability that’s the foundation of Clean Body Care. Only natural and organic ingredients – most vegan and sourced locally – go into the recipes she’s developed in her kitchen.
Don’t worry about animal testing. Everything has been tried out by Tanya, her husband and their two teenagers. Further, there’s no packaging involved for the bar shampoo, soap, deodorant and lotion.
Bars?
“When the deodorant and lotion touches you, it melts onto your skin,” she explained. “You’re not using excess.” One lotion alternative comes in a returnable/ refillable jar for a one-time nominal fee.
“Customers leave a container on their porch, I deposit their purchases, and there’s zero waste,” she explained. Payments are accepted online, or at the door. Specific products, prices and contact information are at CleanBodyCare4u. wixsite.com/website.
Tanya likens her business to a community supported agriculture (CSA), since customers can request regular deliveries.
“Unlike a CSA, though, you get only what you want to use,” she pointed out. “With a CSA, you might get 15 beets, whether you want them or not. The idea here is no waste.”
The native Oregonian and 15-year northeast Portlander learned to embrace sustainability as the youngest of nine children born to parents raised during the Great Depression. “Nothing was ever thrown away,” Tanya reported.
“I wear only natural fibers, sew all my own clothes, bake everything I can, and I avoid packaging.”
Working in the fashion industry most of her career, Tanya heard a lot of talk about respecting the environment. “But there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors about that kind of stuff.”
After learning a couple of years ago that 552 million plastic shampoo bottles go in the landfills every year, she Googled instructions to make a shampoo bar that can be used on the entire body. That was the beginning of many more recipes and experiments.
And Tanya hopes her business is the beginning of an additional form of community involvement here, like a local environmental club or even a homegrown produce sharing group.
Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters.