Tom's of Maine Environmental Practices
Tom’s of Maine is based on the central belief that the company can be financially successful while behaving in a socially responsible and environmentally sensitive manner. These values are at the heart of every Tom’s of Maine business decision, and they continually strive to improve our environmental stewardship. Here are some of the ways they try to lessen their impact on the earth.
Stewardship Model
The Tom's of Maine Stewardship Model sets out their definitions for natural, sustainable, and responsible. All of their decisions are made in reference to these policies.
Renewable Wind Energy
100% of their electricity consumption is offset by wind energy supplied by Green-e, a certified, nationally recognized symbol of independently verified renewable energy. This will eliminate production of 1.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually—the equivalent of planting 214 acres of trees!
Energy-Efficient Lighting
Their factory uses sensor-controlled fluorescent energy-saving fixtures, which saves 250,000 kilowatt-hours per year.
Recycling
They recycle aluminum tubes, cardboard, folding cartons, mixed paper, and even challenging items such as shrink wrap. Their program now recycles 200,000 pounds per year, and with the recent purchase of compacting equipment they will recycle an additional 12,000 paper raw material sacks per year. This has resulted in the elimination of half of their dumpsters and weekly trash pick-ups.
Using recycled and Green Materials
Tom’s of Maine products and packaging are designed to be sustainable and recyclable. Each year, they use cartons made of 100% recycled paper board. As a result, they save:
- 376,396 pounds of solid waste
- 97,286 gallons of water 5,373,000,000 BTUs of electricity— that’s 52 years of electricity as required by the average U.S. home.
- 567,557 pounds of greenhouse gases—that’s 572,000 miles traveled in the average U.S. car
- 1,769 pounds of air emissions (HAPs, VOCs, TRSs combined)
- 26,732 pounds of hazardous effluent (BODs, TSSs, CODs, AOXs)
They also:
- Use soy-based inks on all of their professionally printed materials and packaging
- Wrap their bar soaps in biodegradable cellulose made from wood fibers
- Created a #5 recyclable plastic deodorant stick—the first of its kind in the industry and a container that is even stronger and more reliable than the old non-recyclable version!
Green Facility Cleaning They use green cleaning products as a safer alternative for their cleaning partners and employees.
Rivers Awareness Program Their Rivers Awareness Program draws attention to our nation’s troubled rivers and encourages people to volunteer in their own communities. Over the last two years alone, over 30,000 volunteers at roughly 30 different events removed an estimated 400 tons of trash from our nation’s rivers.
Hybrid Car Purchase Tom's of Maine supports innovative technologies and processes that increase fuel efficiency and lower emissions. For this reason, they provide employees with a $4000 benefit when they purchase a new hybrid vehicle.
Environmental Audits When they work with a vendor, they perform an "audit"—in other words, they draw up a list of the ways that Tom's and the vendor can best partner together while upholding their values and achieving an efficient business deal. It's not a confrontational process, but rather a way to ensure that everything Tom's and the vendor does together is high quality, efficient, and in accordance with their shared values.
Support for Environmental Groups and Projects Tom’s of Maine donates 10% of their pre-tax profits to organizations supporting, among other things, the environment. In 1998, they donated $500,000 (to be paid out over five years) to The Nature Conservancy to help purchase and preserve 185,000 acres along the undeveloped St. John River. In 2003, Tom’s gave $150,000 to The Nature Conservancy’s Katahdin Forest Project, a 241,000-acre conservation initiative. And in 2006, they gave $100,000 to The Trust for Public Land to help purchase and preserve Katahdin Lake and 4,000 acres of forest and lakes with views of Mt. Katahdin. Read more about their work to preserve the Mt. Katahdin region.
Preserving Green Space in their Own Community In 2006, Tom's donated 38 acres of land to the Kennebunk Land Trust to create the Mousam River Wildlife Sanctuary. The donation protects community access to the land for recreational uses.
Tom's of Maine Stewardship Model
For natural, sustainable, and responsible ingredients, products, and packaging The Stewardship Model helps Tom’s of Maine stay true to the part of their mission which says: "They believe our company can be profitable and successful while acting in a socially and environmentally responsible manner." The standards below reflect both their current standards as well as those standards their continually strive to achieve.
Tom’s of Maine’s Standards for Natural
• Sourced in nature
• Simple and understandable ingredients
• Free of artificial preservatives, colors, sweeteners, flavors, fragrances, and other additives
• Free of animal ingredients
• Made of high-quality ingredients
• Subject to limited processing
• Purposeful in the system of ingredients
• Promote organically grown ingredients wherever possible and practical
Their Standards for Sustainable
• Contribute to environmental and economic sustainability
• Socially conscious
• Environmentally friendly products and packaging
• Establish safety and efficacy in our products and ingredients without testing on animals
• Renewable and recyclable resources
• Biodegradable
• Promote sustainable harvesting practices
• Respectful of basic human rights
• Respectful of the rights of indigenous people
• Accountable to present and future generations
Their Standards for Responsible
• Safe
• Effective
• Sufficient research conducted
• Honesty about where and how ingredient, product, and packaging was sourced
• Honesty about claims related to product/ingredient/formulation
• Affordable for consumer
• Affordable for company
• Build value and equity for company
• Respect for the standards of the Food and Drug Administration
• Respect for the standards of the Federal Trade Commission
• Respect for the standards of organizations (American Dental Association) with whom they have chosen to partner
Rivers Awareness Program
We all live near some form of water, and while your local waterway may look clean, there could be serious problems beneath the surface. About 50% of the drinking water in the United States comes from rivers—but 40% of our rivers, lakes, and estuaries are unsuitable for such basic uses as fishing and swimming. Read More … >>
Link Rivers Awareness Program to: http://www.tomsofmaine.com/toms/community/rivers2006/
