The idea with my weekly blog posts is that I get to share the ‘inside scoop’ with our readers. A behind the scenes peek if you will at how we design our blends, where we source our oils, and the trials and tribulations of running a multi-divisional company. The issue I’m about to delve into is one that has been the source of many a debate at Escents over the years.

At Escents Aromatherapy, we are dedicated to sharing the positive benefits of essential oils with as many people possible through our full range of Bath & Body, Skin Care, Home and Wellness products. We currently have an online store, retail stores and over 300 retailers across Canada and the United States that carry a limited selection of Escents products. The best way to reach as many people possible is to offer our products in other retail environments across North America. As we continue to grow our wholesale division, we are recurrently asked to increase the amount of packaging we use with our products as it presents better on the shelf and is more appealing to the gift market. Although the environment is not mentioned in our mission statement, the very essence of our business (sharing the positive benefits of nature through essential oils) unknowingly shapes our environmental policy. Now you can see our dilemma. Do we succumb to the pressures of growth or try and stay on higher moral ground even though it may cost us some really great opportunities?

I think as with most things in life, the answer lies in compromise. As a company, we are proud to say that we stand behind the following environmental practices:

- Escents sources raw materials locally as much as possible
- Escents uses re-callable containers
- We don’t box our lotions, washes, soaps or candles
- When additional packaging is used, we source only 100% recycled material
- Escents doesn’t use synthetic color in any of our products

We are proud to use minimal packaging for our products. We’ve had to make some concessions including providing boxes for essential oils, aromatherapy blends and selected gifts, and we may have to design boxes for our soy jar candles in the future to be able to offer our products in different markets, but we’ll always keep our core values in mind when making these decisions! I assure you that all small business owners are confronted with these same issues as they experience the growing pains of a business trying to expand. The questions that come up on a daily basis are not always easy to answer and sometimes we have to go back to our original mission and vision statements to decide on the right course.  I would love to hear some of your thoughts about the ‘dilemma’ outlined above. Add a comment and get in on the great packaging debate!