By Karen Robes Meeks
Los Angeles Times Weekend, April 15, 2016
As Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks toured Earth Friendly Products' new headquarters in Cypress [CA], the company president and chief executive couldn't help but think of her father, Van Vlahakis, who died two years ago. Vlahakis, a Greek chemist who launched the family business out of his garage in Chicago in 1967, would have been proud of the platinum-rated Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification of the building, which features low VOC (volatile organic compound) paint, bamboo flooring, solar carports where electric vehicles can be recharged, energy-efficient appliances and the diversion of 95% of its waste. ...
Today, the family-owned and -operated Earth Friendly Products makes more than 200 products at its five facilities and employs 350 workers, including 91 in the new Cypress headquarters — the only Orange County presence — which will hold a grand opening on Thursday, the day before Earth Day.
ECOS, its top selling detergent, is sold in more than 62 countries.
"We've been around for five decades," said Vlahakis-Hanks, who joined the company full time in 2003 before helming the company in 2014. ... But some at the time thought that green products were a passing trend. "A lot of people didn't believe in green," Vlahakis-Hanks said. "They didn't believe it would work. Fifteen years ago, mainstream media wasn't interested in green. Now people realize that we all have to do something, and consumers are looking for what to do in their everyday lives. Our products provide a safe and healthy alternative." ...
That demand has translated into big profits for the company, with sales quadrupling in the last seven years as business has expanded overseas, Vlahakis-Hanks said. Since 2003, the company has grown its manufacturing capacity in California from 8,000 square feet to 125,000 square feet. ...
"It's no longer something on the fringe," she said, adding that their products are available at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Costco, Walmart and Target. "It's a trend that's here to stay."
The company also attributes its success to employing a local workforce and sourcing local materials to lower costs.
"Green products are more expensive because a lot of them aren't manufactured here," Vlahakis-Hanks said. "We are a primary manufacturer so we're able to keep costs down. We believe everyone has the right to a healthy home. So we want to bring costs down so people are not trying to choose between food and our products."
The company also instituted a higher minimum wage — $17 an hour — one of Vlahakis' final wishes before he died in 2014.
"He worked the production lines; he knew the hard work that it took," Vlahakis-Hanks said. "He knew how valuable the work was that our employees do."
The decision has yielded ethical and financial benefits, including reduced turnover costs, the retention of corporate memory and better quality control.
"I think people often times overlook the costs embedded in a system where you're paying such a low minimum wage," she said. "Everything that we're doing here in California is local. That's how we grow our economy and keep it locally strong."
The company also offers incentives to encourage employees to be eco-friendly, whether it's $2,000 for solar panel installation or $2,500 for green vehicle purchase.
"For us, it's very important not only to create the greenest product, but to do it in the most sustainable fashion," she said. ...
Vlahakis-Hanks said she was fortunate to grow up with a father who was a visionary, a person who was passionate about the work he did.
"He loved his job because we were doing something so socially and environmentally responsible," she said.
Vlahakis-Hanks said she hopes to follow in his footsteps.
"My father's big advice was to run an ethical business and to stay true to those values," she said. "He wanted a better earth for our children and I want to leave that for the next generation."
Copyright 2016 Weekend