LACEY, Wash., April 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mayor of
Lacey, Andy Ryder, and representatives from
Washington's Senatorial and
Congressional offices celebrated Earth
Day together in Lacey at
the manufacturing facility of the nation's leading environmentally
friendly cleaning products company, Earth Friendly Products.
A farm to table sustainable luncheon, catered by Elyse's Catering,
was hosted in celebration of Earth Friendly Products'
50th anniversary, the same year Lacey was ratified as a city. The employees of
the Lacey plant were gifted with
an extra week's salary, and they are among some of the highest paid
minimum wage employees in the nation. As part of the celebration,
the company presented Friends of Costco with a check for
$100,000 in support of Seattle
Children's Hospital. The 80,000-square-foot, carbon-neutral
Lacey facility opened in 2009.
"1967 was a great year," said Mayor Ryder, "When Lacey became an
incorporated city and in Illinois a great company was also born."
An environmental entrepreneur at heart, Ryder charmed the audience
by sharing that he was the first person in the U.S. to create a
green carwash. He presented a proclamation thanking Earth
Friendly Products for choosing Lacey as one of its four manufacturing
facilities throughout the U.S., for creating green jobs for the
denizens of Lacey and doing it all
with a carbon neutral footprint. He added: this company
"lives up to its name of being earth friendly and should be
applauded for the work they do."
Other dignitaries present included Rosa
McLeod, South Sound and Olympic Peninsula Outreach Director
from Senator Maria Cantwell's
office, and Phil Gardner, Chief of
Staff for U.S. Congressman, State of
Washington's 10th District, Danny
Heck.
The event was hosted by Kelly
Vlahakis-Hanks, president and CEO of Earth Friendly
Products. During the highly inspiring afternoon, Vlahakis-Hanks
spoke about her love of the environment and gave heartfelt praise
to her employees and Washingtonian partners: the Hands-on Children
Museum, the Boys and Girls Club, and Harlequin Productions.
She gave gratitude for Washington's support of Earth Friendly
Products noting that the Association of Washington Business has
thrice presented the company with its Green Manufacturing
Excellence Award, and the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce commended
the company with its Green Business Designation and Green
Business of the Year Award. Vlahakis-Hanks also thanked
the Washington State Department of
Ecology for awarding the company its Safer Chemistry
Champion accolade. She encouraged guests to "read labels,
know what you bring into your house" and thanked the EPA for the
honor of being chosen as the 2017 Safer Choice Partner of the
Year.
As Vlahakis-Hanks stood on the podium, she teared up telling the
story of her father, Van Vlahakis, a
Greek immigrant who came to the U.S. with $22 in his pocket. "My father was an
eco-pioneer who founded this company at the dawn of the
environmental movement. He said that success is doing the
right thing. That vision guides us to continue to break barriers in
green science. I vow to protect people, pets and the planet and
finally: the small choices you make – even the smallest – can be
big consequences for your health and that of planet."
Did you know?
- Earth Day started on April 22 in 1970. Earth Friendly Products was
established only three years before that in 1967 by Van Vlahakis. Not speaking a word of English
when he came to the U.S., Vlahakis chose to study chemistry because
the root words of chemistry were in his native Greek.
- On the first Earth Day, 20M
people, Democrats and Republicans, rich and poor came together to
place the environment on the national agenda.
- In the same year that Earth Day
was created, so was the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean
Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
- On Earth Day in 2017, it is
estimated that 1B people in 192 countries will come together to
rally, plant trees, clean beaches and educate the world about
protecting the environment.
- The cornerstone of Mayor Andy
Ryder's career was environmental protection; he was the
creator of the nation's first green car wash.
- The U.S. government currently has no requirements on ingredient
disclosure for household products.
- The pollution inside homes is 5-70 times worse than outdoor air
pollution; this is based on the noxious chemicals typically used in
cleaning products.
About Earth Friendly Products Family owned and operated
since 1967, Earth Friendly Products is the maker of
ECOSTM Laundry Detergent and over 200 other
environmentally friendly products that are safer for people, pets
and the planet. Made with plant-powered ingredients,
ECOSTM cleaners are thoughtfully sourced, pH balanced,
readily biodegradable, easily recyclable and never tested on
animals. Earth Friendly Products is a primary manufacturer that
makes its own products in sustainable manufacturing facilities
located across the U.S. All Earth Friendly Products facilities are
carbon neutral, water neutral and Zero Waste Platinum certified,
saving over 53 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually and
diverting over 95% of all waste from landfills. Over 100
ECOSTM products have received the coveted U.S. EPA
Safer Choice certification, which
means that every ingredient is the safest in its class and that the
product has proven superior performance. ECOSTM, Disney
Baby ECOSTM, ECOSTM for Pets! and
ECOSTM Pro cleaners are available at selected major
retailers throughout the U.S., in over 60 countries and online at
ecos.com.
Press contacts:
Alyson Dutch / Andrea Schnorr, BROWN + DUTCH PR, INC.
156250@email4pr.com
310.456.7151, 847.525.7756
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/washington-state-vips-celebrate-earth-day-in-lacey--earth-friendly-products-50th-anniversary-celebration-300444161.html
SOURCE Earth Friendly Products