“I want to see my father’s legacy continue,” said Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, President and CEO of Earth Friendly Products. “It’s important to me that we continue to lead as an American manufacturer, creating green jobs and supporting local economies.”
On April 28, the company, producer of ECOS brand cleaning products, celebrated 50 years of protecting people, pets, and the planet. A crowd of 300, including employees, Cypress city council members, VIPs, and leaders of non-profit organizations celebrated with Vlahakis-Hanks.
The company was started in 1967 by her father Van Vlahakis, who came to the United States in the 1950s with only $22 in his pocket. He left Greece following WWII. His father was killed in a concentration camp and his country was devastated.
“Vlahakis had a brother living in Chicago and moved to America to be closer to family,” said Brad Harrison, Vice President of Marketing. “While working a maintenance job, he noticed that cleaning products caused his hands to blister and bleed and decided there had to be a way to make safer cleaning products. He spoke almost no English, but decided to study chemistry at Roosevelt University.
“He founded his company in Illinois, later moving to Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, and one year ago, Cypress. He was ahead of his time, having started his environmentally-friendly, natural cleaning products company before the first Earth Day in 1970.”
When he died in 2014, his daughter, Vlahakis-Hanks, who had worked for the company since she was a teenager, took over and has taken the company to heights that would have been unimaginable when he started.
The company has offices with manufacturing plants in Cypress, New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, and a sales office in Greece. Each facility is holding a celebration.
The company has a 100 percent commitment to green manufacturing, with numerous recognitions for being carbon-neutral, water-neutral, and zero waste. Dr. Nadereh Afsharmanesh, Vice President of Sustainability and Education, is their watchdog of waste.
Afsharmanesh spent many days dumpster-diving to extract trash and determine ways to reduce or recycle every possible item. Her efforts resulted in reducing their trash by 95%, with trash dumpsters reduced from 20 per week to only one in the same period. They have recycling bins for cardboard, plastic strappings, shrink wrap, clean plastics, label-backing and more.
The company’s facilities use natural lighting, LED lights, skylights, glass walls, solar tubes, bamboo floors, non-toxic ceilings, Level-13 HVAC, and drought-tolerant landscaping. Treadmills in the office area allow employees to exercise while using a computer, if desired.
The company is focused on their employee benefits, too. “The company’s minimum wage is $17 per hour with 100% benefits,” said Harrison. “We even have wellness programs. Our chef serves a healthy lunch every workday. He took interested employees to the grocery store and taught them how to buy healthy foods. Then, a week later, he taught a cooking class, using the same foods he recommended on the shopping trip.”
“If an employee buys an electric or hybrid car, we give a $2,500 bonus,” said Vlahakis-Hanks. “If they move within ten miles of the office or put solar on their home, they get a bonus. We are committed to being green as a company and having our employees be green, too.”
“At one office, our company recognized two employees for 40 years of service, said Harrison. “Many of our employees have been with the company for more than 20 years. The turnover rate is 1.4 percent, while the average turnover in a similar company is more than 10 percent.”
Harrison shared that they are hiring with a few openings for positions in marketing and consumer affairs. Those interested in applying may send a resume to ECOS Human Resources.
Natural products produced under the ECOS brand include cleaning products for laundry, dishwashing, spray starch, stain remover, fruit and veggie wash, all-purpose cleaners, glass and surface cleaners, bathroom cleaners, polishes, hand soap, pet shampoo, pet odor remover, and more.
Their paper towels and bathroom tissue are made with fast-growing bamboo and sugar cane, so no trees are cut down.
Most product ingredients are locally-sourced, providing local jobs and reducing the carbon footprint.
The company has been the recipient of the Safer Choice Partner recognition from the EPA in both 2015 and 2017. Their products meet or beat standards set by the EPA.
ECOS brand products are available at ALDI, Babies R Us, Food 4 Less, Gelson’s, Lassen’s, Ralphs, Vons/Pavilions, Sprouts, Target, Walmart, Whole Foods Market and other stores. They will be in the local Costco starting in late May, but are already in Costco stores nationwide. Their products are available in many countries.
Certificates and awards were presented at the 50 Years of Green Science Innovation event by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva and representatives from Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Kamala Harris, Congressman Alan Lowenthal, and Congressman Brad Sherman. “We welcome you, again, to Cypress,” said Mayor Paulo Morales. “You picked the best location, and, as you say, ‘See what mothers, fathers, chemistry and visionaries can do.’ Congratulations on 50 years.”
Vlahkis-Hanks presented a donation check to Discovery Cube Museums for their efforts in educating children about green science.
The check for $150,000 was received by museum representative, Joe Adams.
A sculpture of Van Vlahakis was unveiled, with plans to install it in the museum recently created in the Cypress corporate office, at 11150 Hope Street.
More information about the company may be found online at ecos.com.
This article appeared in the May 3, 2017 print edition of the News Enterprise.