# 299 - EarthKind is a truly sustainable company from the farm, doing no harm

- Show: [People of Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging)
- Published: 2024-12-30
- Length: 35m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-12-30-299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable-company-from-the-farm-doing-no-harm
- Listen: https://encase.substack.com/p/299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable

## Summary

Kari Warberg Block, founder of EarthKind, explains how she pioneered a new category of humane, non-toxic pest control products like Fresh Cab and Stay Away, driven by her experiences on a North Dakota farm. She details the 3-year R&D process to identify balsam fir oil as an effective rodent repellent and the challenge of securing EPA certification for a non-lethal protocol. Block emphasizes EarthKind's decision to keep all manufacturing in-house to ensure quality and trust, while her son helped design innovative, biodegradable packaging solutions like the non-woven sachets and flax-based pouch pods.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-12-30-299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable-company-from-the-farm-doing-no-harm#t=0) Introduction: Kari Warberg Block and EarthKind
- [2:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-12-30-299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable-company-from-the-farm-doing-no-harm#t=122) Farm upbringing and the mouse problem in North Dakota
- [5:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-12-30-299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable-company-from-the-farm-doing-no-harm#t=322) R&D: Discovering balsam fir oil and EPA certification
- [11:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-12-30-299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable-company-from-the-farm-doing-no-harm#t=664) Pricing strategy and John Deere dealership distribution
- [18:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-12-30-299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable-company-from-the-farm-doing-no-harm#t=1100) In-house manufacturing and quality control decisions
- [22:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-12-30-299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable-company-from-the-farm-doing-no-harm#t=1360) Packaging engineering: Sachets, corn cobs, and flax pods
- [28:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-12-30-299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable-company-from-the-farm-doing-no-harm#t=1708) Stay Away Mosquitoes and external chemist partnership

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Packaging design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/packaging-design)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- EarthKind (company)
- Fresh Cab (product)
- Stay Away (product)
- John Deere (company)
- Procter and Gamble (company)
- Lowe's (company)
- Walmart (company)
- Amazon (company)
- Grove (company)
- North Dakota State University (company)
- USDA (other)
- CDC (other)
- Martha Stewart Living (other)
- Good Housekeeping (other)

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## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-12-30-299-earthkind-is-a-truly-sustainable-company-from-the-farm-doing-no-harm. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to People of Packaging.