Business as a force for people and planet

Most corporate social responsibility is something a profitable company does afterwards, with a percentage of what it made. Ours is the reason the company was started at all. This means it is not a budget line, and it cannot be cut in a bad quarter.

That distinction matters commercially too. A programme funded from profit stops when the profit does. A model built into how the product is made does not.

One box or one container: the same four promises

Who we hire

Over 70% women, and a substantial proportion of colleagues living with a disability, running presses, packing lines and quality control. Not a supported unit alongside the business. The business.

How we buy

Directly from farmers and rural micro-entrepreneurs rather than through traders. It is slower and it costs more. It also means the income reaches the person who collected the leaf.

What we make it from

Agricultural by-product that was being burned or discarded: areca sheath, cane fibre, rice husk and forest leaf. Nothing is grown for us and no tree is cut for us.

How we power it

60% of production runs on solar, with the balance being converted. Pressing a leaf uses roughly 80% less water than moulding a polymer.

Governance, and being honest about claims

The most common corporate responsibility failure in our category is not exploitation. It is overclaiming: describing a plastic-lined cup as compostable, calling a product free of coatings, dyes and bleach, or letting one certification imply coverage of a whole catalogue. We treat that as a governance matter rather than a marketing one. We do not say “FDA approved”, because no such approval exists for food-contact articles. We do not say “biodegradable”, because it carries no timeframe. We state where PLA needs industrial composting, where our paper cups carry a lining we make no claim about, and where our cling film has no environmental credential at all. A distributor who repeats our claim inherits the liability for it. Getting this right is a duty to them, not a stylistic preference.

The numbers → The people →

Partnering on a cause

We work with organisations on programmes tied to waste, education and rural livelihoods, including arrangements where volume generated by a partner funds a specific, named commitment. We would rather do one of these properly than five for the marketing value. If you bring a cause, expect us to ask how the money is actually spent, and expect us to publish the number rather than the sentiment.

Propose a partnership →

Social responsibility is the reason we exist, not an add-on.

EarthCleanse was built on a simple belief: business should uplift the people the world overlooks, and heal the planet we all share. Social responsibility isn't a programme bolted on; it's the reason we exist.

People at the margins, first

Our workforce includes women, differently-abled individuals and artisans from tribal and rural communities, supported by fair wages, safe conditions, adaptive workplaces and no child labour. Ability, not background, defines what people can achieve here.

  • 70–80% of production roles held by women
  • 4,000+ livelihoods supported (approx.)
  • 1,000+ palm-leaf farmers supported yearly (approx.)
  • Hundreds of differently-abled workers in dignified employment
  • 1,000+ micro-entrepreneurs trained

Regenerating the planet

  • 10,000+ tons of plastic waste prevented yearly (approx.)
  • 60% of production powered by solar energy
  • 80% less water than conventional plastic manufacturing (approx.)
  • Zero deforestation: leaf products use naturally fallen or harvested leaves
  • 100% of manufacturing waste recycled

Governance & honesty

We're certified across FSC, USDA, FDA, EU and BPI, with a B-Corp application in progress. We publish what we can verify and are transparent about the work that remains, including transitioning our last conventional-plastic formats to plant-based.

See Our Impact → Sustainability →