Goodness Report | Tom's of Maine

Signs of progress
Progress is continuous
We’re discovering how discipline and working together with our employees and you are critical to achieving our goals. The challenge is simply too big to tackle alone.

In 2011 Tom’s prevented just over half of its total waste from the Sanford, Maine manufacturing facility from reaching landfill via reuse (26%) and recycling (25%), but we recognize we can still find ways to do an even better job.
- Example of reuse: Our toothpaste tube supplier delivers empty tubes to our manufacturing facility in corrugated totes that we return to the supplier for reuse over and over
- Example of recycling: We compress all of our stretch wrap so that our recycler can sell it into the recycling stream
The manufacturing facility's waste to landfills was 5% less in 2011 than 2010, measuring 90kg/ton of product manufactured.

Using every piece
We strive to use every piece
We stick to waste principles — reduce, reuse, recycle, upcycle in all we do, including our work with our supply partners. For example, the process of packaging our deodorant revealed a new use for plastic waste:
- After each canister is cut from a mold,
  scraps remain
- Instead of throwing the scraps away, our supplier found a way to grind and reuse them to form the plastic elevators that push up our deodorant sticks
- Every deodorant canister is recyclable from canister to tip as #5 plastic where facilities exist or through the Tom’s of Maine nationwide recycling program
  with TerraCycle®
When manufacturing supplies arrive in boxes at our warehouse, we remove the contents and actually return the boxes to our suppliers
to reuse.
Wasting less
Less waste is a team effort

The search for ways to use less never ends. Sometimes inspiration comes from our partners and suppliers.
- We adopted an idea from our corrugated box supplier to print our shipping cases with the supplier’s waste ink rather than allowing the ink to go to landfills
- Over the past three years we teamed up with Preserve’s “Gimme 5” to help take back plastic stamped #5 from communities that may have had no other option for recycling it
"A great idea for eliminating waste can come from anyone – an employee, a supplier, a customer – anyone. If you have a suggestion we’d love to hear it."
—Christine Wilkins
Tom’s of Maine Customer Service & Demand Planning Manager

Progress snapshot

Progress snapshot

Although we already reuse/recycle 51% of our manufacturing waste, we remain committed to increasing our own reuse/recycling rates. We think we can do even better and want to reach 70% by 2020.
Goals tracker

Waste goals tracker

Our Goal: Reduce waste to landfill per ton of product
manufactured at our Sanford, ME manufacturing facility

Our Goal: Increase percentage of manufacturing waste
at our Sanford, ME manufacturing facility to recycled/reused

See full goals tracker »
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Signs of progress

Progress is continuous

Using every piece

We strive to use every piece

Wasting less

Less waste is a team effort

Progress snapshot

Progress snapshot

Goals tracker

Waste goals tracker