March 2004
Shaklee: A Successful Business with Environmental Integrity
by Jayme Curley
Jayme Curley has had a Shaklee business for 23 years and has lived in Bellingham for six years. (360) 676-5844
“All I ever did was listen to Nature and pass the word along.”
—Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee, Sr.
The story of Shaklee Corporation is a fascinating example of how an environmentally friendly business can thrive while incorporating low-impact methods. Shaklee Corporation continues to set standards and introduce innovations in a time when both consumer and environmental health need greater emphasis in corporate America. Forrest Shaklee’s lofty goal was to improve the lives of everyone touched by his company. I believe it is this commitment to integrity that explains the longevity and success of Shaklee Corporation for nearly 50 years.
Born before 1900 with tuberculosis, Forrest Shaklee’s recovery of health led to a lifetime of discoveries. He was the first American to notice the existence of vitamins (previously, we only knew about minerals). He founded a large and successful chiropractic hospital, and developed prototypes of what would eventually become the Shaklee product line.
Dr. Shaklee was a pioneer environmentalist, envisioning a partnership between human beings and the Earth. He was ahead of his time in developing cleaning products and skin care products safe for us and for our environment. Not only are the products 100 percent biodegradable, they are very concentrated which helps reduce packaging. People have piped their all-Shaklee gray water (dish and clothes washing, bathing and cleaning) onto gardens and into frog ponds, and the plants and animals thrive!
In keeping with this awareness, Shaklee became the nation’s first Climate Neutral Certified company in 2000 by completely offsetting its greenhouse gas emissions throughout its operations. Shaklee has zero impact on global warming due to this commitment to offset 100 percent of their CO2 impact on the planet. The CEO drives a gas-electric hybrid car, and as a sales leader in good standing, so do I.
One example of Shaklee’s concern for consumer health is the use of independent clinical studies on their products, conducted by researchers from such prestigious institutions as the University of California at Davis, the University of Texas, and Stanford University. Shaklee’s Scientific Advisory Board is composed of a group of nationally recognized physicians and scientists.
The FDA has toured the Shaklee manufacturing facility in Norman, Oklahoma, to see what is possible in a state of the art plant, as they attempt to set standards in the still unregulated food supplement industry. Shaklee Corporation demands rigorous testing for purity and quality of raw materials. For example, each batch of their multi vitamin/mineral supplement undergoes over 262 separate quality tests before it is released! A few years ago during flooding in China, where our ginseng comes from, Shaklee rejected the entire ginseng due to contamination, and did not produce a ginseng product for a year. This uncompromising approach allows Shaklee to make products that keep consumer health in focus.
Shaklee is truly a “Company with a Conscience” devoted to creating healthier lives while protecting our environment. §
