With virus-related lockdowns keeping people home early on in the pandemic, Kay Baker found herself doing some cleaning at home, thinking about ways to further reduce her single-use plastic waste — something she’s been trying to do to reduce her carbon footprint in recent years.
Baker, an occupational therapist by trade, turned to her husband, Matt, and said “Matt, I haven’t found an all-purpose cleaner that’s plastic-free or waste-free, something I can refill.” Rather than trying to find a solution elsewhere, Matt, a neuroscientist, responded: “That’s a great idea. Let’s do it.”
And so, with both spending more time at home than usual, they decided to go all-in on creating a reusable alternative to traditional cleaning products, which are discarded once finished. Green Llama, which currently sells an all-purpose, bathroom and glass cleaner, uses dissolvable packets of cleaner, which can be mixed in their Green Llama’s reusable glass bottles (which do have a recyclable plastic spray trigger) or any reusable bottle of cleaner.
“I think one of the things I’m most excited about is just letting people know about the concept — maybe they don’t have to buy our bottles all the time, but maybe they can start thinking of a better way to live without multitudes of plastic and chemicals that can be harmful to the environment,” said Matt Baker. “It’s almost like a personal journey for both us trying to do something positive as well as start a company for ourselves because it’s fun.”
As for the name, the Bakers stumbled upon it by chance during a snowboarding trip to Sugar Mountain earlier this year.
While visiting a nearby alpaca farm, they saw a llama, and when the light hit its fur, it gave off a green hue, Matt Baker said. Kay Baker suggested Green Llama, and “it really stuck,” said Matt.
“I was going to, at some point, travel to Peru to give some more authenticity to the story and llamas, but it’s really just a local thing,” said Matt Baker.
Kay and Matt Baker said they have plans to expand their offerings, including a disinfectant, which they hope to launch in the future.
Green Llama is currently being sold online and at the Johnson City and Jonesborough Farmers Markets. The company is also offering a coupon code, M1QFJX5, for “Plastic Free July”, which can net you 25% off your purchase. To learn more about the company, visit greenllamaclean.com.
“We realize plastic is necessary in a lot of products, but I think we use so much of it ... this is one place it can easily be cut out,” said Kay Baker.
Jonathan Roberts is a reporter and photographer for the Johnson City Press covering Health Care, Johnson City and Jonesborough. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has been with the Press since 2019.
