Janette Spiezio – How to Make Your Household Sustainable and Healthy

Janette Spiezio is the founder and owner of Sustainable Haus, a bricks and mortar business in Summit, New Jersey, that crafts and sells clean and healthy household goods. She describes herself as an “eco-preneur.” After working in corporate America in finance for 30 years, Janette was ready for a new chapter in her life, a “give-back chapter.” It began with her curiosity about laundry detergent. What’s in it? What she found was alarming… one well-known detergent made up of 80 chemicals.

Her investigation of detergents sparked her business. She decided to make her own detergent using three basic ingredients. That product was the first. Now her store in Summit, New Jersey sells over 100 products that she and her team make and buy… from sponges, to shampoo and conditioner bars, washable cloth napkins, and all manner of kitchen utensils from stainless steel cookie sheets to spatulas made of olive wood. All of her products are plastic free; many are package free. Sustainable Haus now sells over 3,000 SKUs (stock keeping units); Janette also manages online sales and routinely ships products throughout the country.

Ted asks about the refill business that she runs. Janette describes her early experience with Bread and Circus, a company that was bought by Whole Foods. She fondly remembers customers taking in their own containers to refill things like peanut butter, flour, rice, and beans. Today, Sustainable Haus has over 100 refillable products. Customers’ containers must be clean and dry. Then her employees manage the refilling, while educating customers on the products and their non-toxic ingredients and their lack of packaging. Much packaging, Janette explains, is toxic too and while manufactures must state what is in their food, they do not have to report on anything related to the packaging… some of which is really toxic.

Throughout the interview Janette talks about changing habits, shifting patterns, and returning to some of the basics that our ancestors took for granted… while also adopting new ecologically sound technologies. One small action, she says, like refilling a bag of detergent, often empowers an educated consumer. It’s nice to clean your clothes and not harm the planet in the process. It is smart to store food in containers that are not shedding plastic. First purchases and actions can lead to more and more eco-steps in the home and beyond… like investing in solar, driving electric, visiting national parks, honoring biodiversity, and more.

Ted asks about the public’s reaction? Is she perceived as a whacky salesperson, or are customers grasping her logic? She responds that people do like the convenience of big box stores, but that her customers see the value of supporting locally owned and operated businesses like hers. Unlike the big box stores, Sustainable Haus gives back to the community. Its mission and practices are supporting customers’ health and caring for the planet. She dispels the perception that her products bear a cost premium. Many cost less. Her detergent, for example, costs just 15 cents a load. Plus, her products have enormous societal benefits: Her cloth wipes are certainly not responsible for decimating forests to make disposable paper towels. Sustainable Haus is putting homeowners on a path, taking action to squarely address concerns for our health and the health of the planet.