About Us
Life Elements is a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and an approved green business by Green
America committed to implementing responsible environmental practices and awareness. As part of our
commitment, we maintain a variety of responsible environmental programs in our everyday business, such as
using recyclable packaging for our products, recycled paper for printing, recycled cardboard boxes and packing
materials for shipments, we keep our thermostat down in the winter by insulating the windows, we've cut our
vehicle usage by riding our bicycles and ship Carbon Free through our partnership with Carbonfund.org. But it
doesn't stop there...we will further our efforts as we continue to grow and learn of new alternatives and remain
committed to the education of global sustainability.
With environmental awareness, comes responsible purchasing. We support local and global sustainability in the
production and the growing of the raw materials within our ingredients. The sourcing of these raw materials is
done with integrity and practices that benefit the people who grow them and the environment they are grown in.
We support community involvement. We are an active member of our community, volunteering and working with
non-profit organizations such as Achievement House Inc., which is dedicated to providing vocational and
community living services for developmentally disabled adults. Life Elements and the Achievement House have
an established contract whereby these adults assemble all our gift sets. Together, we're turning disabilities into
possibilities!
America committed to implementing responsible environmental practices and awareness. As part of our
commitment, we maintain a variety of responsible environmental programs in our everyday business, such as
using recyclable packaging for our products, recycled paper for printing, recycled cardboard boxes and packing
materials for shipments, we keep our thermostat down in the winter by insulating the windows, we've cut our
vehicle usage by riding our bicycles and ship Carbon Free through our partnership with Carbonfund.org. But it
doesn't stop there...we will further our efforts as we continue to grow and learn of new alternatives and remain
committed to the education of global sustainability.
With environmental awareness, comes responsible purchasing. We support local and global sustainability in the
production and the growing of the raw materials within our ingredients. The sourcing of these raw materials is
done with integrity and practices that benefit the people who grow them and the environment they are grown in.
We support community involvement. We are an active member of our community, volunteering and working with
non-profit organizations such as Achievement House Inc., which is dedicated to providing vocational and
community living services for developmentally disabled adults. Life Elements and the Achievement House have
an established contract whereby these adults assemble all our gift sets. Together, we're turning disabilities into
possibilities!
| Our Mission: to reduce, reuse, recycle |
Life Elements, Inc. is a company I created after spending over 25 years in technology and realizing life was passing me by - fast!
In my last job I was the national sales rep for a public safety technology company. This meant I was spending 75% of my time on the road –taking
planes, trains and automobiles to destinations throughout the country visiting jails, prisons and detention centers. Several times I had to wear a
raincoat while walking through these places in order to avoid spit and other bodily fluids that were being thrown as I walked through the buildings. (One
would think it would be during one of those moments that I would wake up and realize there was more to life…but no, it took a while.)
My awakening came one night on my way to Plumas County, California. Earlier that day, I had driven to six different appointments through four different
counties. That evening, as I was driving, exhausted, on a two lane “highway” in the middle of nowhere, lined with six foot snow embankments and no
cell coverage, I nearly drove off the road. As I skid across the other lane, it hit me--if I crashed, no one would know. When the car finally stopped, and I
started breathing again, I realized that had I died, my company would just simply hire someone else—I was dispensable to them. The worst was that I
had given more of myself to them than to my own family. And for what?
Two hours later, arriving in Plumas really exhausted, hungry, emotionally drained and with no place to stay (there aren’t many “hotels” in Plumas), I
called my husband, Curt; and crying I said "I'm going to quit tomorrow". He was silent for a minute, just listening. I couldn’t imagine what he was
thinking. After all, we had just gotten married, he had just changed jobs and we had just moved from San Diego to Atascadero. And here I was--
wanting to make another life changing move. All he said was “ok, what are you going to do?” I didn’t know; I didn’t have an answer.
In the morning, when I found myself in a "bed & breakfast", which was actually a double wide trailer sitting over a dried creek bed with a quarter machine
on the bed (which was suppose to create a babbling brook feeling under the trailer), I called my boss and told him I didn’t want to do it anymore, I quit.
In shock, all he could say was “ok, what are you going to do?” Again, I didn’t have an answer.
But it didn’t take long for the answer to come to me. As I mulled over all my options, I realized that I had always been fascinated with herbal remedies,
aromatherapy and beauty products. I was also frustrated there weren’t many products on the market that Curt and I could enjoy together. So I set
forth to learn how to create the products I wanted, get them manufactured and get them to market. But there was much more to it than that. There
was establishing the business, finding the capital, learning how to import/export, marketing, public speaking, PR…and more! That’s when I contacted our
local Economic Development Corp (EVC) and SCORE for assistance.
It took me a year to learn what I needed to in order to launch our first product line, C&M Couples, a natural, aromatherapy based bath and body
collection that allows you and your partner to spend quality time together, bond and leave the rest of the world behind. It was a long year—a year of
learning and a year of pain. This was the year my mom was diagnosed with cancer for which her treatments lasted close to a year too—only to have her
pass away three days before my national launch at the New York Gift Show. The pain from her passing only fueled my desire to continue developing
products that can help bring the entire family together!
Since its launch, C&M Couples is being offered at over 50 luxurious resorts and spas across the U.S. We’ve been written about in numerous publications
and have been included in numerous “swag bags”. In April, 2008, we began a grass roots effort of launching our second line, Action Wipes. But this too
is a unique story which you can read about on the Action Wipes website.
So to those that have a dream, a desire or even a spark of interest in starting a business—I say go for it. Get in the game because you’re never going to
realize that dream by sitting on your couch or working for someone else. I’m not going to lie to you…it’s often frustrating, you’re constantly questioning
yourself and you struggle. But if you stick to it, get a mentor and utilize all the benefits that the EVC and other groups such as SCORE have to offer, you’ll
make it!
In my last job I was the national sales rep for a public safety technology company. This meant I was spending 75% of my time on the road –taking
planes, trains and automobiles to destinations throughout the country visiting jails, prisons and detention centers. Several times I had to wear a
raincoat while walking through these places in order to avoid spit and other bodily fluids that were being thrown as I walked through the buildings. (One
would think it would be during one of those moments that I would wake up and realize there was more to life…but no, it took a while.)
My awakening came one night on my way to Plumas County, California. Earlier that day, I had driven to six different appointments through four different
counties. That evening, as I was driving, exhausted, on a two lane “highway” in the middle of nowhere, lined with six foot snow embankments and no
cell coverage, I nearly drove off the road. As I skid across the other lane, it hit me--if I crashed, no one would know. When the car finally stopped, and I
started breathing again, I realized that had I died, my company would just simply hire someone else—I was dispensable to them. The worst was that I
had given more of myself to them than to my own family. And for what?
Two hours later, arriving in Plumas really exhausted, hungry, emotionally drained and with no place to stay (there aren’t many “hotels” in Plumas), I
called my husband, Curt; and crying I said "I'm going to quit tomorrow". He was silent for a minute, just listening. I couldn’t imagine what he was
thinking. After all, we had just gotten married, he had just changed jobs and we had just moved from San Diego to Atascadero. And here I was--
wanting to make another life changing move. All he said was “ok, what are you going to do?” I didn’t know; I didn’t have an answer.
In the morning, when I found myself in a "bed & breakfast", which was actually a double wide trailer sitting over a dried creek bed with a quarter machine
on the bed (which was suppose to create a babbling brook feeling under the trailer), I called my boss and told him I didn’t want to do it anymore, I quit.
In shock, all he could say was “ok, what are you going to do?” Again, I didn’t have an answer.
But it didn’t take long for the answer to come to me. As I mulled over all my options, I realized that I had always been fascinated with herbal remedies,
aromatherapy and beauty products. I was also frustrated there weren’t many products on the market that Curt and I could enjoy together. So I set
forth to learn how to create the products I wanted, get them manufactured and get them to market. But there was much more to it than that. There
was establishing the business, finding the capital, learning how to import/export, marketing, public speaking, PR…and more! That’s when I contacted our
local Economic Development Corp (EVC) and SCORE for assistance.
It took me a year to learn what I needed to in order to launch our first product line, C&M Couples, a natural, aromatherapy based bath and body
collection that allows you and your partner to spend quality time together, bond and leave the rest of the world behind. It was a long year—a year of
learning and a year of pain. This was the year my mom was diagnosed with cancer for which her treatments lasted close to a year too—only to have her
pass away three days before my national launch at the New York Gift Show. The pain from her passing only fueled my desire to continue developing
products that can help bring the entire family together!
Since its launch, C&M Couples is being offered at over 50 luxurious resorts and spas across the U.S. We’ve been written about in numerous publications
and have been included in numerous “swag bags”. In April, 2008, we began a grass roots effort of launching our second line, Action Wipes. But this too
is a unique story which you can read about on the Action Wipes website.
So to those that have a dream, a desire or even a spark of interest in starting a business—I say go for it. Get in the game because you’re never going to
realize that dream by sitting on your couch or working for someone else. I’m not going to lie to you…it’s often frustrating, you’re constantly questioning
yourself and you struggle. But if you stick to it, get a mentor and utilize all the benefits that the EVC and other groups such as SCORE have to offer, you’ll
make it!
How We Started
Martha Van Inwegen
President
President
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| Copyright © 2007-2010 Life Elements, Inc. All rights reserved. Action Wipes and C&M Couples are registered trademarks of Life Elements, Inc. |