SeaWitch Botanicals have given us a whole new perspective on the idea behind Krampus around the holidays. They have taken the seemingly scary, half-demon, half-goat, with shaggy black fur, a long snake-like tongue, and flamboyant horns, who is known to spread terror throughout the town, chasing children on his cloven feet, and made it a cozy addition to one’s home with their special edition home scent bundle. Learn more about the origin of Krampus on the SeaWitch Botanicals blog here.
**We happen to be hosting a giveaway on our Instagram page this week for you to win some for your home!
We had a chance to sit down with one of the founders, Jhustin to hear more about the inspiration behind the eclectic Sea Witch Botanicals overall branding and sustainable and cruelty-free mission.
-What is the Celtic inspiration behind the designs/names/overall look and feel of Sea Witch Botanicals?
Alesia draws her inspiration from her Irish & German heritage, and love of myth, fantasy, and history. Sometimes her method is to come up with a scent and figure out what creature it invokes, and other times she starts with a totem and designs the scent to pay homage.
-Who did the designs?
The brand of Sea Witch Botanicals is intensely collaborative at its core. The main illustrative designs come from Seattle artist Nikol King. Eloise Steere, one of our awesome employees, also illustrates a lot of pieces (such as Krampus). Jhustin, the co-founder, handles most of the rest of the packaging and graphic design.
-What are some things you do with your brand outside of providing all-natural, cruelty-free, scents, and body care for the masses? (This is where you mentioned your BLM initiative that I’d love for you to elaborate on).
We started our company with the vision of what a B Corp encompasses. It wasn’t until Julie Fish joined our team to be our Sustainability Steward that we realized we could actually become certified. Together we figured out how to eliminate landfill waste and audit our suppliers to make the biggest environmental impact (thanks to diligent sourcing by Cat Carnell).
We had often invested time in beach/park cleanups, but as we grew, we were able to actually donate money. We decided to support EWG (Environmental Working Group), Earthjustice, and a few other environmental nonprofits.
At the time, it was something like 10% of nonprofits were focused on the environment. We wanted to direct as much attention and fundraising around these organizations as possible, however, the looming spiritual crisis of humankind became more apparent as we drew connections between human health, wealth, and environmental damage. When the murder of George Floyd and Breona Taylor were publicized, well… no good company could stand idly by. We turned our site black in mourning and raised over $2k for the new civil rights movement in one day (doesn’t seem like a lot, but was a pretty big deal for our little group).
Our goal is to improve awareness and action around environmental racism, in which systematically marginalized communities have toxins thrust into their environment and local/federal agents do little about it (like in Flint, MI).
It is our sincere belief that in order to heal the planet, we have to heal each other. Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy planet.
Follow along Sea Witch Botanicals journey on their Instagram page here.
