Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike & Kristin Horton.
Hi Mike & Kristin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
We’ve always lived a practical, simple, and mindful-living kind of lifestyle, and having lived in a rural place such as Bali for a decade helped encourage that. There, we saw the evolution of the locals’ lack of knowledge regarding recycling and waste management to one that is more conscious and considerate. The local people were encouraged to collect plastic, metal and tin, and paper products with monetary incentives from the recycling factories. More so, the local government banned the use of plastic bags and packaging on the island, forcing people to use reusable carriers and such. It was really to good see this proactive and positive change in people and the environment, especially in the thick of the island’s decades-long trash problem. We then started using locally made products that came from these recycled materials and saw how amazing they are, so, years later, when we decided to move here to San Diego, we thought we’d bring these products over and show people what Indonesia can do. Recycled and sustainably-sourced products are still considered alternative items at the moment, but we believe these will help make good changes in people’s lives in the long run.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Our main struggle is getting the products here to San Diego. Due to Covid and all these backlog issues with courier services, we’ve had many issues with importing, and the fees continue to rise making it very difficult for a small business like ours to make a proper profit. We aim to be affordable because we understand that people are starting over or still picking themselves up from the effects of Covid. At the same time, we need to pay our teams in Indonesia fairly because they too are suffering from Covid effects while trying to make a little bit of money to pay expensive import and courier fees. It’s definitely a very difficult juggling act.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about OCN+ECO?
We are a small business that cater to a more eco-conscious lifestyle. Our products are made from recycled plastic, bamboo, or eco-friendly materials. We are very hands-on in the designing and production of our products. More so, we are proud to be supporting the Indonesian government’s recycling programs. We believe in making positive changes, albeit small, in people’s product and lifestyle choices.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
People are welcome to contact us and share their ideas with us. We often tell our customers to give us feedback regarding, for example, the eco tote bags — to let us know what they like about it or don’t like about it, etc… Similarly, they can support us by purchasing one of our products and see the difference an eco-friendly product can make in one’s life. More so, their purchase helps sustain income for the people we work with.
Pricing:
- $20-$40
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ocneco.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ocneco.co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ocneco.co
