Tom's of Maine launches $3M campaign to connect children with the outdoors

Courtesy / Tom's of Maine Tom’s of Maine has launched a $3 million campaign to connect children with the outdoors. Seen here is the company’s production plant in Sanford, making recyclable toothpaste tubes.

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By Laurie Schreiber

Tom’s of Maine, a natural personal care products company headquartered in Kennebunk, has launched a three-year, $3 million grant program to fund outdoor recreation and provide children with equitable access to the outdoors.

The nationwide initiative is called “Get Into Nature.” Tom's of Maine's is teaming up on it with the National Recreation Foundation, a Lake Forest, Ill., nonprofit dedicated to creating equitable access to recreation programs, and with Rosario Dawson, an environmental activist and actor.

Get Into Nature funding will support community organizations that serve children in communities that lack resources to access nature, according to a news release. The goal is to help organizations increase and expand programs such as summer camps, and ultimately reach 150,000 children across the U.S.

In Maine, funding is slated for Rippleffect, a Portland youth and community development organization that offers outdoor adventure programming, for its senior and freshman adventure quests at Casco Bay High School in Portland.

“Get Into Nature is rooted in revitalizing the wonder so many of us felt as kids when we were out in the yard or at the park and delivers on our greater mission to help solve some of the world's biggest problems," Esi Seng, general manager at Tom's of Maine, said in the release. "If kids don't play in or connect with nature, our planet will lose its next generation of champions."

Courtesy / Tom's of Maine

Esi Seng

Children spend 95% of their time indoors and for many, barriers such as transportation or access to safe outdoor spaces makes easy access to the outdoors difficult, according to the release.

Tom's of Maine started in 1970 when founders Tom and Kate Chappell began developing personal care products without artificial ingredients. A certified B Corporation, it donates 10% of profits to nonprofits addressing issues facing health, the environment and children.

The Chappells sold the company to Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) in 2006.

Seng, who lives in Scarborough and has nearly two decades of leadership experience in consumer brands, has been with the company for two years.

With its offices in Kennebunk and its manufacturing plant in Sanford, one of the company’s newest products is a “first of its kind” 100% compostable toothpaste tube, she said.

“As a Maine business, we’re pushing the envelope of what sustainability looks like,” Seng told Mainebiz.

The company has grown from a niche brand that sold products only at natural food stores just 10 or 15 years ago, to major distribution through big-box and online outlets, she said.

“Six percent of households in the U.S. are buying Tom’s of Maine products,” she said. “Our reach has gone significantly beyond Maine. It’s a national product.”

The company’s reach has expanded due to growing consumer awareness.

“It used to be that only a small number of people were interest in natural products,” she said.

The 2006 partnership with Colgate-Palmolive was significant in getting more consumers to try Tom’s of Maine products.

“As we started getting more awareness, there was a rise in natural products overall,” Seng said. “Those things colliding allowed us to increase our distribution across many channels. When people started seeing natural products at Target, they started saying, ‘I heard of Tom’s, but I didn’t know what it was. I’m going to try it.’”

Seng declined to cite revenue trends.

The idea of funding programs that connect children with the outdoors gained steam during the pandemic. “One thing we started seeing, specifically during the pandemic, is the power of nature,” she said.

The company connected with the National Recreation Foundation and with Dawson, as a well-known environmental spokesperson, to develop a national campaign.

Courtesy / Tom's of Maine

Rosario Dawson

“What I’m super excited about is our focus on the grassroots level,” she said. “We know an important way to have a social impact is to support local activities and communities.”

The Tom’s of Maine mission makes the campaign especially appropriate, she said.

“Tom’s of Maine was founded on the idea that nature needs to be part of our lives every day,” she said.

About Tom's of Maine

Tom's of Maine makes natural products — including toothpaste, deodorant, mouthwash, antiperspirant, bar soap, body wash, dental floss and toothbrushes — by combining naturally derived ingredients and scientific know-how. Most Tom's of Maine products are vegan, kosher, halal-certified and gluten-free. As a certified B Corporation, it is held to high social and environmental standards and donates 10% of profits to nonprofits addressing health, the environment and children.