Here at Esotérika, we have been considered ambitious in our goals to bring only good into the world by creating and sourcing products that lighten dark spaces, that bring magic into the most banal aspects of life. But beyond that, our ambitions are even greater than we are. We imagine a world were all for profit companies lift while they rise, where it isn’t about shareholder profits, but where the planet and our neighbors are our shareholders. A world in which we realize that it isn’t just nice but, rather, it is imperative that we give more than we take. It is the only way we, as a species, can claw back the damage we have inflicted.

In magic and spirituality, there is the spoken and unspoken reciprocity. What energy you send out is what you will receive. It is not reasonable to expect that Mother Earth is a vessel of endless withdraws to be accessed without ever having to make a deposit. Anything treasured is to be protected and nurtured. Humanity must begin to consist of more guardians of earth and her wonders than those that seek to merely take of her bounty. Even the belief, that if we don’t take care of it, the world will simply end, is born of our own narrow hubris as a species. The truth is much simpler. If we don’t begin to earn stewardship, the planet will absolutely continue. We, however, will not. So the question is are we willing to do the work?

Esotérika is willing. Telling the world is our accountability. So here it is:

What if every single item you purchased supported the earth and/or our fellow humans?

If this is something that aligns with your soul and your goals, keep reading.

Taking care of our fellow humans

Save for a minuscule fraction of the population, every housed human on this planet is a couple of bad months or a medical emergency away from finding themselves amongst the growing homeless population. And so, we approach this with the upmost humility. Be it living in a car, shelter, tent or even couch surfing, homelessness/housing insecurity comes in many forms including some not listed. Once a person finds themselves in that situation, the hurdles can seem insurmountable. Thankfully, there are many non profits working tirelessly to shelter and help lift people out of these predicaments. Many of these organizations rely heavily on grants, donations etc. Having had experiences in what being unhoused is like, sometimes it is the smallest of things (above and beyond a safe place to sleep at night) can help get a person to the other side: a shower, a load of laundry, assistance with resume building, an interviewing outfit, sunblock, dry shampoo, a physical address to assist for that in between, etc. Locally, we are privileged to have a handful of such day shelters that aim to bridge the gap between traditional shelters and acquiring housing.

Effective year one, Esotérika will apply a 2 (purchased) for 1 (donated) match on all body care products. No later than year 3, that will become a 1 (purchased) for 1 (donated) match. So if we sell 100 bars of soap, in years 1 and 2, we will donate 50 bars and by year 3 that will increase to 100 bars for 100 bars. The idea is that this a cost dollar equivalent, so that should a non profit affiliate be in deeper need for things like lotion or lip balms then those too will be accessible to them. It may seem small but this means that the dollars that were otherwise dedicated to body hygiene and care can go further or could be allocated for other aspects and programs.

Taking care of our planet

If you have already skimmed some of the product listings you may have already noticed that, we will be donating $5 for every single sage smudge stick sold. We feel very strongly about ensuring the conservation of the environment in which sacred sage grows in. We are currently researching the growing environments for all of the botanica supplies. By year 3, every other product will be linked to a mission, conservancy, non profit etc. where it can do the most good.

Lifting while rising

This goal is a bit more fluid. Artisans can be found all over the world, especially when looking for products that are crafted to support magical work. Our aim is to source as ethically/sustainably as possible. This doesn’t keep circumstance, disaster etc from impacting the lives of these artisans. This particular mission will require keeping a pulse on all such areas and allocating those donation dollars according to the greatest need.

Effective year 1, Esotérika will allocate 5% of the proceeds from these products to position Esotérika to be ready to provide support should disaster strike. By year 3 this allocation will double to 10%.

Do no harm

When we consider a product, we think about the entire life cycle. Not just what it takes to reach a consumer, but what is the impact of the packaging, the transit, the disposal once spent? We implore all businesses to do this. If a product’s shipping goes straight to a landfill, how long is it there? What does it take for the earth to naturally break it down? Can it? Can each of us do our best to price accordingly? Is sourcing a raw material used to create our products, costing more than it is worth to try to either achieve this or to flagrantly disregard the true impact that the packaging, logistics, fabrication etc entails?

By asking ourselves different questions, we get different answers. So now let us reshape the question: HOW can we build sustainability, a full product/material life cycle, and impact into our pricing? When performing this thought experiment, we came up with some solutions, but attempting to handle 100% at the source, at production, upon shipping, etc. is not something that any of can do straight out of the gate. But what we can do is drastically limit and, where possible, entirely exclude anything not environmentally friendly or that can be detrimental in the biodegradation process. While we seek to innovate around any of the other remaining road blocks in the years ahead, this doesn’t mean that we are powerless. There are organizations whose sole mission is to mitigate individual impact on the carbon footprint.

During our first year, Esotérika will be closely monitoring every aspect of logistics and packaging. In doing so, the data will inform how we adjust: anything from ordering and shipping to creating and packaging. If we can create a solution in house so to speak, we will. And where we cannot, we will offset our carbon footprint through credits that allow organizations to do the great restoration work of by offsetting human impact on the planet. By year 3, Esotérika will be carbon neutral. But guys, it is bigger than that. Humans have so much ground to cover. By year 5, we will be fully carbon negative. It simply is non negotiable in our opinions to operate in any other manner.

Turning back destruction

If you are like us and have researched until you wished you didn’t, then you also know that we are so close to that tipping point that we may as well already be on the side we never wanted to be on. Instead of stopping at “what world are we leaving for our future generations”, we are asking ourselves “what can we do right here ,right now, to not just ensure that there is a world to survive on but one to thrive in?” In our personal lives, for example, we are educating ourselves on how to jump start regenerative soil to use in food growth and putting it into action. Anything we personally produce above what we can consume will, of course, go to those that need. But we, also, are doing the work to become distributors of the products from scientists (ecologists, mycologists, biologists, etc.) so that we can bring these restorative products directly to you. In addition to that, we will donate a % of our final annual profits on a sliding scale as follows:

5% for profits between $5k-$9,999

7% for profits between $10k-$24,999

10% for profits between $25k-$49,999

12% for profits between $50k-$99,999

15% for profits over $100k

Each year this process will close out our annual impact. And we cannot wait to provide annual impact statements to all of you that join us on this mission. It takes a village to raise a child but it will take all of use to heal our impact on nature. If you are a fellow small business owner and this resonates with you, I encourage you to analyze your model to see where you can build in a similar structure. And when you do, share this information with me so that we can all build something amazing!