Our Story

We Are Mission-Based, Plastic-Free Lunchbox Company

A message from our founder, Sandra Ann Harris

ECOlunchbox was born of the idea that change can begin at lunchtime. I wanted to eliminate plastics from my kids' lunchboxes to reduce their exposure to the leachy toxins commonly found in such products, as well as do the right thing for Mother Earth. It seemed like a pretty simple concept.

So I set out to design a plastic-free line of bento lunch boxes, bags and food-to-go accessories that are healthy for people & the planet, and sell it to the world to create change lunch by lunch. Since founding ECOlunchbox as a triple-bottom-line social enterprise in 2008, the business has scaled beyond my initial vision. We've sold more than 900,000 ECOlunchboxes so far, and by using our lunch containers each year, the ECOlunchbox community has averted the use and disposal of tens of millions of pieces of trash (mostly plastic).

ECOlunchbox is a mission-based certified B Corp and California Green Business enterprise that uses the capitalist engine to educate and empower people to reduce their dependence on plastics. We design, build and bring to market tools for change at lunchtime. ECOlunchbox is part of the plastic pollution solution. We invite our customers to join our community and purchase our products whether they are worried about their health, their pocketbook or the planet. A journey toward new habits can begin anywhere.

I am delighted that our lunch containers have empowered tens of thousands of families to say good-bye to plastics at lunchtime. And by providing our earth-friendly lunch containers and accessories to help people green their habits at lunchtime, we hope to encourage them to move beyond using plastics in many other parts of their lives.

Do you trust that plastics are safe?

Before I started ECOlunchbox, I worked for more than a decade as an investigative journalist and international humanitarian aid worker, so I knew how to do in-depth research.

Researching plastics safety was tougher than I expected. Plastics manufacturers are secretive about their formulas, and the science addressing the effects of chemicals used in the petroleum-based material was still emerging in 2009. My research uncovered a number of questions about whether plastics are really safe and whether we can count on our government to tell us if they're not. I concluded that I didn't want my kids' food stored in plastic. I didn't want their hands touching plastic wrappers and metal bento containers, and then putting food into their mouths. It just seemed safer to reduce their exposure as much as possible due to the likely health risks and the damaging effects that plastics have on our environment.

Since I started my research on plastics safety many years ago, news and views on plastics have changed, and mainstream consumers are finally aware of the perils of plastics. I believe that the safest bet is to steer clear of plastics as much as possible rather than try to figure out which plastics, if any, might be “safe.”

ECOlunchboxes avert the use and disposal of tens of millions of pieces of plastic trash.

ECOlunchboxes are extra yummy

The plastic-free lunch-ware line I've developed is built to last, using traditional, nontoxic materials: stainless steel containers, cotton and plastic-free silicone.

I hope you and your family enjoy celebrating lunchtime with ECOlunchbox. After all, our lunch-ware solutions are healthy for people, the planet and your pocketbook. What could be more delicious than that?

Thank you for joining us in creating change at lunchtime by refusing plastics and choosing healthier alternatives.