Meet Sarah Cloes, founder of sustainable hair care brand Flora Flora Co, which is sold in Whole Food stores nationwide, and even in select international countries. The company creates plastic-free hair care products with natural ingredients.
Originally from Washington State, Cloes, who earned a degree in psychology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2018, said creating a low-waste brand wasn’t always the plan.
“During my time at UH, I really got to see the true impact face-to-face of the plastic crisis with microplastics littering the beautiful beaches,” she said. “I really think the biggest thing I took was Hawaiian culture in general, like the respect of the land and connection to the earth, and using natural resources.”
This sparked Cloes to go on a journey to find a sustainable hair care option, but she soon discovered there was nothing on the market comparable to salon quality products. That’s when she decided to create her own.
“I felt like in order to make a bigger impact on the plastic crisis, we needed something that people would actually want to reach for,” she said.
Cloes spent the next few years learning about hair care, creating test products on her stove, and figuring out what would get people to switch to a sustainable product. She started selling products on a table on the sidewalk in her neighborhood in San Diego, then started selling at a farmers market, and then Flora Flora Co “blew up.”
She said, “I’m just so grateful for my time at UH. It was so impactful to my life.”
