At home
Former Hoosier’s cleaning line puts safety first
GOOD. CLEAN. SAFE. BY LORI DARVAS PHOTOGRAPHY BY RACHEL HUFFMAN Ella Daughter Ella, Husband Jason, Karen, Son Nolan, Son Brody
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lame the twins. When Karen Troutt brought her premature twins home from the hospital, she had a hard time reconciling the itty bitty humans with the big harsh words on the cleaning solution’s ingredient list. Even some of the natural cleaners on the market contained scary-sounding chemicals. Although the twins were healthy, they were still little and vulnerable. Troutt wanted something simple and natural to keep her house clean. Troutt and her husband, Nathan, worked together to create cleaning products made from simple, natural ingredients. What started out as a quest for a personal solution has grown into a line of natural cleaning products sold in stores and online. “It’s something I didn’t come up with overnight or by going online and researching for an hour,” Troutt says. “It was days and days, nights and nights, hours and hours.” Troutt isn’t a chemist—her background is in health education. Her husband, however, has a degree in biochemistry and works for Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company. The Hoosier natives were living in Indiana when they started their science experiment. Using basic natural ingredients like vinegar, washing sodas, essential oils and Castile soap, Troutt played with combinations and Nathan crosschecked them to make sure they wouldn’t blow up the house. Soon, they had a few cleaners they felt comfortable using around the babies, Nolan and Brody, as well as big sister Ella.
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“When we had company over, people would notice how good the house smelled,” Troutt says. “There was a little bit of buzz around it, but I didn’t make a big deal about it.”
Natural cleans as well as chemicals, smells better Again, the twins pushed her forward. When the boys were 4 years old and starting preschool, Troutt decided it was time to go back to the workplace. Should she return to a desk job or try to market her cleaning products? She did a test run at the Indianapolis Farmers’ Market in 2012 and soon had her answer. “I was astounded by the reaction I got. They were switching. They were thanking me for finally bringing something to the market that was honestly 100 percent natural and clean and safe to use around their kids and their pets,” Troutt recalls. She rebranded the line, working with a graphic artist to come up with elegant labels that suggest something pure and good within the containers. Then she approached buyers and stores, telling her story and securing a place on store shelves at big-name merchants like Whole Foods and Marsh, and smaller spots like Good Earth in Broad Ripple. She works with a Kentucky-based manufacturer to make and distribute her products.
