Caila Cater-Edwards, PEA Clean Energy Intern, sitting with green entrepreneur, Devin Pendergast. Pendergast is the founder of For the Trees, an all natural personal care company with a current focus on deodorant and lip balm. For the Trees is a member of Piedmont Environmental Alliance’s Green Business Network.
CCE: Devin, thank you for taking the time to chat! It’s wonderful to reconnect and highlight your company, For the Trees. You’ve built something incredibly rare in the personal care space: a 100% sustainable, all-natural deodorant committed to honest materials and ingredients.
I’d love to know what was the spark for launching this venture, and what has the journey of transitioning that initial thought into a reality looked like for you?
DP: The real spark was actually just being frustrated with self care products in general. I’ve always had issues with my skin, but there was a point where I broke out heavily after using my regular deodorant at the time (a typical “big deodorant” brand). I tried several different types and brands of deodorant, and all of them were awful, each of them making things worse.
I then sought a more natural deodorant solution, but found that all the “natural” deodorants in stores contained some sort of synthetic chemical and became increasingly frustrated. While going through all of this, I realized I was producing so much waste by throwing away deodorant’s that didn’t work. That’s when I decided that I was NOT buying deodorant that day, and went home to figure out how to make my own. Later, some friends asked if I could make my deodorant recipe for them. I realized that I certainly wasn’t the only one with these issues finding and using a good deodorant.
I decided that if others were having these same issues, that I could do something about it, but that if I made a company, it would have to be everything I wanted to see in a company: ethics, values, and a commitment to doing good (in this case-the environment). That's how For The Trees started.
CCE: What a journey! As someone who also has sensitive skin, I understand the frustration of normal products. So, I appreciate the dedication to make sure it's safe for everyone's use. In that, it definitely seems like you have been tackling a two-front challenge right from the start: battling synthetic ingredients on one hand, and packaging waste on the other.
What did those early days of 'kitchen chemistry' look like, and how did you manage to formulate a product that actually worked while simultaneously ensuring the packaging lived up to your 100% sustainable vision?
DP: This is a great question and I really appreciate you identifying with how much time and effort it took to make the product “just right”. And even though the formulas have been finalized I still find myself tweaking the recipe here and there to improve performance, consistency, and other attributes.
When I first started making the deodorant, I didn’t even envision that this would be a company at all. I was really just making it for myself. The first iteration of the deodorant was made in a Pyrex measuring cup, with a magnetic heating and stirring plate, and stored in a glass jar, so we’ve really come a long way since then!
I first started producing deodorant as a real product in my kitchen. Hilariously, I was using a pressure cooker, and making 10 units at a time. In the beginning this really helped me hone in on the ratios of the raw ingredients, which was very important as they are all organic and mistakes could be expensive.
I am a runner, hiker, climber, and camper, so in short, I can be very smelly. It took me around 3 months to land on a formulation that seemed to work well. Since then, the final product has actually been through 113 iterations following customer and user feedback.
The packaging was actually a very different process altogether. I come from a background in marketing and branding, and so with the packaging, I created the design, but utilized a company that I vetted to ensure the best practices were being followed, including FSC certification, using post consumer recycled materials, and biodegradability. We are always trying to reduce our footprint and so we are currently in the process of finding a new packaging partner that can meet these requirements, while also being geographically closer.
CCE: I’m sure we all appreciate knowing that since the beginning you have put attention to every detail and truly listened to feedback. It is always fascinating hearing about the humble beginnings of businesses, so thank you for letting us in. More importantly, it's exciting to hear that you are hoping to expand, while still keeping those core foundations of For the Trees (which by the way, a big fan of that name).
With that in mind, what do the next few years look like for you and For the Trees? Do you see yourselves branching into new types of cosmetics, or focusing on scaling up?
DP: Absolutely. Scale is one of our biggest areas of focus right now because ultimately, greater scale means greater impact. We always say: For the Trees is not a deodorant company; we’re a sustainability company that just happens to make the most sustainable self-care products on the planet. Every time we grow, it allows us to keep more plastic out of landfills, reduce exposure to unnecessary synthetic ingredients, and contribute more to environmental causes through our Profit-For-Planet™️ model.
In the near term, we’re excited to expand our product line with new offerings, including our Lavender & Lilac scent family (which is being released with a Lavender Vanilla lip balm!). Looking further ahead, our goal is to thoughtfully expand our self-care ecosystem while staying true to the principles that got us here: natural ingredients, refillability, zero-plastic packaging, and measurable environmental impact.
Over the next year, we’re working toward increasing our charitable contributions by at least fivefold and helping our customers and planet avoid over 1,000 pounds of waste through sustainable product choices. Ultimately, success for us is not measured by how many products we sell, but by how much positive impact we can create through everyday purchases.
CCE: I absolutely love that framing—'a sustainability company that just happens to make self-care products.' It’s incredibly refreshing to see a business genuinely measure its success by its positive footprint rather than just its bottom line. And definitely excited to see your future products, especially hearing about that Lavender Vanilla Lip Balm!
Thank you so much for sharing the inspiring vision and future of For the Trees. As we wrap things up, is there anything else you’d like to add, or a final thought you'd like to leave our audience with?
DP: I think my final thought would simply be this: we should all expect more from the products we buy and the companies we support. For a long time, we’ve been told that environmental responsibility rests primarily on the shoulders of individual consumers. While our choices absolutely matter, businesses also have a responsibility to consider the impact they have on people and the planet.
My hope is that consumers continue asking questions, demanding transparency, and supporting companies that are genuinely working to do better. At For the Trees, we’re trying to prove that sustainability, quality, and positive impact don’t have to be competing priorities. We believe businesses can be a force for good, and we’re committed to raising the bar for what responsible business can look like.