A Greater Philadelphia Business Works to help our Environment as DermaMed Solutions Takes on New Sustainability Initiatives
Lenni, Pennsylvania –
January 8, 2014 –
A suburban Philadelphia company, DermaMed
Solutions, has recently increased their efforts at sustainability, in a way
that could serve as a model for other local and regional small businesses.
DermaMed Solutions has provided
thousands of spa and medical locations with quality aesthetic equipment
manufactured in the United States since 1998.
Their leading product is MegaPeel®,
known as the industry gold standard in microdermabrasion. They also have
created a line of skin-care products and protocols, along with nutritional
supplements and home care regimens, with the label dmSkincare, that provides
users a multi-pronged approach to offer maximum results for healthy skin.
Since
acquiring the company in July 2011, business partners Ginger Hodulik and Mark
Pinsley have boosted DermaMed Solutions’
annual revenue, grown their product line, and increased their product marketing
and awareness. The company’s line of
products is available primarily through medical and skincare
professionals.
One of the key areas of recent concentration is become a “green” company and achieving a level of sustainability, for the company, its products, and for its community.
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| Ginger Hodulik and Mark Pinsley of DermaMed Solutions. |
“We want to become as
green as we can,” said Pinsley, the President of DermaMed Solutions. “There’s
only so much you can do as a small business, but we still want to do more. You can’t get rid of the plastic used in our
containers, but you can make sure they are recyclable. We are actively looking for ways to be more
sustainable. We currently have a program
in place where you can turn in your old microdermabrasion equipment, so it
doesn’t go into some landfill. Some of
the materials within the equipment are not recyclable, but we find ways to
re-purpose functional components.”
Recently,
Pinsley and Hodulik brought in Dr. Diane Phillips, an associate professor at
Saint Joseph’s University, to speak to members of the team at DermaMed Solutions to inspire their
creative input on how to make the company more “green.” She has been writing, speaking and doing
research on sustainability for more than 20 years, and is a certified member of
Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps.
“She
gave us, and our team, a primer on sustainability that really inspired us to
actively find even more ways to make a difference not only locally but globally,”
said Hodulik, DermaMed Solutions
Vice President for Research and Development.
According
to Phillips, “I gave DermaMed a presentation on the science
of global climate change. There are a lot of charts and graphs, as well
as some very vivid real-world pictures of the effects of this climate change,
like rising sea water and stronger storms. The purpose was to make sure
that we were all ‘on the same page’ with respect to understanding what global
climate change was all about. If you don't have a solid foundational
knowledge on the science of what's happening, you can't have a meaningful
conversation or make effective recommendations about addressing it.
“Businesses no longer
have to make the choice between doing what's right for the environment and
doing what's right for the bottom line. Instead, they can do BOTH and do
really well,” Phillips said. “I gave them
five big reasons for why it makes sense, from a business standpoint, to be more
sustainable -- you can stay ahead of environmental regulations, you can be more
innovative, you can attract better talent, you can lower your costs, and you
can differentiate yourselves from the competition in the minds of your
customers and potential customers.
“I suggested that they
consider a new concept, called cradle-to-cradle product design and production,”
said Phillips. “The idea is that when
you are initially designing the product, the design team carefully selects raw
materials that can easily be pulled apart and used again after the consumer is
done with the product. There is definitely a challenge in coordinating
the logistics in getting consumers to send the product back to the
organization, but those raw materials have value and should not end up at the
bottom of a landfill. It’s a great way to eliminate waste, get a
consistent supply of quality raw materials, and reduce your costs - because
after all, if you don't recover the raw materials, you will have to buy them on
the open market.”
Phillips noted that DermaMed is actually starting to do
some of this already. “They don't call it ‘cradle-to-cradle,’ but they are
taking some of the initial steps in accomplishing this,” Phillips said. “Their
customers already return some of the used capsules. In regards to their
efforts at sustainability, I would give the team at DermaMed an ‘A.’”
Another step that DermaMed Solutions has taken recently
is becoming a member of the CarbonFree®
Partnership
program. Operated by Carbonfund.org Foundation, the program helps individuals
and businesses understand climate change and develop practical and
cost-effective solutions to slow, stop and reduce the climate crisis. DermaMed Solutions has joined the
CarbonFree Partnership program to neutralize their carbon footprint by
supporting clean air technology and carbon reduction projects in the United
States.
“It’s
an important step for us as a company and as individuals towards ensuring a
healthier earth,” Pinsley said. “DermaMed Solutions chose to partner
with Carbonfund.org because we wish we could do more. In our daily operations, we strive to find
new ways of packaging and promoting products that are ecologically friendly,
and we recycle whenever possible. However, finding alternative ways to
accomplish sustainably is not always logistically and financially feasible.
Carbonfund.org is a great way to make a difference”
“The
first step in the path to sustainability is recognizing that you can make a
difference,” said Eric Carlson, President of Carbonfund.org. “We encourage
everyone to continually strive to reduce their carbon footprint through
sensible energy reductions combined with cost-effective carbon offsets to
eliminate their overall carbon footprint.”
About DermaMed
Solutions:
DermaMed
Solutions takes a “whole-istic” approach to skin care. The company’s medical
and spa partners benefit from DermaMed Solutions’ leading-edge aesthetic
technologies, results-oriented skin care and wellness solutions. Since 1998,
DermaMed Solutions has provided thousands of spa and medical locations with
quality aesthetic equipment manufactured in the USA, such as the MegaPeel®, known as the industry gold
standard in microdermabrasion. The company’s dmSkincare line of skin care
products and protocols, along with nutritional supplements and home care
regimens, provides users with a multi-pronged approach to offer maximum
results. The company’s products are available primarily at salons, spas and
other skincare professionals. Call DermaMed Solutions at 610-358-4447 or visit
their website at DermaMedSolutions.com to locate skincare
professionals that offer DermaMed Solutions products. Additional information
about DermaMed Solutions and dmSkincare is available on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DermaMedSolutions, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Derma_Med and on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/+DermaMedSolutions.