Eco-friendly design: This Peoria startup helps businesses with sustainable packaging
PEORIA — De Ingles wants brands to think more carefully about how their products impact the earth.
The founder of the sustainably minded design firm Rootlebox has struck out on her own with a new company. After 30 years working as a designer for the Peoria-based Smiley Graphix Studio, Ingles hopes she can help move the Peoria area closer to a circular economy.
Ingles grew up on a homestead in Germantown Hills, where the rustic lifestyle had a significant influence on her interest in sustainability.
"We didn't have a garbage service," she said, "so everything went to the compost pile or it was put into the garden directly."
She and her family made the most of their resources, including making new candles out of old wax.
"It sounds like Depression-era stuff, but it was really fun as a kid," she said.
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Inspired by travel
Ingles and her husband, John, created the clothing brand Wild Routed, inspired by their travels to national parks across the United States.
Though she has lived in the Peoria area her entire life, Ingles wasn't always sure that central Illinois was the best place to build a sustainability-focused business. In her experience, Ingles said, sustainable practices have not found the same purchase in the region that they have in some other areas of the country.
"A couple years ago we asked ourselves, 'Is it ever going to happen here?'" she said.
Ingles decided to stay. She built her business in Peoria thanks in large part to the support she received from the Peoria staff at Gener8tor, a venture capital firm that works to support entrepreneurs.
In 2021, Wild Routed was included in the first-ever Peoria cohort for gBeta, a program run by Gener8tor and the Peoria-based nonprofit Distillery Labs that offers entrepreneurs mentorship and access to investors. Ingles has since served as a mentor to subsequent cohorts of up-and-coming business owners.
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What is Rootlebox?
Rootlebox was born out of Ingles' desire to make sustainability the sole focus of her design work. She has worked with a variety of local businesses, including the beard care brand Beard Brothers, for whom Ingles designed recycled cardboard packaging with designs printed in eco-friendly algae ink. She worked with the Lewistown-based Hilltop Honey Co., reworking their bottles to include less plastic and to be recyclable.
Ingles has also collaborated with Natural Fiber Welding, a Peoria-based company that manufactures plant-based alternatives to synthetic fabrics. Wild Routed's hats feature patches made of Mirum, the company's proprietary leather alternative. Unlike leather treated with synthetic polymers or petroleum-based faux leather, the material will break down naturally when discarded.
Ingles is currently Rootlebox's sole employee, but she said she plans to hire more people as the business grows. Her goal, she said, is to promote sustainable practices by making them easier and more accessible, rather than attempting to make brands and consumers feel guilty about their environmental impact.
"Shaming does not help anybody," she said. "I'm not here to judge, but I am here to help."
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria startup Rootlebox helps businesses design sustainable packaging
