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has become a very prominent and forward- thinking initiative of ours is sustainability, which includes diverting waste from landfill, adding innovation to product and increasing our quality standard." This 'closed loop' concept has become an essential component in Ecotech's relationship with their local partner, Walmart. "An example of how this closed loop works would be with the Walmart and Sam's Club bakery," Overbey explained. "They have big icing tubs where they work on their cakes, cupcakes, etc. In the past, when those icing tubs or buckets were empty, they would be disposed of in a landfill. Now, because that's one of the waste streams that we have, it goes to Walmart's Return Center and then ultimately it ends up in our Springdale facility where it goes through our recycling processing line. From there it is made into products where it could become a baby step stool or potty ring or a dog bowl. That product is then shipped back to Walmart and ultimately sold to customers in a different format, completing the loop. It's an amazing process when you think of it. And for us, something very important and powerful for us to be a part of." For Olivet International, it all started around 2009 when talk about sustainability first started to appear on the national scene. "We decided that one of the areas that we can focus on would be carbon reduction," Muldoon, who was with Olivet at the time, said. "One of the first things we did was look at all of the plastic we used throughout our products and rate those in terms of toxicity as well as carbon consumption. We then looked at what we could do to reduce those. We also found this to be economically sound because sustainability really shouldn't be more expensive. It should be affordable to the customers." The company's move towards sustainability is not only aligned with their own and Walmart's philosophy, it is also addressing the concerns of the 21st century customer. "To the millennial customer, who has a tremendous amount of purchasing power, sustainability is very important," Overbey noted. "Being made in USA is very meaningful to this customer as well. So, we have our eye on that, too. Expanding our production within the United States is very important to us." Being a successful manufacturer in the 21st century means having the ability to change with the times. And Overbey is quick to note that things have changed rapidly in the fifteen years she has been at Olivet International. "It has dramatically changed in the time I've been here," she said. "Our model of diversification in terms of products and manufacturing has been very much at the forefront of our minds. And I do think being a private company Continued on page 14 13 Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce

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