Marvin's Corn
Marvin and his son harvest each ear of corn by hand, cutting it from its stalk with a sharp serrated knife, so that delicate kernels won’t get bruised.
Iowa City, IA
Crystal Forestry Project
Type: small business
Produces: Household Cleaning Products
Location: Iowa City, IA
Miles from Coop: 2
“I wanted to bring sustainable cleaning products to market that are fun to use and smell fabulous.”
May, owner of The Crystal Forestry Project, has been making natural products for over a decade for use at home and in her work cleaning professionally.
She came up with the line to help families reconsider what cleaning products can be made from. Using a combination of natural ingredients, May leaned into elements from earth, water, and plant life.
She adds,
”While cleaning for a living, I found the unique fragrances and minerals made cleaning more enjoyable than working with traditional products, without compromising effectiveness.”
“Often, people clean with products that contain lots of chemicals and artificial fragrances, that when flushed into our drains or environment can have toxic effects over time.”
The right combinations of plant extracts and natural ingredients can make powerful cleaners for everyday use with less impact on the environment.
Crystal Forestry Toilet Cleaning Crystals are made with cinnamon and rosemary, the herbal vinegar concentrates contain herb extracts, and the multi-purpose concentrates contain lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus and mint essential oils.
Crystal Forestry cleaners are also infused with quartz minerals for a clean, neutralizing solution with no abrasiveness.
From cleaner to container, May’s focus is on keeping her product line as sustainable as possible. Using reusable dark glass bottles with concentrated solutions, customers can buy the spray bottle once and purchase the concentrate when they need to fill up.
“In our grandparent’s generation there were a few home remedies used to clean around the house. Now there are literally aisles of products that are made to clean one or two things. People can reduce their cleaning supplies greatly with just a few simple products.”
Try Crystal Forestry Project cleaning solutions in your home for a naturally fresh and clean finish.
Other Local Producers
Be sure to check out these others great local producers!
Early Morning Harvest
Earl, Ronda (above), & son Jeff Haffner grow organic grains and stone grind them whole – germ intact (unlike commercial flour). Their organic grains are in many of New Pi’s breads, prepared foods, and on New Pi shelves
Panora, IA
Jefferson County Ciderworks
"We’re always coming up with new flavors through using different fermenting methods, added natural flavorings, and aging techniques. If we land on something great, there’s nothing stopping us now from throwing it into some cans and sharing it with everyone."
Fairfield, IA
Jorge's Organics
The best part of what I do is that I enjoy every bit of what I do. I like to work in the soil, seeding, taking care of plants, harvesting...but the best part is enjoying a fresh healthy meal
Fairfield, IA
Mariposa Farms
Dave and Denise Conkling's greenhouse has herbs growing in it 365 days a year.
Grinnell, IA
Crystal Forestry Project
From cleaner to container, May’s focus is on keeping her product line as sustainable as possible.
Iowa City, IA
Echo Dell Farm
Calvin Yoder of Echo Dell Farm has been raising whole, local, organic chickens for New Pi since 1988.
Kalona, IA
Garden Oasis Farm
You realize what you’re taking care of right now is going to provide a year’s worth of produce.
Coggon, IA