After being laid off in a pandemic-stricken economy, Kayly Kunkel decided to take a risk and start her own business. Driven by a vision of sustainability, quality, and accessibility, Kunkel founded Earth & Me, a zero-waste store offering eco-friendly home goods and personal care products. This venture aims to help consumers reduce waste and minimize environmental impact. Learn more about her inspiring journey on queens1.one.
Beginnings on Etsy and Instagram
As Kunkel shared with SHOUTOUT LA, she worked as a marketing director in the tech industry until June 2020. Like the rest of the world, she faced the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and simultaneously became an advocate for social justice, joining daily protests sparked by the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, which ignited the Black Lives Matter movement.
After standing up for her beliefs, Kunkel was laid off. Facing a crossroads, she reflected on her future and the challenges small businesses faced during the pandemic. With her parents’ experience running a small business, she knew the risks involved, but decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship.
She began by sourcing bulk products from small-batch producers and making them affordable through minimal eco-packaging. On Etsy, she launched a shop selling eco-friendly essentials, allowing customers to support small artisans while reducing environmental impact. Her goal was to provide buyers with joy and satisfaction from purchasing necessities that are also sustainable.
Soon, she expanded to Instagram, producing her own items like household soap, lip balm, and lotion. Within 10 months, her small store grew into a well-known brand offering a wide array of products.
Earth & Me
In early 2021, 27-year-old Kunkel opened Earth & Me in the Astoria neighborhood of northwest Queens, a zero-waste store for household goods. The shop offers a broad selection of handmade, natural products for personal care, cleaning, home, and gifting, many crafted from organic ingredients.
Earth & Me operates on a “bring your own container” model for essential items like lotion and hand soap. This allows customers to refill empty containers, giving new life to thousands of used plastic bottles.
Despite the pandemic forcing the closure of around 3,000 small businesses in New York City, Kunkel’s Earth & Me showed that entrepreneurship is possible even in tough times. She kept prices low to attract customers, with most items priced under $15. The highest-priced item was a $36 set of bamboo utensils with a stainless steel straw. During this time of high unemployment, Kunkel’s focus on affordability helped bring joy and satisfaction to customers.
Commitment to Equality
Kayly Kunkel actively supports women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. Nearly all of Earth & Me’s suppliers are women-owned, with many businesses operated by Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ creators.
Earth & Me carefully selects products from suppliers and prioritizes partnerships with those committed to social justice. The store avoids products or marketing with negative beauty connotations, focusing instead on inclusivity and respect.
Committed to Sustainable Development
Sustainable development means meeting today’s needs without compromising future generations. Earth & Me promotes sustainability beyond the store with donations to various groups and initiatives. They constantly seek new ways to reduce waste—from composting in a backyard garden to using recycled materials for packaging and shipping.
By 2023, Earth & Me had donated over $1,000 to Black communities and over $300 to organizations delivering clean water to Palestine, supporting Asian youth in New York, and aiding reforestation efforts.
They have contributed more than $4,000 to community projects, supporting groups like Intersectional Environmentalist, ACLU, Black Feminist Project, and Dignity Matters. Locally, Earth & Me helped raise funds for Astoria Pug composting and partnered with a local jeweler to raise over $1,000 for mutual aid.
They’ve donated over $100 in books to a free community climate library and worked with Scholastic to provide nearly 100 free children’s books on ecology. The library, located in-store, offers educational resources on zero-waste and eco-conscious living, including topics like climate justice and Indigenous knowledge.
The shop also encourages plant cuttings for sharing, allowing customers to start their plant collection free of charge. Earth & Me offers vintage items and used clothing, helping reduce textile waste by diverting it from landfills. Reusing items contributes to a healthier climate by minimizing new production—a significant source of pollution from the fashion industry.
Earth & Me also partners with Astoria Candle: customers can return used candle jars to Earth & Me for a 20% discount on their next purchase. The jars are washed and repurposed for new candles. During warmer months, Earth & Me’s backyard serves as a community garden, hosting events with local artists, producers, and eco-activists.
As a zero-waste store, Earth & Me diligently monitors its own carbon footprint, using custom furniture made from reclaimed or FSC-certified materials and reusing all packaging. Their paper bags are 100% recycled, and biodegradable cornstarch peanuts and recyclable kraft paper fill their boxes.