We recently connected with Aleksandra Plewa and have shared our conversation below.

Aleksandra, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I always knew that I really enjoyed problem solving so when my partner told me that he needed more packaging materials for his e-commerce business, I got to work.

Packaging materials are expensive, especially for a small business that has a limited budget. However, we are living in a time where social media plays a pretty big part in our lives. I had been a part of my local Buy Nothing Facebook group, in which community members would post free items that they might have lying around and are looking to get rid of them. I made my first #ISO (in search of) post and almost immediately received responses. Knowing that I could leverage more of these Facebook groups, I joined neighborhood pages and an environmental group. After a week of driving around my neighborhood and picking up free packaging materials, my closet was filled to the brim.

My partner and I sat around the dinner table one night and threw around ideas regarding reaching out to other e-commerce businesses who could potentially be interested in packaging materials as well. During the pandemic, almost overnight, the amount of e-commerce businesses exponentially went up and we were seeing a lot more of these businesses on our social media pages and at markets around the city. We had so many ideas and questions. Who would be our target audience? Should this be a for-profit or not-for-profit business model? Where will operations take place?

I reached out to the first business that I saw on a Facebook page and that was the beginning of EcoShip. I began my outreach campaign and created a business plan. It was so gratifying to see the excitement in local business owners’ eyes when they heard about what EcoShip was doing. This was something that no one had done yet, and because it was a new concept, we were able to take it in so many different directions.

Success rates for small businesses are not high. There are so many costs associated with running a business. Without the proper resources and help, it’s easy for a small business to sink. I was excited to play a small role in helping these businesses make it, whether it was by providing them with free packaging, or connecting them with a different business for a potential partnership. It’s a feeling that will never get old.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I graduated from Drake University with a degree in Biology in hopes of pursuing forensics for the state of Illinois. I never imagined that I would be working for, let alone, running a nonprofit. I started EcoShip in 2021 and it became an official 501c3 nonprofit in 2022. EcoShip collects brand new and gently used packaging materials from Chicagoland communities and donates them to local businesses, artists, and individuals for reuse. Most of the individuals that we have met, have reused items in the past, but had a difficult time getting those items. EcoShip is different, because it centralized the process so that a drop-off and pick-up can be done in one spot.

EcoShip also works with plastic packaging that cannot be recycled in our recycling bins. A foolproof recycling strategy has not yet been invented so while we wait for that solution, we can play our part in making sure that individuals know what this plastic is and how it can be reused or upcycled.

In 2023, we diverted 46,000 gallons of packaging from the landfill and donated $18,000-worth of packaging materials. Throughout 2024, we were able to expand our project and partner with schools for educational presentations and larger companies for volunteer opportunities. We have truly made a difference in our community and continue to bring awareness to the amount of waste that comes with online shopping.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Running a nonprofit is not for the weak. For every 20 no’s, we get 1 yes. I had a difficult time painting our story and what it is that we’re doing here at EcoShip. There are some that get it, others that don’t. We have been rejected by multiple grants for being too small. We have been rejected by sponsors for our mission not being important enough. However, our statistics do not lie and I knew that what we were doing was needed in our community. After every event, we had folks messaging us that they appreciated our efforts and fully supported everything that we did. Most importantly, we have a team that continues to cheer us on and volunteer with our organization. Having regular volunteers is a sign that we’re doing something right.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I was able to connect with a lot of clients on Instagram. Small business owners put their all into their business accounts and the only way to grow is to connect with other business owners.

Anytime our supporters share our posts or videos, we see a rise in followers. We’re able to keep in touch with a lot of our clients and make our stories personable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ecoship.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecoship_chicago/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EcoShipChicago
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksandra-plewa-610b93163/