We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cole Gibbs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cole, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Since Dama was founded in 2018, our goal has been to eliminate toxic petroleum plastics from ever entering the environment. We do this by providing truly sustainable alternative materials and packaging solutions for a variety of industries. Our new project is producing the world’s first 100% hemp bioplastics that are designed for injection molding purposes and are home/backyard compostable. Allowing any manufacturer to eliminate toxic petroleum plastics from their products while removing up to 5200 lbs of carbon per ton.

The plastic recycling industry has been failing for decades and now we have dropped below 6% recycling in the USA. This means the other 94% of this toxic petroleum plastic was sent to a landfill, incinerated, shipped overseas, or littering our environment. Petroleum plastics have been found at the top of the highest mountains, deepest parts of the ocean, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and even within our blood.

The need for truly sustainable bioplastics cannot be overstated.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I wanted to get into the hemp & cannabis industries for years, but I did not know where I would fit and be the most successful. I have a black thumb, so growing was out of the question. After living in five other states, I ended up in Colorado and noticed the massive amount of petroleum plastic packaging waste the industry was creating due to rules and regulations. My background in the automotive industry with a focus on alternative fuels provided years of exposure and experience in the fossil fuel industry and all the chemicals they produce. This drove me towards providing plant based, home compostable, and compliant alternatives to toxic petroleum plastics. At Dama, we continue to add more products to our line up including the world’s first tree free, 100% hemp paper labels. Providing a one-stop shop for any customer looking to make the switch.

Dama Distributing is a locally owned and operated company, based in Colorado. We are pioneering the development of sustainable, home compostable, and compliant packaging solutions for a variety of industries. Here at Dama, we care about the world we live in and strive to make the world a better place for us all.

Over the last three years alone, the Dama team has made a massive impact on the world today by preventing over 1000 tons (2 million lbs) of petroleum plastic from entering our environment.

“Together we can end plastic pollution.”

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

At Dama, we are very particular about the companies and products we work with. This attention to detail has allowed us to stand out in the crowd of packaging companies as a truly sustainable solution. Our highly educated staff are here to answer any questions about alternative materials, composting, customization, why we use the product we do, to help find the best solution for your products. We believe educating businesses and customers about a circular economy is key to solving the toxic petroleum plastic pollution problem.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

I saved a thousand dollars while I was working full time to start the business. Even for the first year and a half, I worked nights while I built the business during the day. When the COVID lockdowns happened in 2020, I was forced to put all my efforts and energy into the company during a very uncertain time. Companies were not looking to make major changes or spend more money on packaging, yet we prevailed and are growing at a tremendous rate.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.damadistributing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damadistributing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dama-Distributing-102965771118594
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dama-distributing/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DamaDistributi2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcK5frfSkFKQ07hXjEFlFwQ