BANGOR – Businesses can be socially responsible and ethical without hurting their bottom lines, a successful entrepreneur told a local audience Wednesday night.

Kate Cheney Chappell, who founded Tom’s of Maine with her husband, Tom, was the featured speaker during Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility’s Northern Leadership Forum at Bangor Theological Seminary. And when it comes to social responsibility and environmental stewardship, Tom’s of Maine has led by example.

Kate and Tom Chappell left Philadelphia for Kennebunk in 1968 to realize their dream of getting “back to the land.” As part of that philosophy, they used natural foods and simple, pure products. When they were unable to find natural personal care products, they decided to make and sell their own.

With a $5,000 loan from a friend, they started a family business based on the notion that people and the environment deserve respect.

Their first product, Clearlake, was the nation’s first liquid phosphate-free laundry detergent. They sold it in refillable containers labeled with postage-paid mailers so customers could return the bottles for reuse. By 1975, the company had introduced the first natural toothpaste on the market. Shortly after that, Tom’s introduced the first natural baby shampoo. Natural deodorant, mouthwash and shaving cream soon followed.

Today, the company employs about 150 Mainers. Its annual sales approach $40 million. Tom’s products are found not only in health food stores, but also in most supermarkets and drugstores.

In her address, Chappell described the company’s Common Good Partnership, which promotes good stewardship of rivers and streams by bringing together customers, retailers, nonprofit environmental groups and the National Park Service to achieve a common goal. The attention the initiative brought to the company has boosted sales, Chappell said.

The company’s National Rivers Awareness Program, entering its second year, is aimed at protecting and restoring rivers and watersheds across the country. The company commissioned River Stories, a video telling the story of three at-risk rivers – the St. John, the Chattahoochee and the Rio Grande – and what’s being done to save them.

Tom’s is a leader in social responsibility as well. Some benefits Tom’s employees enjoy are health insurance coverage that extends to domestic partners, long-term care insurance, a wellness program and flexible work schedules. Fathers receive four weeks paid time off after the birth or adoption of a child. Employees are encouraged to spend up to 5 percent of their work time volunteering. The company each year donates 10 percent of its pre-tax profits to charitable causes.

The program also put a spotlight on two local businesses and a soon-to-be launched wellness initiative:

. Rick Schweikert, owner of The Grasshopper Shop in Bangor, described his company’s commitment to reinvigorating Bangor’s downtown and the city’s nationally known Clean Clothes Campaign.

. Ellie Daniels, owner of the Green Store in Belfast, announced plans for a “Green Future Fair” on the Belfast waterfront June 1.

. Jerry Whalen of Eastern Maine Healthcare outlined a partnership with the Greater Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce that will lead to the establishment of the Bangor Regional Wellness Initiative, aimed at improving lifestyles to benefit Maine employers and to lower health insurance costs, among other things. The initiative will be launched later this year.

Established in 1993, Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility has 350 members committed to creating a business climate that recognizes that long-term profit is directly related to acting in a socially responsible, ethical manner.

For more information, visit the association’s Web site at www.mebsr.org. Sanna McKim, regional director of the Midcoast-Bangor chapter based in Waldo, can be reached at 722-3130 or mebsr@acadia.net.