How it all Started
When you fill up your water bottle, you probably don’t wonder how clean the water is. Or marvel at the fact that water is available at your fingertips, streaming from gleaming metal faucets.
But for Mitch Reaume, founder and CEO of Northern Glasses, that is something he came to fully appreciate during a trip he took to Haiti as a pastor. While in Haiti, Mitch experienced first-hand what life is like for people who don’t have reliable access to clean water.
When he returned home, he knew he wanted to do something. “I was just bothered by the fact that that is some people’s reality,” Mitch recalls.
As luck would have it, before his trip, Mitch had just started dabbling in creating glassware with his father-in-law in Bloomington.
Upon his return home, Mitch asked himself a question: “What would it look like to build a brand around fighting for clean water?”
And Northern Glasses was born.
About Northern Glasses
Mitch founded the Bloomington-based company in 2017 with a mission - to create Minnesota-themed glassware, bottles and gifts, and as Mitch puts it, to “invest in clean water projects along the way.”
Northern Glasses is a child company of Fight For Something. Mitch founded Fight For Something in 2014 with the goal to create socially responsible brands. Meaning, they exist not only for profit but to give back to their communities through charitable giving. Meet the Fight For Something team.
Northern Glasses invests in a variety of organizations, such as charity:water, Just Cause, and others; all connected by the common goal of fighting for clean water.
Over the past year, that effort has expanded to include local conservation efforts in Minnesota as well. Northern Glasses has added Friends of the Boundary Waters and Conservation Minnesota to the list of organizations they support.
“A lot of our business partners are right along the north shore too. And so it just felt kind of authentic and makes sense to invest where we are doing all this business,” Mitch said about supporting local conservation, in addition to organizations abroad.
If you’re looking for your next favorite water bottle or glassware, check out Northern Glasses and help in the fight for clean water. 7% of what customers spend at Northern Glasses goes straight to organizations focused on water access or water conservation.
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Northern Glasses has been featured as a feel-good gift option by Minnesota Monthly and was also highlighted in a gift guide on twincities.eater.com.
Read related content: Minnesota-based HiBAR says “no” to bottled shampoo and conditioner
Northern Glasses Kodiak Water Bottle is available in our Minnesota Sizzle Box.
