Message from the owner, Joe Clare
In October 2024, we proudly became a Certified B Corporation, reflecting what's always mattered to us: taking care of people and the planet.
We have always believed in keeping things local, reducing waste, and offering wellness practitioners beautiful products they can feel good about using. Our goals are simple: be honest, build trust, and grow in a way that lifts everyone, including our customers, our team, our suppliers, and our community while supporting the work of those who help others feel well.
Highlights for 2024
Governance 13.5
We refreshed our Vision and Mission to better reflect our core values: social responsibility, environmental care, and integrity in our business.
We have updated our company incorporation document to include our stakeholders, ranging from staff to suppliers to the broader community, which helps guide our decisions.
We created an Employee Handbook that underscores fair, inclusive, and supportive working conditions. It includes policies to support our team's personal and professional growth.
Customers 5.0
We continued gathering customer feedback, both online and in person, to understand their needs better and enhance their experience.
To support the next generation of therapists, we offered our Student Package at a minimum 5% discount. It included an MTSO-designed massage table (with a limited lifetime warranty), custom-made linens, and the Clinical Massage Therapy textbook.
More on our linens! We put a lot of love and care into the creation of our custom linens, made onsite by our sewer, Ohla, with a focus on quality, durability, and minimal waste. Designed with input from professional therapists, these linens are part of our commitment to ethical, local production.
Environment 14.3
For six years, MTSO has successfully avoided purchasing new boxes!
We reuse cardboard boxes (along with foam peanuts) for shipping customer orders. Used boxes are collected from supplier shipments, local businesses, and employees. In 2024, 1,300 kgs. were diverted from the landfill.
Our team delivered a blue bag twice a month to a recycling depot, filled with plastic, paper, glass, and metals. Additionally, we donated an average of two bags of beverage containers per month (valued at approximately $7.00 in total) to a local individual.
Approximately 2,400 containers were recycled in total.
We began tracking our water, energy, and heat consumption to understand our environmental footprint better and identify new opportunities for reduction. Based on these insights, we aim to lower our rates, if possible, and will report on results for 2025.
Workers 25.1
Living Wage Commitment: As of September 2024, all staff received the living wage rate at a minimum, hopefully enabling each employee to thrive, not just survive.
Inclusive Benefits & Flexibility: From comprehensive healthcare (available to part-time and full-time employees) to paid personal leave and emergency flexibility, we support well-being across all aspects of life.
Training for Growth: Each employee is supported to explore professional development opportunities, including a $500 annual training budget, cross-skills development, and social/environmental impact learning.
Community 23.1
Our customers value the care and quality behind everything we offer, from massage tables handcrafted by a local artisan to linens sewn onsite by our sewer to staff-blended oils. With 100% of our sales staying in Canada, we are proud to support a strong, local supply network.
We launched our Paid Community Service Leave Program, providing full-time staff up to 20 hours per year to volunteer with organizations that align with our values in arts and culture, environmental stewardship, and social justice. Data will be reported in the next report, as 2025 is the inaugural year for this opportunity.
We planted our annual community garden behind the store, offering free produce to neighbors. Our Jazz in the Garden event brought together about 75 community members for a Sunday of live music and connection.
Give Peace a Chance
A project straight from our heart is the Seeds for Peace Campaign.
Sponsored by Joe Clare and MTSO, this initiative distributed free packages of sunflower seeds to our local community and customers.
Sunflowers symbolize joy, hope, and optimism, and we aim to bring these transformative qualities to whomever we encounter.
By encouraging the planting of these seeds, we hope to spread the life-giving power of peace, joy, kindness, and love.
