Our founder
Hey there, my name is Ming. Zebo, short for "zero waste box", is my soul project. I’m so glad you’re here.
Those close to me describe me as someone who likes to leave things better than how I found them. Someone who takes responsibility for the less obvious things in life. Someone who believes in giving back.
When I finish eating at a restaurant, I stack my plates and wipe my table, so that the wait staff won’t have to. It's not expected of me; it's simply an instinct. I want to take care of the things others provide for me, especially borrowed ones. It's the least I could do to express my gratitude.
I am grateful for so much in life: a secure roof, a solid education and the opportunities afforded by it, a healthy and able body, a strong support system of loving family and friends. Yet the less obvious are the natural resources the Earth provides to me and to us all: the basic building blocks that make everything else we cherish in life possible.
We were born into this world. We breathe its air, drink its water, use its land to live. It’s our home. One day, what we borrow from the Earth will eventually be returned. So I feel a profound sense of duty to give it back cleaner and better, even if just by a little bit.
With your help, we can do this together.
Ask me anything here.
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Our philosophy
At Zebo, we believe in being the solution, not the problem. Making a difference can be as simple as changing a few buying habits and putting the rest on autopilot. Zebo makes it easy to reduce workplace plastic waste doing what you already do. Zero waste doesn’t have to be:
- Difficult
- Intimidating
- Restrictive
Instead it can be:
- Effortless
- Convenient
- Enriching
After all, that’s the most sustainable way to be sustainable.
To best serve you, we ensure every Zebo product is:
- Zero, or the lowest-possible, plastic content
- Toxin-free
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- User-friendly
- Approved and used by our founder, Ming
We also practice conscious entrepreneurship. Mainstream culture promotes fast consumption, fast disposal, fast growth – fast everything. When we move too fast, we usually make more waste. Zebo is here to slow it down a bit. Just like the zero waste movement, our growth will stay intentional and true to our mission: less consumption, less waste. We’re not interested in:
- Frenzy sales on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or holidays in general. Who else feels nostalgic for a time when holidays weren’t all about shopping?
- Endless selling tactics, like those “spin to get a discount!” wheels and constant upsell offers in your cart. We want your experience on this website to be calm and straightforward, not a bombardment of popups.
- Grow-at-all-costs marketing strategies. We want to be so good that you can’t stop telling everyone about us.
If conscious entrepreneurship means slower growth, so be it. We want Zebo to be a more planet-driven, less profit-driven company. We’re here to say that our choices matter. Your choices matter.
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Our story
You are witnessing Zebo’s beginnings now.
Growing up in Beijing in the nineties, I lived with my highly waste-conscious grandparents. Things like biking to school every day, taking stainless steel boxes to lunch, and repurposing old shirts as rags were the norm in our home. When I moved to the US at 15, I experienced a tremendous shock in every way: the culture, the language, and the unfathomable amount of single-use waste. But as a teenager desperate to fit in, I learned to be fluent in English and the throwaway culture.
Fast forward to my first corporate job, I was watching my office consume and throw away so, so much every single week. That familiar shock returned, and I couldn’t stop thinking that there had to be a better way. How can I make a zero waste workplace easier?
Zebo is my answer to office waste. Once the idea took root, I began researching and contacting plastic-free manufacturers, testing samples, and bootstrapping my way to a small business. So, thank you so much for being here. If you’ve read this far, wow, thank you truly. It takes a special kind of person.
Certified women- and minority-owned, Zebo is on a mission to end workplace plastic waste, one office at a time.
Come grow with Zebo. Despite the ups and downs along the way, thoughtful sustainable changemakers like you keep me pushing forward.
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