In the Daily Routine: How Belinda Lau Tackles Oral Care Waste While Navigating Real Life

Belinda Lau, founder of Elims, was announced as the inaugural Planet and Purpose Grant winner during the Enthuse Foundation’s 2026 Earth Day panel on April 22. It was a moment of recognition for a business built with sustainability at its core. Watch the entire webinar here.

But long before that stage, Belinda’s reality looked very different. She had been sitting with a problem for years.

As a biomedical engineer in the medical device industry, Belinda saw firsthand the sheer volume of waste tied to products designed to keep people healthy.

“All of these medical devices were packaged in virgin plastic,” she explained. “And when I asked why, it always came down to margin.”

That realization stayed with her.

While pregnant with her third child, Belinda decided to do something for herself, fulfill a long-standing promise, and attend business school. At the time, she was raising two children, caring for a newborn, working full-time, and attending UCLA, all while quietly exploring a business idea.

Between classes, she would walk four buildings across campus with a breast pump in hand.

“It was a very busy time in my life,” she said.

That season would become the foundation for her business, Elims, a sustainable oral care brand.

The problem wasn’t just something she saw at work; it showed up at home, too.

“I don't know why, but kids just wear out their toothbrushes faster,” she said. “They also use more toothpaste. They just glob it on, and it ends up everywhere.”

When she shared this observation with her husband, a practicing dentist, he offered a broader perspective.

“He said, ‘You think that’s bad? You should come to my dental office and see all the dental stuff we throw away every day.”

Looking at the issue holistically, the opportunity became clear.

With guidance from a professor, she invested $1,000 in early product development and consumer research, surveying both patients and dental professionals to understand what mattered most.

In 2020, Belinda decided to quit her job and give the business a real shot. Elims officially launched in 2021.

From the beginning, Belinda has always been clear about two things: the product must work and be better for the environment than other options on the market.

“My husband would not put his name behind anything that wasn't actually helping protect your teeth,” she said.

But building a truly sustainable CPG brand is not simple. Materials are more expensive, and consumer behavior is harder to control than many expect.

Early on, Elims experimented with sugarcane-based packaging as an alternative to traditional plastic. While promising in theory, the reality didn’t hold up. Consumers placed the packaging in their recycling bins, but if those materials weren’t accepted locally, they still ended up in landfills.

The lesson was clear: sustainability has to work in real-world conditions, not ideal ones.

Elims offers a growing portfolio of products, including toothpaste in renewable tubes, dissolvable whitening strips, bamboo toothbrushes, and plant-based electric toothbrush replacement heads.

The company operates across a mix of direct-to-consumer and B2B channels, with a strong presence in dental offices nationwide. Online remains its largest channel, allowing Belinda and her team to communicate directly with customers and continuously refine their messaging.

Now, five years into the business, her focus has shifted.

With a solid foundation in place, Belinda is focused on scaling and improving margins while maintaining the mission's integrity. After years of bootstrapping, she is beginning to explore external funding opportunities, including grants and pitch competitions, to support the next phase of growth.

With support from the KSI Foundation, the Planet and Purpose Grant will help fund the expansion of a kids’ oral care line and further invest in the company’s TerraCycle recycling program.

"What impressed me about Belinda's company was that environmental sustainability is at the root of their philosophy," said Cybele Chang, Executive Director, KSI Foundation. "Sustainability is not just a side bar that is mentioned in passing. Instead, Elims takes every opportunity to educate their customers through their packaging about the importance of environmental sustainability and how they address the issue in their products. We at KSI Foundation are thrilled to award Belinda the 2026 KSI Foundation Planet and Purpose Grant."

Ultimately, these efforts ladder up to a larger goal: improving oral health without compromising the planet's health.

“I think we're all guilty of throwing away a plastic toothbrush once or twice in our lives,” Belinda said. “If we can do our job correctly, people will have healthier mouths and keep a lot of this plastic out of the waste stream.”

Bottom Line: For anyone considering starting a business, there’s always a lingering question: When is the right time? Belinda’s story offers a clear answer. There isn’t one. Sometimes you just must take the leap and see what happens. Who knows, one day you might help others and save the world all with one brand.