How a pair of soggy, smelly gloves sparked a Michigan-made business

Editor’s Note: This story is part of Momentum: The people and companies shaping what’s next, a weekly series that explores new ventures, founder support, and the resources powering entrepreneurship and small businesses across seven counties in Southwest Michigan. This project is sponsored by Southwest Michigan First.

PORTAGE, MI — When Karen Smoots opened her son’s backpack after elementary school one Friday afternoon in January of 2014, she was immediately overcome by the stench of wet, sweaty gloves. Not only did the gloves reek, but all of his school papers, artwork, and everything else in the backpack were soaked. 

Having dealt with this sort of situation more than once, Smoots had had enough. She decided to find a solution. By the end of the weekend, a homemade contraption, crafted with the help of her husband Ryan Smoots, was constructed.

“I remember walking down the steps almost like it was Christmas morning… I pulled the gloves off, and they were bone dry inside… I was like, ‘Oh my God, it worked,'” recalls Smoots. It was with this prototype that The Eco Dryer (also known as the GreenGlove Dryer) was born. 

It wasn’t until that summer that the notion that the new device could become a business took hold. After a neighbor requested one for their daughter’s volleyball pads, “the light bulb moment happened… ‘Could we manufacture these? Think about it. This doesn’t exist,'” says Smoots. 

The EcoDryer is a series of anti-microbial tubes for mittens and gloves that fits over a wall or floor heating vent. Many customers also report using it for work boots, and the company sells more extended models for schools.

While Smoots has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Western Michigan University, along with plenty of small business experience, she had no experience with manufacturing. However, this did not deter her, and the industrious inventor found a plastic injection molding company in Portage that was able to manufacture the product. By 2015, The Eco Dryer had made its way onto the shelves of sporting goods stores in Kalamazoo, Northern Indiana, and Grand Rapids before expanding to Amazon. 

Smoots credits much of The EcoDryer’s growth to a network of relationships cultivated throughout Michigan. With the help of organizations like the Michigan Women’s Foundation, Michigan Inventors Coalition, Michigan Small Business Administration, and Southwest Michigan First, she was able to navigate the challenges of bringing her new invention to the marketplace. 

Additionally, she remained close with her alma mater, WMU, mentoring engineering students through their senior projects as well as speaking to business classes. 

However, one connection was especially consequential. 

“Had I not been connected to the Michigan Women’s Foundation, I would have never met Lisa, and I doubt the Consumers Energy thing would have happened,” Smoots said. 

Through the foundation, Smoots met Consumers Energy executive Lisa Gustafson, with whom she helped establish a partnership to place Eco Dryers in elementary schools across Michigan. Beginning with a pilot program in Jackson County in 2017, the enterprise expanded to schools in 78 of Michigan’s 83 counties, providing children with a way to dry their winter gear during the day.

Today, Smoots is trying to finish the job, seeking businesses and community partners to help fund EcoDryers for schools in the remaining counties of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and St. Clair. 

“I’m screaming from the rooftops,” she says. “I’m your gal. I already have it in place. We can manufacture it within a month. We just need funding.” Smoots adds, “If there’s anything that I would love to come out of this entire conversation… it’s how near and dear it is to my heart to be able to finish something that I started.”

Smoots recalls how the support of Southwest Michigan’s business community of entrepreneurs was a key element in her success. 

“Everybody seems to come together to support that ecosystem… support new innovation, new entrepreneurs, new businesses,” she says. “People just seemed to come together when the community or new inventors, entrepreneurs need support.”

Looking ahead, Smoots is focused on expanding The EcoDryer beyond Michigan schools, hoping to put them in any community that experiences harsh, wet winters. She has no plans of moving the business outside of Michigan, and noted how important being able to engage with the manufacturing process hands-on is to the success of the product. 

While The EcoDryer was born out of Smoot’s battle with soggy gloves, she makes it clear that its purpose has always been greater than her own household. Her dream is to continue expanding the product to schools across the country, making it a little easier for students, teachers and parents alike. 

For anyone in Southwest Michigan with an idea of their own, she encourages them to tap into WMU’s Innovation Center as well as Southwest Michigan First for help. 

“You may read great stories like, ‘Oh, these guys made a million dollars in a month.’ The likelihood of that happening is few and far between,” she notes. But, “If you are willing to put in the work and you believe in your product… nobody is going to care about it like you do.”