Plant-Based, Pure Products Originated In Sag Harbor

Shamir Cohen was in her Sag Harbor home, by Long Beach, a few years back, when she “noticed a gap in the market for natural cleaning products that were genuinely non-toxic, not made with irritating fragrances, but still effective. My body is very sensitive to chemicals,” she continued. “I took my knowledge of essential oils and natural potent cleaning agents and started mixing my own products from my kitchen.”

And so, Pure & Peaceful was born. “Cleaning can be an uplifting and therapeutic experience,” reads the website. The “products are aromatherapy-based, designed to elevate your mood with delicious scents in order to improve people’s health and well-being.” They also are plant-based, mineral-based, and eco-friendly, from the rosemary, lemongrass, and peppermint all-purpose cleaner, to lavender and bergamot floor cleaner, to air sprays, hand soaps, and more.

“In the cleaning product space, there is currently no other brand on the market that is exactly like Pure & Peaceful,” according to Cohen. “Pure & Peaceful doesn’t supplement any natural ingredients with fillers or chemical additives in order to save on cost. Trade secret allows for companies to hide chemicals in fragrance, so most fragrances have, on average, 100 different toxic chemicals hidden within them.”

The owner started the line in her Sag Harbor kitchen.

Cohen says her background influenced her interest in all things natural. “My father’s parents were from Austria and Poland, and my mother is from West Africa. Both family cultures prescribe to a more ‘everything homemade’ way of living. From food to cleaning products, growing up we didn’t have many commercial goods in our home, and my mom would often bring back fresh, natural goods, like shea butter, from her trips to Africa each year.”

As a child, Cohen, who was brought up in Port Jefferson, spent many summers in Greenport and often visited family friends in Shelter Island and Southampton.

“After college, I was going to go to law school but I decided to defer and got a job offer working for a big interior design firm in Bridgehampton, working alongside my college best friend. I spent nine years in Sag Harbor before relocating to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, five years ago,” she said.

Her origination of Pure & Peaceful had a larger mission than making non-toxic cleaning products. “I also wanted people to experience aromatherapy while cleaning,” she said. “The collection uses high-quality organic essential oils with plant and mineral-based ingredients so that cleaning can be enjoyable and therapeutic instead of a toxic experience.”

Years before creating the company, Cohen had taken yoga classes with several well-known East End instructors, “and many of those classes incorporated essential oils into the practice,” she said. “The oils helped me relax, and always put me in a good mood, so my passion for them was ignited. I began taking essential oil workshops in local studios. I would also spend time visiting lavender fields at friends’ family homes around the Hamptons and in Greenport, and the beautiful holistic community out there really incited my passion for expanding my already holistic non-toxic lifestyle,” said Cohen.

The Pure & Peaceful product line can be found online at www.pureandpeaceful.com, and at local stores like Provisions in Sag Harbor and Water Mill, Peaceful Planet Yoga in Bridgehampton, and The Elegant John in the Red Horse Plaza, East Hampton. There is a complete list on the website.

bridget@indyeastend.com